February 27th

Matthew 17: 1-9
Eleanor Gaccione

“The Transfiguration: A Foreview of the Future Kingdom”

In this passage we are told that Jesus’ face shone like the sun and that God spoke to some of the disciples from within a cloud. Albeit these experiences seem inconceivable to us, we read similar stories throughout the Bible. However, what would it be like if modern man experienced these encounters with God? Would anyone believe such a thing really happened? How would the majority of people respond to an account of such magnitude?

I read Mark’s and Luke’s versions of the same story (Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36). Matthew and Mark both wrote that Jesus instructed the disciples – “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Luke’s account says that the disciples kept what happened to themselves; they were not directly instructed by Jesus to remain quiet.

Because of the reactions others might have to what the disciples experienced, I can see why they might choose to keep quiet about what they had witnessed. However, I was perplexed why, in Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts, Jesus would instruct His disciples to remain quiet about His transfiguration.

All in all, this passage made me think of all the ways God shows Himself to us today. Perhaps we don’t see a face shining like the sun, or robes of white. Maybe we don’t hear God’s voice coming to us audibly from within a cloud. Yet, God reveals Himself to us in a myriad of ways (including visual and audible) if we are open to seeing and hearing Him.