Sunday Meditation: Matthew’s Transfiguration

Today Jesus reveals His divine nature.  We have one of the most iconic moments of the New Testament, the Transfiguration.  All three Synoptic Gospels tell of this moment.  In Year A of the lectionary, we have Matthew’s version.

 

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,

and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

And he was transfigured before them;

his face shone like the sun

and his clothes became white as light.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,

conversing with him.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,

"Lord, it is good that we are here.

If you wish, I will make three tents here,

one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

While he was still speaking, behold,

a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,

then from the cloud came a voice that said,

"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;

listen to him."

When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate

and were very much afraid.

But Jesus came and touched them, saying,

"Rise, and do not be afraid."

And when the disciples raised their eyes,

they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

 

As they were coming down from the mountain,

Jesus charged them,

"Do not tell the vision to anyone

until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

~Mt 17:1-9

  

Last year, I posted Dr. Brant Pitre explaining the transfiguration as told in Luke’s Gospel.  Here he is again explaining it as told in Matthew’s Gospel.

 

There is a lot there to really sink your teeth into.  But I want to end this with one of the great representations of the event, Fra Angelico’s The Transfiguration.

 

 

Notice how Christ is delineated at about twice the size of the three apostles fallen to the ground.  And the blazing white of Christ’s figure is almost blinding.  Christ’s arms are spread out projecting the crucifixion and we see the heads of Moses and Elijah on each side.  I love the delineation of Christ’s face as you can see in this detail.

 

His expression is emotionless and He is thickly bearded, depicted I think as one who has taken “the vow of a Nazirite” (see Numbers, chapter 6).  And consider the detail of the apostles at Jesus’ feet. 

 

The one facing the viewer would have to be Peter with the sash I think signifying authority.  He is turned away from Christ, projecting Peter’s denial of Jesus.  The apostles are not clothed in white garments.  That is reserved for Jesus, and I would guess that the apostle with the blondish hair is John since the hair makes him look youngish.

Who are those two figures on the sides looking in at Jesus?  On the right is St. Dominic.  Fra Angelico was a Dominican friar.  On the left is said to be the Virgin Mary.