HW: The Transfiguration — the visionary and the practical!

A reflection on Matthew 17:1-9, the story of the Transfiguration, written and spoken by Kieran J. O'Mahony OSA

Gentle piano music to close the meditation

Transcript

John’s Lane
D08 F8NW
1 March 2026
The Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-9

Welcome
Our Gospel today is familiar and fascinating. It does draw us in, mysteriously. At the same time, such a story can seem remote and elusive, even alienating, being nothing like our everyday experience.

Topic
Taking a closer look may reveal some of the potential for today. 

Steps
Only one person in earliest Christianity had a similar mystical experience and spoke about it in his own words. In the Second Letter to the Corinthians, St Paul writes,

I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows— was caught up into paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. (2 Corinthians 12:2–4 NRSVue)

Clearly, it was a profoundly real experience and retained its importance, even fourteen years later. There are two signs of authenticity: Paul is unwilling to speak about it and, at the same time, unable to say exactly what took place. Whatever it was, it was beyond words and could be indicated only by negatives and by metaphors.

Something similar may be said of the Transfiguration. Jesus somehow allowed his closest disciples to glimpse something of his relationship with God. To get across what “happened”, the story is couched in references to Moses and Elijah and, discreetly, the book of Daniel. Words fail anyway when we are faced with something so deep — such experiences cannot be truly described, only indicated. It keeps its sense of the beyond.

For all its being mysterious and elusive, in Matthew’s telling there are three immensely practical dimensions, which can speak to us ordinary mortals today: it is good to be here; Listen to him; Stand up.

(1) It is good to be here, good to be living this particular moment. It is good that a new sense of ownership of the faith project is gradually taking hold. It is good that we are looking at new ways of handing on the faith, instead of outsourcing it to public institutions. It is good that the practical business of parish partnership is combined with the visionary dimensions of the synodal pathway. Saying it is good is not saying it is not difficult — it is difficult, as we all experience, but there is life in being as realistic as we can and in being pro-active about it all.

(2) Listen to him. A significant part of our learning has been the experience of listening. Ultimately, we are listening for the guidance of God. We do this by attending to Scripture, by listening to each other with love and respect and waiting for the Spirit to speak through it all. Many people found the whole exercise of the Synodal Way life-giving and encouraging. To be heard is a kind of unspoken right in our culture.

(3) Finally, Jesus says to the disciples, stand up. Many people have in fact put their gifts and energies at the service of the community of faith: the parish pastoral council, the ministers of the word and the Eucharist, the musicians, the funeral teams, the family Mass on Sunday and so on. Today, the difficulties of the clerical institutional church represent an unparalleled opportunity for ownership by the whole community and for the appearance of new lay ministries.

Conclusion
So, in spite of evidence of recession, this is also a time of grace. We are part of a much larger, worldwide church undergoing fundamental change in how we evangelise and how we relate to the culture and society of our time. 

At the heart of it all is a mysterious encounter with the risen Lord, opening up a path of conversion and discipleship. In the midst of immense change, we want to hold on to both the vision and the practical. The practical cannot be delayed any longer. But the visionary is why we do it all in the first place.