Source: Wikimedia Commons
Matthew 17:1-9
There is a room in the Vatican Museums' Pinacoteca that displays the masterpieces by Raphael. One of those paintings depicts biblical narratives from the Gospel of Matthew, also related in the Gospel of Mark about The Transfiguration.
In the upper register, the Transfiguration of Christ itself, Moses and Elijah appear before the transfigured Christ with Peter, James and John looking on (Mt 17.1-9; Mk 9.2-13). Under the transfigured Christ, from left to right, are James, Peter and John, traditionally read as symbols of faith, hope and love.
In the lower register, the Apostles fail to cure a boy from demons and await the return of Christ. They are unable to cure the sick child until the arrival of the recently transfigured Christ, who performs a miracle.
The youth is no longer prostrate from his seizure but is standing on his feet, and his mouth is open, which signals the departure of the demonic spirit. This story is depicted in the subsequent episode in the Gospel (Mt 7.14-21; Mk 9.14). After the transfiguration, Jesus encounters a man who begs mercy for his devil-possessed son.
Raphael joined these two scenes together as his final testament to the healing power of the transfigured Christ. In Hebrew, the painter’s name Raphael means “God has healed.” This Renaissance artist died at the age of 37 on Good Friday, 1520.
And, this memorable painting he finished just before his death was placed upon his tomb at the Pantheon in Rome during his funeral.
The redemptive power of Christ is contrasted with the human flaws in this painting. There is a healing and transforming power above while suffering below.
The transfiguration echoes the teaching by Jesus that our God is “God not of the dead, but of the living” (Mt 22.32). Although Moses had died and Elijah had been taken up to heaven centuries before, they now live in the presence of the Son of God, implying that the same return to life applies to all who face death and have faith.
There are times when we feel afraid and confused and struggle in the shadows. But when we lift our eyes, there is Jesus transfigured whose powerful light repels all the darkness.
When things are not going the way we planned or wished, Let us remember this:
A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.”
~ Mt 17.5b-7
We move forward to meet with God on the holy hill, and we bow before the Lord with reverence and kiss his feet. We are entering into the Lenten season in a few days, starting on Ash Wednesday, but our true nature in Christ looks forward to Easter with the hope of our salvation at Easter prefigured in the Transfiguration.
How wonderful and comfortable it would be, as Peter said, to stay up on the mount with Moses and Elijah and the transfigured Christ, to be with such spiritual leaders who had protected and guided their people during the most difficult times of transitions in history, and to doze off with the Spirit of God! No worries about the mess in the world.
But, as Pope Francis said, we can’t domesticate the Holy Spirit because he is the wind that comes and goes. He moves us, he makes us walk, he pushes the Church to go forward. The Holy Spirit is the power of God, the one who gives us strength to move forward, not backward.
Moving forward may not be always a comfortable thing, especially when there is an obstacle for us or when we don’t know what’s ahead, but we can’t sit back and find comfort in the law of inertia. Jesus came and touched us, saying, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”
Blessings!