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Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up a mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
“Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.
The Gospel of Luke 9:28b-36

For a while now, every time I hear this story, every time the liturgy brings it around to our attention, I have thought of it like this: First, it's a very mystical scene here. This is not the normal fare, even in the Gospels. The Bible is a book full of miracles but even with that, this is a glorious picture we've been painted. It's not fully comprehensible either. It sounds like we should understand what we're hearing but really, we're only seeing shadows, glimpses.

Then I think, as one will, of what happened and the men there, the Apostles, who saw it, part of it. I wonder what they saw and how they saw it. I know what is written, but I also know that even though a man "wrote" it while inspired by the Holy Spirit, he was still in this realm of existence and could only grasp so much without being fully enveloped in the reality of what it was he was trying to describe there. He was still in process and so are we. Our knowledge is not yet perfect.

I think of a couple of other things - this light, shining, clouds, the two Prophets appearing. The I wonder how it was that the three Apostles knew who they were looking at. Did Jesus introduce them? Didn't seem like. Did they have name tags hanging around their necks? I kind of doubt it. Oh, they recognized them from the pictur... wait. So, this was Elijah and Moses - they knew that, they just did. Now, I don't want to put too much into one thing here, but bear with me. I think it fits. I believe this is in the folds of the Scriptural garment here with its many layers. I believe, for just a few minutes, Jesus pulled back the veil. I mean THE veil - the one that separates this dimension from that one, over there. And I believe that light, that eternal light was a reflection of the Kind of Light that, presently, we cannot fully comprehend.

So, in anticipation of the great reconnection that He was in the process of enacting, He opened the gates, as it were. And a few very weird things happened. Things that don't totally make a ton of earthly sense. I see this as a moment of dimensional unity, where the Apostles, for just a little bit, knew as they were known. But they didn't understand what was happening to them at the time. Thus the reaction after. I'm sure they grew to understand later, and I'm really sure they know now what they were experiencing.

The Transfiguration wasn't just about Jesus. It was about us, all of us. It IS about us, about the amazing journey we are now on. He has drawn us into His Fullness. And the more we allow ourselves to be opened up, drawn in further, the more we will be transformed, transfigured ourselves. The Transfiguration is a first taste of the fullness of Eternal Life here and now. So when it comes around every year, we should take that opportunity to think of the fullness of Life to which we have been called. We should be extremely grateful that, ultimately, He has not left us confused on the mountain side. Ultimately, we are now in Him, and being drawn ever deeper into the Life of the Transfigured One.