Have We His Glory In Our Heart? 祂的光榮在我們心中嗎？

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, Year A
Theme: Have We His Glory In Our Heart? 祂的光榮在我們心中嗎？

Like all of us, Matthew was not an eyewitness at the Transfiguration. In other words, Matthew had not seen the glory of the Son of God together with Moses and Elijah. That probably explains why when the risen Lord appeared to the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee before the Great Commission and the Ascension, some of them doubted (Matthew 28:17b). Yet, that didn’t disqualify Matthew from the joy of finding himself “worthy to suffer dishonour for the sake of the name” (Acts 5:41) and from his subsequent martyrdom. Our faith comes from the gospel to which the Apostles bore witness and proclaimed, the prophetic message inspired by God (2 Peter 1:21b). In the second reading today, Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, exhorts us to pay attention to this gospel, “as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (1:19b). In other words, the gospel is a light rising and shining in the darkness of our hearts. Sooner or later, this light will glow brilliantly like what happened at the Transfiguration. Now, the question becomes whether the glory of the Son of God is rising and shining in our hearts, motivating us to move ahead towards our sanctification and salvation. Let us meditate on this glory in this Feast of Transfiguration.

How does Matthew make use of the term “glory” in his gospel? Let’s bear in mind that “glory” and “honour” usually go hand in hand in biblical passages when you do a search. They are nearly synonymous. In the case of Matthew, most of the time, he refers to worldly glories, e.g. the glory of the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 4:8); the glory of men (6:2); the glory of Solomon (6:29). When he mentions the glory of the Son of Man, he was rather vague. In narrating what was happening during the Transfiguration in which he was absent, Matthew could only conjure up his imagination, saying, “His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light” (17:2). We should bear in mind also that Jews believed that nobody could see God and live (Exodus 33:20). Even in the first reading today, Daniel could only mention the clothing and the hair on the head of “the Ancient of Days”, and not His face (Daniel 7:9) Therefore, seeing the face of God and live to tell people is only possible in Christianity!

Let’s consider the other Synoptic Evangelists. In the case of Mark, he does not mention Jesus’ face at all (Mark 9:3) focusing on the clothes only while Luke only says “his face changed in appearance” (Luke 9:29a) without making use of the imagery of the brightness of the sun. All three were not eye-witnesses and the ways they narrate strongly suggest that each Evangelist has their own agenda in mind. In the case of Matthew, he applies similar description to the angel who rolled away the stone blocking the entrance to Jesus’ tomb on the first Easter Sunday, “His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow” (Matthew 28:3). Perhaps Matthew is trying to illustrate what Resurrection means with the Transfiguration. When Jesus foretold for the first time His Passion and Resurrection, the Apostles were not ready to accept the death of their Master (16:22). Thus, Jesus tried to strengthen the faith of the core group with Transfiguration, telling them not to worry about suffering and death through which glory and honour would come.

Moreover, this is the limit Matthew has in narrating things in the heavenly supernatural realm. And it is exactly our limitation as well, an intrinsic limitation of human language to describe the spiritual realm. Historically, only a handful of mystics have the grace to gain access to the heavenly realm. For example, once Paul shares his own experience, saying, “I know someone in Christ who, fourteen years ago … was caught up to the third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2). Paul does not write much of his own mystical experiences probably because he does not find it beneficial for his readers. Most of us don’t have this grace to experience those mystical encounters. So how do we overcome this limitation? Perhaps John the beloved disciple might help us because he is the only other author in the Bible to make use of the imagery of a face shining like the sun, “Then I saw another mighty angel … his face was like the sun and his feet were like pillars of fire” (Revelation 10:1). Even the face of a mighty angel shines like the sun, how immensely brighter would the face of the Son of God be. In fact, Jesus Christ would be the source of light in heaven. John says, “The city [new Jerusalem in heaven] had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb” (21:23). In heaven this light/glory is eternal and John’s vision suggests that the glory is the Lamb! John shows us “end-product”. How does it come about? Indeed, without Passion there wouldn’t be Resurrection. So, John links Passion and Resurrection by reminding the readers of another Old Testament symbol, the bronze serpent (John 3:14-15).
[As a digression: Confucianism offers similar teachings. “故天將降大任於是人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動心忍性，增益其所不能。When Heaven is about to confer a great office on any man, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his sinews and bones with toil. It exposes his body to hunger, and subjects him to extreme poverty. It confounds his undertakings. By all these methods it stimulates his mind, hardens his nature, and supplies his incompetencies” (Gaozi II, Mengzi).] So, we shouldn’t take chances to attain glory without sustaining pains and sufferings!

We need to explore deeper how John deals with the concept of glory because we shall partake in the Lord’s glory in heaven. How can we not know what we are entitled to? John always mentions “glory” in Jesus’ miracles. For example, the first miracle in Cana (John 2:11) and the resurrection of Lazarus (11:4, 40). Thus, the glory of God is powerful, life-giving and is more than honour. In the High Priest’ Prayer, Jesus says, “And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one” (John 17:22). What exactly is the glory which Jesus has given us? John has given us the answer at the beginning of his gospel. He says, “… and we saw His glory, the glory as the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (1:14b) In short, we shall partake in the grace and truth of Lord Jesus Christ and they can be powerful!

Finally, we have to ask ourselves again and again. Have the grace and truth of the Lord been awaken in our hearts? Though each of our journeys of sanctification is unique, there should be some common denominators, viz. prayers, bible studies, sacraments and service!
Brethren! Let’s invoke the Holy Spirit to restart the glory of the risen Lord in our hearts, move us ahead to proclaim the gospel of reconciliation so that all tongues shall praise the glory of the Father (Matthew 5:16). Amen.
Picture Credit: ncronline.org