Second Sunday of Lent

March 1, 2026

Matthew 17: 1-9

This week the gospel from Matthew recounts the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain. He appears to Peter, James, and John in the presence of Moses and Elijah. We must remember that in the chapter just before this one, Jesus tells his disciples that he is on his way to Jerusalem to suffer at the hands of the high priests, scribes and elders, be killed, and rise on the third day. And then Jesus tells his disciples that they must take up the cross and follow him if they want to be his disciples. It is good to note that Jesus is trying very hard to make his disciples and others realize what kind of messiah he is, not the kind of political leader they may expect. We also know that these facts are very difficult for the disciples to understand and keep in the front of their minds. So, why does Jesus follow up these tough revelations by telling of the Transfiguration?

Luke tells us that the reason Jesus went up the mountain was to pray. It may be that Jesus is going to pray in a special way to ask the Father if he is doing the right thing by heading for Jerusalem, his suffering and death, and his resurrection. Maybe the human side of Jesus needs the reassurance that only the Father can give. And maybe the readers of this gospel do too. We need to remember that in the midst of the passion of Jesus, there is life. Remember that the disciples must have been in a confused and disappointed state of mind. What they had thought they were part of, has turned out to be something quite different. Who exactly is this Jesus that they have been blindly following expecting great things to happen? Who is he and where is he going?

The Transfiguration reassures them that they are on the right track. They may not be following the political hero that they thought they had found, but they were following this Son of God. Peter, James and John heard the Father declare: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” What a consolation and a relief. They could face the road ahead with some proof that Jesus was indeed the one to follow, even if they did not yet understand what he was about. As we know, the experience of the Transfiguration would fade from their minds altogether when Jesus’ arrest would come about. In fact, they would not really understand until Jesus rose from the dead. At the moment of the Transfiguration, Peter wanted to act; he always was a man of action. He wanted to build tents for everyone. Instead, this was a time for contemplation rather than action; a time for stillness and trying to understand what this event really meant.

Peter no doubt wanted this moment to go on forever. The final thing this event tells us is that we cannot hold on to the serenity and intimacy of a special moment with Jesus and his Father. No, we must come down from the mountain to the daily routine of our lives. This is the lesson of Lent: we need to take the time to be quiet with Jesus and his Father, to really think about what they mean in our lives and what they call us to. Yet, this insight is not something that we hold on to and keep only in our hearts. The things we learn in moments of our own transfiguration are insights for the world. Rather, we must take up our cross and follow Jesus to the Father.

Fr. John Tran