The Transfiguration: Understanding the Mission of Jesus

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Gospel: Luke 9:28-36

Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the 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 the Lord.

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Have you heard the story of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad?

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Harriet was born into slavery in 19^th century America. After years of forced labor, she ran away from her captors, finding freedom in the North.

What makes her story so incredible is the fact that, after finding her own way to freedom, Harriet turned around and spent the next 10 years of her life helping others to do the same. 

Estimates are she led hundreds of people to freedom.

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By all accounts, the Underground Railroad was a dangerous journey. It took weeks to complete, because Harriet and her “passengers” as she called them, could only move at night under the cover of darkness out of fear of being caught – or worse, killed. 

Throughout the perilous journey, every “passenger” remained by her side, because only Harriet knew the way. 

And in the end, she is quoted as saying, “In all of my travels, I never lost a single passenger.” Everyone who followed Harriet on the Underground Railroad made it safely to the North. 

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A similar journey is happening with Jesus and his disciples. 

Just as Harriet promised to lead others into freedom, so Jesus promises to lead his disciples into eternal life.

And only Jesus knows the way. In fact, he tells us, he IS the way.

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If heaven is our final destination, then have you ever wondered what it is like? 

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Today’s Gospel offers us a clue.

Consider what Peter sees.

Peter not only sees Jesus. He also sees Moses and Elijah, prophets from the Old Testament who lived hundreds of years before him. Somehow, they’re alive again!

They’re standing right in front of him, speaking with Jesus.

Peter sees their bodies and their faces; he knows Moses and Elijah by name; he can distinguish between the two of them; and he recognizes each of them by the good works they did in life – they were prophets.

So, what does this mean? 

Moses’ and Elijah’s earthly identities – their names, their bodies, and their memories – remain intact in heaven. 

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The same will be true for us.

When we enter the presence of God, we keep our names, our faces, and all of the good works we do in life.

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I often use this Gospel passage to teach younger generations about heaven, but I use a different analogy – not Harriet Tubman, but iPhones.

So, how many of you have an iPhone?

If I took your phones and threw them into a lake, you wouldn’t have to panic. You could go to the Apple store and buy a brand-new phone on me. Better yet, I’d give you an upgrade for your troubles.

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

In order to retrieve all of your photos, apps, and contacts, you simply upload them from the iCloud. Although you exchanged one phone for another, your data was never lost; it was kept safely in the iCloud.

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The same was true for Moses and Elijah – and the same will be true for us. When we go to heaven, we exchange our earthly bodies for heavenly ones. Then all of our memories are “uploaded” onto our new, heavenly bodies.

As we hear in our second reading, “Jesus will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body.”

How is this possible, you wonder?

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God is the original iCloud. God stores up all of our earthly memories for us so that we are never forgotten.

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So, who is my Moses? Who is my Elijah? Who do I want to see again in heaven?

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One person I long to see is my mother. And this Gospel passage assures me that when I go to heaven, I will recognize her – and she will recognize me.

I imagine I’ll say with Saint Peter, “Master, it is good that we are here.”

This is the reason for my hope; it’s what inspires me on my journey – the belief that just as every “passenger” who followed Harriet Tubman on the Underground Railroad made it safely into the North, so everyone who follows Jesus will make it safely into eternal life.

May we continue following Him today, knowing the glory that awaits us.

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Image credits: (1) Transfiguration, Carl Bloch (2) NBC 7 San Diego (3) Ascension, John Singleton Copley