Aug 26 Wed
Why was there so much beauty in the Lord’s Transfiguration?
Reading the narrative of the Lord’s Transfiguration makes us wonder: Why did Christ ascend Mount Tabor with Peter, James, and John before His Passion? Why reveal His glory at that particular moment?
Undoubtedly, Jesus chose these three because they most needed strength for the hour of trial. Christ did not reveal His glory after the Cross as a reward for their fidelity, but before the Cross to strengthen and support them in preparation for it. Christ knew what awaited each of them, but before asking them to witness the greatest ugliness in history, He first allowed them to behold its greatest beauty.
But what is beauty’s purpose in the spiritual life? Does beauty have such a purpose?
The world tries to justify things according to their utility. From that perspective, beauty may seem unnecessary, or even indulgent, compared to more practical concerns. Even in modern Christian circles, beauty may be relegated to something secondary, its relationship to truth and goodness severed.
But the Transfiguration, where Christ’s “face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light,” is probably one of the most striking scenes of beauty in the Scriptures.
Was presenting beauty the means by which Christ Himself prepared His disciples for suffering? He could have strengthened them another way; He could have simply commanded them to persevere. He could have told them a parable or sent a message through an angel.
Instead, He gave them an encounter with His glory.
Beauty strengthens, but how?
For one, it reminds us that the visible world can reveal something beyond the ordinary, offering us both hope and consolation.
When we encounter beauty, we may feel both fulfilled and unsatisfied, enlightened but desiring more. We recognize the existence of something we have always longed for yet cannot fully possess.
But more importantly, this experience moves us to perfect contrition, which is born not principally from fear of punishment, but from love itself. Beauty awakens that love, and having glimpsed something of God’s glory, however fleetingly, we recognize how little we wish to be separated from it.
In the Gospel, Peter’s response is, “Lord, it is well that we are here. If you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
It is easy for us to understand his stunned reaction: when we encounter authentic beauty, it awakens the desire that it should remain. We listen to symphonies not wanting them to end; we sadden at the thought of the vivid sunset sinking finally below the clouds.
But Christ will lead the Apostles back down, to where crowds are waiting, and where there is still suffering to be endured. There is a Cross to carry. There, too, is a call to embrace the difficult work to be done here on earth, and to be magnanimous in recognizing our encounters with beauty are gifts, meant to be used in service to God’s Kingdom.
Thus, Peter began his transformation from fisherman to apostle, from apostle to martyr, from man to saint—a model for us all.
Excerpts from Kristen Ziccarelli