Christ’s Transfiguration speaks directly to questions at the heart of human experience: who am I and who should I become? In His Transfiguration, we have an icon of what we are all called to be. In His Transfiguration, we are called to not settle for any other promises of freedom and fulfillment that the world might offer up, but to seek nothing less than participating in Christ’s divinity. In His Transfiguration, we are called to be “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

In his Transfiguration, we find both an injunction and a revelation of our own identity – for the Transfiguration is a revelation of Christ’s divinity. It happened in this way, “while he was praying,” on Mt. Tabor, “the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Luke 9:29). Peter and John, who were present, covered their faces in the moment, and later reported their revelatory experience and gave testimony to His Divinity in their writings (2 Peter 1:16-18; John 1:14). The Light of Christ brought clarity to their lives and transfigured their way of life. God although “beyond comprehension, and boundless and invisible, rendered Himself visible, and comprehensible, and within the capacity of those who believe, that He might vivify those who receive and behold Him through faith” (St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies Book IV, Chapter 20).

In His Transfiguration, we are called to not settle for any other promises of freedom and fulfillment, but to seek nothing less than participating in Christ’s divinity. Often, though, we are tempted to conform to conventions of our culture and time in search of freedom and meaning. St. Paul cautions: “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Our capacity for discernment develops in and through our relationship with God. Beholding the Transfiguration we see that Christ’s light clarifies the purpose of our life and is life-giving and transformative.

In His Transfiguration, Christ reveals the light of His divinity. Christ tells us, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). This is our identity and an injunction; it is who we are and what we should become. We are called to develop this identity over the course of our lives. The Transfiguration calls us to manifest the light of His divinity in word and deed and thought, through the discernment and clarity of a mind renewed in Christ.

Christ’s Transfiguration speaks directly to our human experience by showing us how we are to relate to our God. Christ tells us, “I am the light of the world,” and when we follow Christ “we will never walk in darkness but have the light of life” (John 8:12). By participating in the light of Christ, we become a transfigurative light in the world.