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August 4, 2025 – The next major feast day happens on August 6, The Transfiguration of Jesus. At 6:30 that Wednesday morning – if all goes according to schedule – I’ll arrive in London. (No doubt all bleary-eyed and jet-lagged from another long red-eye flight from Atlanta.) I’ll be arriving in London to meet up with my brother and his wife, and early the next week start hiking the Canterbury Trail – called the Pilgrims’ Way by locals – from Winchester to Canterbury.
But back to the Transfiguration, what has been called the greatest miracle in history. That’s because unlike His other miracles, this one happened to Jesus. (Not Him helping others.)
About eight days after Jesus had foretold his death and resurrection, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they [Peter, John and James] saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem…
That’s from Luke 9:28-36, and as noted this miracle is unique among those listed in the “Canonical gospels, in that the miracle happens to Jesus himself.” And that’s why St. Thomas Aquinas considered the Transfiguration “the greatest miracle in the world.”
Another view: The meaning and importance of the transfiguration. Answer: Moses and Elijah represented the Law and the Prophets, but “God’s voice from heaven – ‘Listen to Him!’ – clearly showed that the Law and the Prophets must give way to Jesus.” As in Jesus brought in the new and living way to replace the old: “He is the fulfillment of the Law and the countless prophecies in the Old Testament.” Beyond that, Peter, James and John – who witnessed it – told the other disciples, and through them to “countless millions down through the centuries.”
So you could say that Peter, James and John got “transfigured” themselves.
Which means that while this was indeed a dramatic event – for Jesus – it can also mean that just such a dramatic event can happen to you. It can mean that you yourself can have such an exalting, glorifying spiritual experience, just like Peter, James and John.
In other words, by accepting Jesus – via John 6:37 and Romans 10:9 – you yourself can undergo a spiritual metamorphosis, like the kind a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly. So in your journey through the present trials and tribulations, do you want to stay a caterpillar, or become a butterfly? I’m thinking such a transformation is what the Jesus Faith is all about.
In other words, the August 6 feast day could mean you too can be transfigured, just like Jesus, and through Him like Peter, James and John. See for example Bible Verses about Transformed into His Likeness, like 2d Corinthians 3:18. It says we true Christians “are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Or Philippians 3:21, which talks of the power of Jesus, “who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.” Or 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”
Which brings up an interesting point. I Googled “transfigure synonyms” and at the top got “transform into something more beautiful or elevated.” And isn’t that what Jesus calls us to do? He does indeed love and accept us just as we are, but He doesn’t want us to stay that way. For one thing, how could we perform greater miracles than Jesus if we stay “just as we are?”
Which opens up a whole new can of worms, but for now let’s focus on transforming from caterpillars to butterflies. And a closing note: I’ll try to update my own process of “getting all Jesus-upped,” while hiking the Canterbury Trail in England. So wish me luck and stay tuned…
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The upper image is courtesy of Mount Hermon Images – Image Results. See also, What is the Mount of Transfiguration? – BibleAsk: “The Gospels do not specify exactly which mountain was the location,” but several ave been proposed. “One traditional site is Mount Tabor, located in Lower Galilee.” Early church fathers thought so, but it is “not a particularly tall mountain (about 1,800 feet high), and by the time of Jesus, it was likely inhabited and even had a fortress, which would make privacy difficult:”
Another possible location is Mount Hermon, which is much higher (over 9,000 feet) and is located near Caesarea Philippi, the place where Jesus was just before the transfiguration (Matthew 16:13). Some scholars believe that Mount Hermon fits better geographically and contextually.
The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.
Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.
For this post I borrowed from the 2015 post, Transfiguration – The Greatest Miracle in the World, The Transfiguration of Jesus – 2016, On Saint James the Pilgrim – and “Transfiguration 2021,” and The Transfiguration – 2024.
“Another long red-eye flight.” I flew over to London last May, to check things out.
The “law and prophets” are two of the three parts of the Hebrew Bible, what Christians call the Old Testament. The three parts are the Torah (the five Books of Moses), the Nevi’im (the Books of the Prophets), and the Ketuvim, or Writings. Thus the acronym “TaNaK.” The Writings include Psalms, Proverbs and Job, along with Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther. (Wikipedia.)
“Listen to him.” Luke 9:35, “A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”
On transfigure see also TRANSFIGURE Synonyms | Collins English Thesaurus.
“Just as we are.” The link is to Just as I Am (hymn) – Wikipedia, about what “became an altar call song in the Billy Graham crusades in the latter half of the twentieth century.”
“Get all Jesus-upped.” An expression my hiking brother used to describe my proposed trip to Jerusalem back in 2019. (See for example From Jerusalem to Assisi – 2022, or type in “Jerusalem” in the search box above right.) Also, if I can succeed in doing an update on a post on my tablet over in England, I’ll put it at the top of the latest post, “so stay tuned.”
The lower image is courtesy of Metamorphosis Caterpillar To Butterfly – Image Results. I used it in my August 2023, “Love one another” – get Transfigured (too). (Where I mentioned Crossfire Christians):
The way I see it, that name can help in those situations – so common these days – where someone demands, “What are your politics?” Are you a Conservative or – heaven forbid – a Liberal? Here’s a good new answer that just occurred to me: “Who Me? I’m just trying to stay out of the crossfire. So I’m a Crossfire Christian.* You know, like Jesus?”
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