My dear fellow saints,

In today’s Gospel passage (Luke 9:28-36), we have strong promptings for us to listen to, believe in and faithfully serve Jesus Christ. In various ways, we are given attestation of the identity of Jesus.

Interestingly, immediately before Luke’s account of the transfiguration of Jesus, we have Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ. So our Gospel passage today continues the theme.

By the description we are given about Jesus’ appearance being transformed, we have our first clue of who Jesus is. He shares likeness with Moses, who had the special privilege to experience God’s glory and returned with his face radiant. However, because Jesus’ clothes were also dazzling white, this significantly distinguishes him from Moses. He is not merely experiencing God’s glory. He is the very source of divine glory because he is the Son of God.

The appearance of Moses and Elijah adds to the drama. As representatives of ‘the Law and the Prophets’, they popped in to say, “All Scripture is fulfilled in Jesus”, the saviour of the world. They were also both taken up into heaven so their presence is also indication that, after his crucifixion for the redemption of humanity, our glorified saviour would ascend to heaven.

The voice of God puts the icing on the cake regarding the attestation of Jesus’ identity. “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” Just like on the occasion of Jesus’ baptism, the voice of the Father was heard and explicitly affirmed that Jesus is the Son of God.

Particular attention should also be paid to the last part of what our heavenly Father says: “Listen to him”. We are shown that what he says has credibility and the Father’s approval. Therefore, we are called to give him our trust and obedience.

The Very Rev. Ernest Flemming

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