Purim and transfiguration

On this second Sunday of Lent, the coincidences of the calendar had us hear the narrative of the transfiguration of Jesus when around us – and even within the kehilla – the holiday of Purim provoked many to wear masks and put on disguises.

We often point out that Jesus, up on the high mountain, appeared clothed in light. In fact, this light was not like clothing which hid his real personality. On the contrary, it was the shining forth of his most profound being. However, his flesh and blood body was not a disguise either. The mystery of the incarnation is precisely that our human nature, while remaining completely human, is transfigured becoming that of a child of God.

Saint John says: “we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). On that day, we will have no need for disguises in order to mask who we really are or to express that which we should be but are not. It is our real being as a child of God which will be manifested: “all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed (transfigured) into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).