The Transfiguration of the Beloved Son 	August 6
The first three Gospels all tell of an episode in which Jesus took Peter, James and John with him up a mountain, and his appearance took on the look of one glorified (Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36). There is no comparable event in John’s Gospel, but, as commentators have pointed out, the whole of the Fourth Gospel is suffused with the idea of the manifestation of the glory of Jesus right from the very prologue of the Gospel.
The accounts of the transfiguration in Matthew, Mark, and Luke differ slightly in detail but agree in general. The episode included just the three disciples. Jesus was joined by Moses and Elijah, and Peter suggested making shelters for them. The disciples were very fearful. Then a voice from the cloud that overshadowed them assured them that Jesus was the beloved Son, whom they should heed, but that they should say nothing about the episode till after the resurrection. The Gospels also agree in placing the incident shortly after Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Christ and immediately before the final journey south to Jerusalem. The location of the event is not certain, though various mountains in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi have been suggested.
The exact significance of the event has been debated in the church down the centuries. A reference to the transfiguration in 2 Peter (1:16-18) links the eyewitness account of the transfiguration to the trustworthiness of prophecies about the return of Jesus in glory. In the eastern church it was frequently understood as symbolic of the transformation of the world as well as referring to the world to come. In modern biblical studies, some scholars treat it as historical and factual. Others treat it as a narrative full of symbolic meaning: the glory of Jesus is revealed; the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) are seen to attest the validity of Jesus’ mission; the cloud of God’s presence affirms Jesus’ credentials; and the presence of God strengthens Jesus for the coming struggle in Jerusalem, a point emphasised by Luke (9:31).
The transfiguration was an important festival in the eastern church by the eighth century. In the west, the festival was introduced much later and became common only when Pope Callistus III ordered its observance to commemorate the victory over the Turks at Belgrade on 6 August 1456.
For Liturgical Use
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, with some differences of detail, all record the episode shortly after Peter’s great confession of faith, in which Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain and is transfigured as a sign of his divine glory. The presence of Moses and Elijah attests the endorsement by Law and Prophets of Jesus’ mission, and the divine voice from the cloud of God’s glory confirms the status of Jesus and approves his coming journey to Jerusalem.
Sentence, Prayers and Readings as in A New Zealand Prayer Book - He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa, page 565-566, 659