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Gospel Commentary for August 6, 2025
Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
The story of the Transfiguration, the feast we celebrate today, marks an important moment in the relationship between Jesus and His closest friends. It’s a key moment — though not the final one, as we’ll see later during the most difficult times. We only have to remember that during the Passion, Peter denies knowing Jesus three times, and the other disciples run away, scared and confused.
But this is still a very important moment. In Jesus’ public life, many things have changed. The joyful days in Galilee — when large crowds followed Him — are mostly gone. Now, only a few remain. This change is the result of Jesus’ conflict with the religious authorities of His time. Discouragement starts to spread among His closest followers. Maybe they are thinking to themselves that it wasn’t really worth it to leave everything behind to follow Him. Maybe…
At just that moment, the Gospel writers place the story of the Transfiguration. Jesus takes His closest friends aside — Peter, James, and John — and walks with them up a mountain. There, they have time to speak calmly and quietly. From the top of the mountain, everything looks different. It’s a place for deep conversation. It’s easier to open one’s heart. Communication becomes more honest. We listen more carefully because there’s no noise to distract us. We understand each other better. There, on that mountain, Peter, James, and John began to truly understand who Jesus was. And they realized how deeply worthwhile it was to keep following Him — no matter what came next. What they saw, what they felt, what they experienced touched them so deeply that it wasn’t easy to explain to others. But they knew it made sense to have left everything to be with Jesus.
Maybe we, too, need moments to climb the mountain, to take a break, to talk peacefully, to listen to the Other, and to let His Word reach our hearts. Then we can return to our journey with renewed strength. At the very least, we should be aware of our weakness — for a while.