For several years, the high school-age daughter of a friend of mine has been investigating diligently her options of universities to attend.  Recently, my friend told me that the interview and application process has come to a standstill.   

Senior class members at the young lady’s high school are assigned parking spaces in the school parking lot.  Seniors’ parking is reserved and separated from parking for the lower classes.  Seniors are allowed to decorate and paint their parking spaces, as well.  More than two years of work to choose the right university has been abandoned in favor of the parking space.  My friend’s daughter is now laser-focused on developing a vision and plan for her parking décor. 

The event narrated in today’s Gospel reading is a vision, both in the literal and metaphorical senses.  In the ancient world, religious visions and other ecstatic experiences were considered normal behavior.  Today, however, such things seem a little foreign to most people in post-industrial societies.  When someone tells me they’ve been seeing angels or demons, I reply that they ought to be seeing their doctor. 

Imaginative visions, however, like the high school Senior’s planning for her parking space, are a universal experience. Even in societies that put little value on religion, imaginative visions are valued highly.  I suggest that this is a practical way to understand the meaning of the event of the Transfiguration. 

In the Gospel reading, Jesus’ physical appearance was transformed. The Gospel says, “his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.” (Mt 17:2) Then, “Moses and Elijah appeared; they were conversing with Jesus.” (Mt 173) 

In the story, Moses and Elijah are references to the Law and the Prophets, that is, the Sinai Covenant and God’s repeated invitations to renewed Covenant fidelity. The metaphorical meaning of the vision is a direct reference to Jesus’ preaching about the dual obligations of trusting in God alone and habitually renewing one’s trust.  

Jesus preached a particular “vision” of human existence. According to Jesus, human potential is fulfilled only by putting God first in one’s life and expressing that commitment by showing mercy to one’s neighbor. He preached this message in opposition to the teaching of the religious leadership of the time, a leadership structure which preached self-righteousness and complete trust in created things. The poignancy of Jesus’ preaching is not diminished today. 

Today, there are at least as many competing imaginative visions about the meaning of human life as there were during Jesus’ lifetime. A popular vision of human existence is what I call the “Chicken Little” life. Chicken Little is the central character in an old folk tale about someone who complained chronically and frantically that the world was about to end in a catastrophic fashion.  The “Chicken Little” perspective is one of constant complaining about the normal and predictable challenges that all people face. Recently, I heard this perspective described as “recreational worry.” 

Another popular vision of human existence is the practice of narcissism as a fundamentalist religion. This perspective on life says that no one and nothing matters except oneself. I’m certain there is some consolation in living in a universe in which there is only one star in the heavens, namely, oneself, but I’m equally certain that must be a very lonely universe. 

A third common vision of human existence inspires its devotees to embrace self-destructive behavior but remain constantly surprised by the consequences of such behavior. These unfortunates put their full trust in the actions and objects that promise only to disappoint. 

Jesus’ vision for human life avoids the many pitfalls of the popular visions, and it does so by protecting those who embrace it from misplaced trust. Only God is worthy of complete trust because only God is capable of never betraying complete trust. This is the meaning of the event of the Transfiguration, and this meaning is seen (metaphorically) in the description of Jesus’ physical transformation. 

The Gospel’s account of Jesus’ physical transformation isn’t to be understood as merely a literal statement. Rather, the account of the Transfiguration is a statement of truth in a metaphorical sense. I don’t put any trust in the practice of judging people based on their appearances. To judge Jesus based on physical appearances would be confusing, at best. In his birth and life, he appeared poor and disenfranchised. In his Transfiguration, he appeared non-human and other-worldly. In his death, he appeared to be powerless and defeated. None of those are accurate estimations of his character. 

Jesus’ Transfiguration is meant to be an imaginative vision of what is possible for human existence through complete trust in God. There is no universal standard for the physical appearance of Jesus’ disciples, but there is a real promise of transformation for our lives. Jesus’ disciples are required to appear radiant in the way that his first disciples briefly saw the radiance of righteousness in him. We, his disciples today, are to live is such as fashion as to be observably enlightened by God’s presence and favor. Among the many competing imaginative visions for human life, this is the only one that is worth pursuing because it is the only one that satisfies fully the potential contained within our nature. Though very counter-cultural, the Transfiguration is a vision of human life that is worth embracing fully.