Fr Marco Lazzaron
he Transfiguration of the Lord on the mountain, experienced by Peter, James, and John, becomes for us an invitation to ask ourselves: how do we welcome Jesus who has revealed himself in our lives? Have we known moments in which his light transfigured our existence? Is his presence for us a source of joy and beauty, capable of illuminating daily life and opening us to the mystery of God?
Romano Guardini, an Italian-German theologian, asserted: “Christianity is itself Jesus Christ […] The person of Jesus Christ, in his historical uniqueness and in his eternal glory, is in himself the category that determines the being, the action, and the theory of what is Christian” (The Essence of Christianity).
Christianity is not a matter of following a doctrine, rules, an ideal morality, or a beneficial lifestyle, Christianity is a person, Jesus Christ. For this reason, the Transfiguration was a decisive moment for the disciples: they tasted the glory of God, were enlightened, and received the voice from heaven that pointed to Jesus as the Way, as the One to be listened to. And in the end, “they saw Jesus alone”: this is the heart of Christianity—Jesus alone, the Living One. So much so that Paul could affirm: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
To follow Jesus and call oneself Christian, therefore, is not to remain in an ideal world or to stop at experiences; it has to do with a God who lives within our existence.
Today, therefore, we want to ask ourselves whether we have experienced God, whether we are willing to receive the proclamation that the Church offers us—bringing us forth in pain, as Paul said—“until Christ be formed in you” (Gal 4:19). If we carry in our hearts this desire for a new existence, then we have a possibility; therefore, we must set out on a journey toward a mountain. We too can experience an encounter that lifts up our existence.
As happened to Peter, James, and John, we too can be witnesses to something that surpasses us. There are places, like the mountain for Peter, James, and John, and there are events that have the power to lead us back to God. These are privileged experiences and spaces in which faith is renewed and nourished, moments that become sources of light and communion.
To these places and these experiences we must remain deeply attached, because they preserve the living memory of the encounter with the Lord. We must not be afraid to seek again and again moments of light and listening so as to hear God, so that the most effective expression of the encounter with him may be precisely this: to return to the roads, to make the experience of Jesus live in our history with renewed fervour.