“Six days later” is the way St. Matthew begins today’s Gospel. (Matthew 17, 1-9) Might that leave us wondering what happened six days prior? Matthew 16, 21-28 provides the answer. Those verses begin with this: “From that time on, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, ‘God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.’” All of that was preceded by Jesus’ question to the disciples: “Who do people say that I am?”
So, six days later, as we heard (or will hear) at today’s Mass, the Father in Heaven gives St. Peter and the others a brief “look” at what awaits Jesus in His Passion in Jerusalem. Jesus’ mission is confirmed, He is encouraged by the Father to continue His journey to Jerusalem, and the disciples are given an insight into what awaits Jesus and what awaits them – if they will follow in His path.
Also, “six days later” tells us that it is “the seventh day” when the Transfiguration takes place – a “replay” of Creation and the day of completion (from the Book of Genesis). Jesus takes St. Peter, St. James, and St. John up a high mountain. Again, soon He will climb another mountain (Jerusalem), the mountain of His death, and He will do so alone. But the three Apostles experience this moment of glory. They are the same three who will experience the Agony in the Garden (in Jerusalem). For Jesus, the Transfiguration is an affirmation of what was said about Him at the Jordan River: “This is my beloved Son.” At that time, Jesus was the only one who heard the voice, but not this time.
Take a moment sometime this week to go back and revisit Matthew 16. Again, St. Peter answered the question: “Who do you say that I am?” That scene ended with Jesus describing His Passion. To lead them through that, the Apostles were given (in the Transfiguration) a brief glimpse of the future. But the question is still out there for us all: “Who do you say that I am?”
