The transfiguration of Jesus Christ

Butterflies are beautiful, wouldn't you agree? Of course, a butterfly hasn't always been that way. For the first part of its life it was a caterpillar, a wooly worm crawling around on the ground. But at a special time and in a spectacular fashion, the ugly, little, wooly worm went through a transformation. When one looks at a lowly caterpillar crawling around, it's difficult to believe that a beautiful butterfly, able to fly all over on light and colorful wings, could be inside of it. But it is! This transformation from caterpillar to butterfly is something we call a metamorphosis.The word metamorphosis has the same root in the Greek language as the word transfiguration, the word we use to describe what happened to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, an event in the life of Jesus being remembered in many Christian churches this year on Feb. 18. It's when Jesus quote, unquote, "acted like a butterfly," if you will, and was metamorphosed (changed) into glory right before three of his disciples' eyes. Peter, James and John saw Jesus in all of his glory, the glory of the one and only Son of God.The account of the Transfiguration is one of the least-known accounts about Jesus. Even in art, this great event gets passed over. There are less than a handful of works of art that depict the Transfiguration. From the sixth and eighth centuries we have some mosaics that hint at it. And of the great masters, only the artist Raphael attempted to paint the Transfiguration. His painting hangs in the Vatican, but Raphael died before he could finish the job. It's almost as if there's a message there that no human art or genius, tongue or pen, can do justice in representing the spectacular event that happened when Jesus was transfigured.What happened at the Transfiguration is that Jesus' physical body was metamorphosed into his spiritual, godly person. St. Mark tells us that the Lord's garments became intensely, glistening white, like nothing on earth could ever be. They were far brighter than the snow is on a sunny day, when your eyes burn from looking at it. St. Matthew tells us not only were his clothes shining, but his face also shone like the sun itself, not reflecting light, but with a tremendous light streaming out from it. For a time, Jesus was completely enveloped by the fullness of his godhood, and Peter, James and John witnessed it. The message of the Transfiguration is that Jesus Christ is God. Contrary to those who say he was only a great man, or just a great prophet, or who say even less than that about him, the Gospels tell us that Jesus is God.We joyfully confess that Jesus is God because it means that we have a perfect savior. If Jesus had been anything less than God, then he would not have been good enough, nor could he have done enough for our salvation to come true. Mere humans, dying for their sins, do nothing to merit God's forgiveness. But by his death and resurrection, death and hell are overcome. Eternal life is ours. "Thanks be to God," St. Paul wrote, "who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).David Poganski is the pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 275 Nation Drive in Auburn. For more information, call (530) 885-5378.