At the heart of it, the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus reminds us that discipleship is a way of life, a way of being, about changing ourselves so that we can change the world. It reminds us that discipleship doesn’t come easily or without complications. The story of the Transfiguration reminds us that discipleship calls us to leave our places of security and safety and to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is among the people of God.
February 15, 2026
“Transformed”
Matthew 17:1-9
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
Matthew 17:1-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” hen the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Transformed Matthew 17:1-9
I have a confession to make. The story of the Transfiguration is one of my least favorite Bible stories. I know it seems unlikely that a preacher would be telling everyone this because we seem to have this preconceived notion that as people of faith, we are supposed to treat all the stories in the Bible the same, never showing favorites, always showing the same respect to these wonderful life changing stories. Okay, forget all that. We all, including the preachers, we all have our favorite Bible stories, and yes, it is true, we also have our least favorite stories as well.
And the story of the Transfiguration falls into that category. Maybe that’s because I didn’t grow up in a church that lifted up the Transfiguration as a moment of importance for the church or in the life of Jesus Christ. Or maybe, it’s the simple fact that I don’t get it. I don’t understand it. One minute, Jesus is a normal guy, taking a hike up a mountain with three of his buddies and then the next moment, boom. The sky is opening, Jesus is shiny and dazzling white, standing there with Moses and Elijah. And then just as quickly, just as strangely, poof, Jesus is a normal guy again, looking around at the others, going, “What? Oh that, that’s just the Kingdom of God coming in full force. Don’t worry about that. Y’all aren’t ready for it. The world’s not ready for it. So, let’s just keep it a secret.”
Yes, I know all the important Bible references embedded in this story, references like this moment on the mountaintop for Jesus is similar to Moses’ experience on the mountaintop with God. And yes, I get that Jesus being with Moses and Elijah is significant, sort of like Matthew’s way of telling his readers that Jesus is the real deal. I know all of this, but this story still leaves me asking the question, what are we supposed to do with this story? It is confusing. It defies logic. It is so full of mystery that this story leaves my head hurting. As people of faith, what are we supposed to do with the story of the Transfiguration?
Well, I can tell you over the years, there have been many answers to this question of what to do with this story. For the most part, we as people of faith have handled the story of the Transfiguration one of two ways. We have either ignored it, pretending that it is just one more crazy story in the Bible and turned the page, hoping to find a story we liked better, that we could understand more clearly or the other option is since we don’t understand it, we critique it, especially Peter’s behavior in this story. We say things like, “Man, that guy is slow to understand. There he is, standing with the Son of God, experiencing the Kingdom of God at full force, and all he wants to do is build monuments to the moment. All Peter wants to do is pull out his selfie stick, strike a pose with his three buddies and then post the picture to Instagram. I know because those have been my responses as well. That is until this year. Because this year, as I was reflecting upon this Scripture, I happened to look upon a shelf in my house and saw my own selfie picture with a young girl from Nicaragua. Seeing that picture, I started to have a little grace for Peter.
Because that picture let me know that I had acted just like Peter when the Kingdom of God had hit me with full force. Seeing that picture, seeing the young girl’s confused face next to my smiling one, I realized that I had judged Peter a little too harshly because I too had missed the mystery, the wonder, the beauty of the Kingdom of God in my midst and in doing so, missed an opportunity to be transformed into the person God is calling me to be.
Let me explain: This picture was taken on a trip to Nicaragua. I took the picture as a memento of the trip and I placed it on a shelf, where for years it had been collecting dust. If I had really opened my eyes, opened my heart, opened my spirit to the Kingdom of God in that moment, I would have come back from that trip changed, transformed, not just with a picture. I would have come home, agitated that this little girl would never be able to receive an education more than eighth grade. If I had really opened myself to being transformed by the power of the Kingdom of God, I would have come home, irritated that clean water was not always available for her and her family. If I had really opened myself to the startling opportunity of experiencing the Kingdom of God in its Full Force, I would have come home, angry that poverty was ravaging her country while abundance and waste is prevalent in mine.
If I had really opened myself up to the moment, I would have heard God’s voice speaking to me, saying, “This is my child”, and I would have come home, inspired and passionate about working to help make the Kingdom of God a reality for all of God’s children. Instead, I took a photo, smiling, standing with a young girl as a memento of the trip and placed the photo on a shelf where it had been and still is collecting dust. Instead of being transformed by the Kingdom of God which reflected in the little girl’s eyes, I came home and slipped back into my comfortable, secure, privileged life.
Maybe that’s why I really don’t like this story. It convicts me. It reminds me of this moment and of all the moments in which I have missed, in which I have ignored the Kingdom of God arriving in full force in front of me. It reminds me that I have turned my encounters with the Son of the Living God into mementos instead of allowing them to transform me and change me into the person God created me and calls me to be.
You see, at the heart of it, the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus reminds us that discipleship is a way of life, a way of being. It reminds us that discipleship is about changing ourselves so that we can change the world. It reminds us that discipleship doesn’t come easily nor does it come without complications. The story of the Transfiguration reminds us that discipleship is messy, that it calls us to leave our places of security and safety. It calls us to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is among the people of God and to do that, we might have to talk to people we are not comfortable talking to or interacting with. The story of the Transfiguration reminds us that to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is among the people of God, we may have to break out of our routine, leave the four walls of the church, or heaven forbid, talk about how God’s love has changed our own lives.
Matthew shares the story of the transfiguration with his community, with us as Jesus’ disciples here and now to remind us that discipleship is not a one and done moment. It is not something which will fit neatly into our calendars, nor will it just be something on our to do list which we can mark off easily or quickly. Matthew wants us to know our encounters with the Kingdom of God change us. They transform us. From the way we act, from the way we speak, from the way we interact with others, to the things we buy, to the way we live our lives. The story of the Transfiguration reminds us as people of faith, that when we open ourselves to the Kingdom of God in our lives, we are changed. And we cannot go back to the way things used to be. We begin to realize that Jesus came to show the world, to show us a different way to be, a different way to be in relationship, a different way to be in community, a different way to see each other. We begin to realize that that we will not, that we cannot settle for anything less than the Beloved Community being fully realized here on Earth for all of God’s people.
Huh…imagine that…I guess we do know what we are supposed to do with this story after all. May it be so. Amen
See also: Theology Tuesday for Sunday, February 22, 2026 – Transformed Matthew 17:1-9.
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