General News
20 February, 2026
In Good Faith: Transfiguration Sunday
[Matthew 17:1-9] Last Sunday was the Transfiguration, the commemoration of the day when Jesus went up a mountain with Peter, James and John. There, ‘He was transfigured before them.
His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light’ (Mt. 17:2, 3). Peter, James and John were terrified.
And God the Father spoke to them saying ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!’ (Matt. 17:5).
This isn’t just an interesting aside in the life of Jesus.
He isn’t just a ‘good bloke’ or a holy man or even a role model – He is ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Matt. 16:16), shining like the sun. If we need proof of who Jesus is, then here it is!
St. Peter was so impressed he wanted to keep the Transfiguration going: ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah’ (Matt. 17:4).
He was so caught up in the glory and splendour of it all, that he managed to forget the whole point of Jesus’ life on earth – not to show glory and power, but to suffer and die on the cross.
And that’s good! Imagine if Jesus only cared for the mountaintop experiences, the ‘transfigurations’ of life when everything is going splendidly?
There are times when God does not work in the way we want, or the way we expect, or the way we feel He should.
Like Peter we get caught up in the good times, the ‘transfiguration’ of our own, and get stuck in a rut in the bad times and feel as if God has abandoned us.
It's at these times we can turn to the Transfiguration.
The Transfiguration is visual proof of who Jesus is – our Saviour, the Son of God.
When Jesus said to Peter, James and John, ‘Do not be afraid!’ (Mat. 17:6) those words are for you and me.
With them, we hear our Saviour’s own voice saying to us, ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine’ (Is. 43:1).
So as we think of the Transfiguration this week, don’t think only of Christ demonstrating who He is, the Messiah, the son of the living God.
Think also of everything He did for us in His life and death, His resurrection and ascension.
Through His redemption for us on the cross, we can hear God the Father’s voice, speaking as He did at the transfiguration, only to you and me, in the highs and the lows of life - ‘You are my sons and daughters, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’