The Gospel for this Sunday is from Mark 9: 2-9, and it recounts an important and mysterious event from Christ's ministry, the Transfiguration. This is one of the most distinctive and dramatic epiphanies or manifestations of Jesus' divinity. In the account, our Lord takes Peter, John, and James up onto a mountain where He has a shining appearance during prayer. Moses and Elijah appear and converse with Jesus, and a divine voice proclaims, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him" (Mark 9:7 ESV).
The observance of this event goes back to the fourth century in the Eastern Church; it spread slowly in the Western Church. Shortly before the Reformation, the Western Church began to observe it as a universal feast on August 6. In liturgical reforms of the Reformation, the Feast of the Transfiguration was removed from some calendars. Among some Lutherans, however, the Transfiguration was observed on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany. This practice seems to be a new contribution to the Church calendar, begun in the sixteenth century by reformers Johannes Bugenhagen and Viet Dietrich. They viewed the Transfiguration as an epiphany or a manifestation of Christ's glorious identity, somewhat similar to the coming of the Magi and Christ's Baptism. This reformation liturgical tradition resurfaced in recent ecumenical lectionaries. Since the 1970s, a Transfiguration gospel has been used on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany (or the Last Sunday before Lent).
Commemorating Christ's Transfiguration seems to be both a biblically based and reasonable way to conclude the Epiphany season. The Transfiguration can be viewed as a fitting climax for the first part of Christ's ministry, It is also an appropriate reminder of our Lord's glory before we enter into Lenten reflections about His journey toward the cross. The Law and the Prophets witness to Christ, but He is far more glorious. Jesus Christ manifests the divine nature, Let us think of His glory and listen to Him!
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