Feast of the Transfiguration (Three-Year Series A)
February 15
In The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Transfiguration is observed on the last Sunday of Epiphany. In the Three-Year Lectionary, Transfiguration is on Feb. 15, 2026, which is three days before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.
On this day, the church recalls the event of Christ’s Transfiguration on the mountain, revealing His divine nature to Peter, James and John before He set His face toward Jerusalem, where He would accomplish the world’s salvation by His death and resurrection for us.
Where Transfiguration is the last service before Ash Wednesday, many congregations say farewell to the word “Alleluia.” As Judah would not sing their songs in the land of exile (Psalm 137), so the church sets aside our simplest word of joy and praise — until we take it up again in triumph on Easter: “Alleluia! Christ is risen; He is risen indeed, Alleluia!”
To attend a worship service, visit locator.lcms.org/church to find a local Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod congregation. Enter your zip code and click “Search” to see a list of area churches, service times, and contact information.
If you are homebound, traveling, or otherwise unable to attend a service in person, KFUO Radio airs worship services throughout the church year. Visit KFUO.org to view the schedule and listen to services.
Liturgical color for Transfiguration
White, the color of light, purity and completeness, adorns the altar to commemorate the Transfiguration of Our Lord. On the mountain, Christ’s face and clothes shone white as light (Matt. 17:2). In His light we see light and by Him, “though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” Christ’s incarnation and His resurrection, His Gospel and its message to all nations are cause for our rejoicing. His purity before His Father becomes our purity. White reinforces this message of joy.
White is also the appointed color for the Epiphany (Jan. 6) and the first Sunday following it, which is often observed as the Baptism of Our Lord. It is also the color of Easter. On high festive days when white is appointed, some congregations also use gold.
Three-Year Series A Lectionary
Scripture readings for Transfiguration
- Exodus 24:8-18
- Psalm 2:6-12
- 2 Peter 1:16-21
- Matthew 17:1-9
Lectionary summary
God Manifests His Glory in the Body of Christ Jesus, Transfigured for Us by His Cross
The Transfiguration confirms “the prophetic word … to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19). The divine glory of Jesus is manifested in the word of His apostles, who were “eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). “He was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun” (Matt. 17:2). Moses and Elijah witnessed the fulfillment of the Old Testament in this Lord Jesus, and the Father testified concerning Him: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 17:5). By His own blood, shed on the cross, Jesus makes and seals the new covenant with us. Hence, “the appearance of the glory of the LORD” is no longer “like a devouring fire” (Ex. 24:17), but it is graciously revealed in His own body. As “Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel” went up the mountain with Moses and “beheld God, and ate and drank” (Ex. 24:9, 11), we also behold the Lord our God in Christ Jesus, and we abide with Him as we eat and drink His body and blood at the altar.
