[Dan
7:9-10; Pet 1:16-19; Mt 17: 1-9]
At
the bottom of a pond some little grub larvae of dragonflies are crawling around
in the mud. They wonder what happens to their members who climb up the stem of
the water lily and never come back. They agree among themselves that the next
one who is
called to the surface will come back and tell them what happened.
The next grub worm that finds itself drawn to the surface by nature, crawls out
on a lily leaf and emerges from its last molting skin as a beautiful adult
dragonfly. It has been dark and murky down below, but the dragonfly sees that
everything is bright and sunny in the upper world. Suddenly something begins to
happen. The transformed grub spreads out two huge beautiful colored wings and
flies back and forth across the pond to convey the glad tiding of its
transfiguration to its friends. It can see the other grubs in the pond below,
but they can’t see him. He also realizes that he cannot dive into the pond to
convey the glad tidings of his great transformation. A similar
transfiguration takes place in human life too. When man meets God,
his life is transformed.
The
common theme of today’s readings is metamorphosis or transformation. Genesis
12:1-4 explain how blind obedience to
God transforms the childless and pagan Abram into the Abraham who became the
prototype of trusting faith and the father of God’s Chosen People. This passage
is really the first encounter between Abram and God. Abram was prosperous in
land and livestock, but he had no children, and that, to people of his time,
was the most serious of all possible deprivations. So God challenged him with
an offer: "I will make of you a great nation." But God's requirements
were absolute: "Go forth from the land of your kin." The requirements
were to become even more absolute when, after Abraham finally had a son, God
asked him to sacrifice that same son (Genesis 22:1-18). God asks us, too, to
leave our old life of sin behind and go forth with Him into a period of
repentance, renewal of life and transformation.
The
Gospel tells of the scene of heavenly glory of Jesus. The disciples
received a preview of the glorious figure Jesus would soon become at Easter and
beyond. While praying, Jesus was transfigured into a shining figure, full of
heavenly glory. This reminds us of Moses and Elijah who also experienced the
Lord in all His glory. Moses had met the Lord in the burning bush at Mount
Horeb (Exodus 3:1-4). After his later encounter with God, Moses' face shone so
brightly that it frightened the people. Elijah had traveled for forty days to
Mt. Horeb on the strength of the food brought by an angel (1 Kings 19:8). At
Mt. Horeb, Elijah sought refuge in a cave as the glory of the Lord passed over
him (1 Kings 19:9-18).
Man
is transformed in the presence of God. Each sacrament that we receive
transforms us. Baptism, for example, transforms us into sons and daughters of
God and heirs of heaven. Confirmation makes us the temples of the Holy Spirit.
By the sacrament of reconciliation, God brings back the sinner to the path of
holiness. By receiving the sacrament of the anointing of the sick in faith we
are physically and spiritually healed and our sins are forgiven. In marriage
man is entrusted with the creative power of God. In the Sacrament of Eucharist
and Holy Orders a total transformation of week human beings takes
place.
We
need these 'mountain-top’ experiences in our own lives. At the Transfiguration
of Jesus Peter cried out “It is good to be here.” That should be our response
too when we come into contact with the presence of God. All the great men
reached the point of glory at the time of prayer. So when our community comes
together in prayer this transformation will take place within ourselves,
in our parish, and in our community as a whole.
Satish