Gen. 15:5-12,
17-18; Phil. 3:17-4:1; Lk. 9:28b-36
My dear brothers and sisters
In the Second Week of Lent, the Church calls
us to elevate our minds towards a higher level of spiritual holiness.
During today's Gospel Reading, we heard that Jesus
went up the mountain to pray with
three Apostles, Peter, John and James. While they were on the mountain, the appearance of the face of Jesus changed and His clothing became dazzling white. Then, Moses and Elijah appeared and started talking to Jesus.
Peter and the other two disciples witnessed the
glory of the Lord Jesus. Peter said to him, 'Master, it is good for us to
be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah.'
Those come into contact with the presence of God
will have the same experience of Peter. And they feel it is good to be there.
David declared "Better is one day in your courts than
a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked." Pls 84:10.
The Apostle Paul knew a lot about human nature —
the good, the bad, and the ugly. Perhaps it was because he had lived the life
of a controlling narcissist and remembered what it was like to have no gratitude
in his heart. Before encountering Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus,
Paul (or more precisely Saul as he was known at the time) was in charge and
very much in control of his world. He was clearly the authority and had little
patience for others who would upstage his grandiose character. But his meeting
Jesus on the road to Damascus transformed him into one of the most devoted
servants.
Driven by his own chivalric spirit, Francis
followed Gualtiero de Briene in Southern Italy, but once he arrived in Spoleto
he had a vision of God who directed him to go back. The vision asked him:
"Francis, who do you think it is better to
follow? The Master or the servant?" And Francis answered:
"It is the Master"
"Why then," continued God "do
you worry to look for the servant instead of the Master?"
"What is it your pleasure I should do, my Lord?"
"What is it your pleasure I should do, my Lord?"
"Return to Assisi, This is not your
life"
Isaiah’s vision of the Lord transformed him.
"I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated
on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple."
The vision enabled him to cry out
"Here am I. Send me!"
There are many examples in history when people came
into contact with God they were transformed.
So the first message of Transformation is the
revelation of God's glory. And the experience of the
Transfiguration is meant to point forward to the sufferings Jesus is about to
experience. It is meant to strengthen the faith of the disciples,
revealing to them in a powerful way the divine hand that is at work in the
events Jesus will undergo.
Like most Jews of the time, the Apostles mistakenly
believed that the blessings to be brought by the Messiah or Christ would be
earthly or material blessings. As in the time of King David, the Messiah
was supposed to bring freedom from foreign domination; there would be a return
to a golden age of material prosperity like the times when David and Solomon
ruled. When Jesus had already begun to prepare His disciples for His
impending death by revealing that He would suffer (Matthew 16:21), the Apostles
rejected this revelation. By means of His Transfiguration Christ wanted
to teach them that He would give them more than earthly happiness, political
independence or material prosperity. He wanted them to learn that He
would come to His glory through suffering and Death, in order to bring them the
better happiness of freedom from sin and the grace of everlasting life.
The Transfiguration also reminds us that "it is through many persecutions
that we must enter the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
Those who experience the glory of God would strive
to embrace it. They forget everything else and focus only on one thing. The
sufferings they have to undergo become negligible in comparison to the final
outcome. When Isaiah had the vision of God he forgot everything else
and cried out. "Here am I. Send me!"
Dear brothers and sisters the Transfiguration of
Jesus tells us to focus on the joy of experiencing the presence of God. Then
all our sufferings and tribulations will become negligible.
Look at the people who are getting ready for
Olympics. They have only one goal in front "the Olympic medal". The
glory of winning the medal makes them forget all the hardships of rigorous
practice. All the saints who had the experience of God forgot everything else
around them, and their focus was only fixed. Likewise when we focus on God we
will get strength to fight injustice, tolerate the offenses against us, and to
act according to the needs of our brothers around us.
Satish