“And a
cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my
beloved Son; listen to him.” Mark 9:7.
Dearly
beloved in Christ, we give thanks and praise to God for giving us yet another
Sunday of Lent. The season of lent so far has offered us some of the best
selections of readings from the Bible geared our overall growth in Spirit. Today,
our attention is drawn to the special event of the transfiguration of Jesus.
*What is
Transfiguration?*
It is a
change of figure (size, shape, colour, appearance, etc.) It is a change in the
way something is perceived by the ordinary eye so as to reveal something deeper,
something beyond the surface; the true nature of something. When Jesus was
transfigured, Peter, James and John got the chance to behold Jesus Christ as God.
What they
saw was far deeper than what the Gospel of Mark reports. They only tried to
compare what they saw with things we see. But the truth is that as St. Paul
said: “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived (is)
what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9.
Heaven is
real. Heaven is beautiful. Heaven is worth our efforts. Peter only saw a flash
of heaven and he didn’t want to leave anymore. He was suggesting that three
tents should be built; he just wanted to remain. When we get to heaven, no
matter how loud the cries of those who love us may be, none of us would like to
return back to this world.
*Why the
Transfiguration?*
For me,
this event took place to first of all, to strengthen the faith of the
disciples; to give them something to fall back to when they shall watch their
master Jesus been beaten, spat upon, insulted, dragged like a common criminal,
humiliated, terribly maltreated and eventually crucified. The transfiguration
was necessary to reveal to the disciples and to every one of us that there is
always going to be light at the end of the tunnel.
Every time
God answers our prayers, every time we get to do thanksgiving, we are
experiencing our own transfigurations. It is good that we hold on to such
moments because they happen once in a while to strengthen us and prepare us for
tough days ahead. Life is not always going to be a bed of roses. Never forget the
good times so that in bad times, you will remember that God still loves you.
*The
Deeper Meaning of the Transfiguration.*
Abraham
waited for twenty five long years before God answered his prayer and blessed
him with a promised son, Isaac. Abraham was the happiest man on planet earth.
He so much loved Isaac that God became jealous. Like Abraham, most of us make
the mistake of falling in love with the blessings of God much more than God
himself.
I was
shocked, when I saw a video recently of a girl praying to God to turn her into
a snake so that she could swallow her own thirty-six million. This is just a
comic reflection of how we Christians have come to love money so much that we
now value money more than our own human life; we love money more than God and
this is a shame!
Because the
love of Isaac had taken so much space in Abraham’s heart, God wanted to test
Abraham’s true loyalty. God demanded the ultimate sacrifice from Abraham. Think
of something you cannot part with, something so dear and so precious to you that
in all sincerity, you love more than God. Picture yourself as giving up that
very thing to God. It is hard, isn’t it? That is exactly what Abraham did and
that is what we are called to do – give up those things that wrestle with our love
for God.
By tying
up Isaac on the altar to be offered as a burnt offering, (note that Isaac
assisted in arranging the wood for the sacrifice), Isaac became a prefiguration
of Jesus. The voice of the father at the transfiguration becomes a clear
confirmation of the fact that Jesus is “BELOVED SON OF GOD” (meaning: that
which God loves the most) who like Isaac assisted in sacrificing himself willingly
for the salvation of the world.
In the transfiguration
we see how God takes the place of Abraham to offer the love of his life as a
sacrifice for mankind. If God was willing to give up everything he has for you
and I to have life, what greater proof do we need that he loves us? St. Paul in
our second reading today says: “If God be for us, who can be against us? He who
did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us
all things with him?” Romans 8:31-34.
Finally,
if God could go to this extent for our salvation, what am I doing to reciprocate
that love? Why do I still love earthly things more than God? The voice of the
Father at the transfiguration added: “listen to him.” Do I take my time listen
to Jesus every day? Am I just a Sunday-Sunday bench warmer? Do I listen to
worldly music all day and claim not to have time to listen to God’s voice?
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, by dying for me, you made me your greatest priority, help me
to live for you by making you my greatest priority. May my love for money never
come in between me and you. Amen.
Happy
Sunday. Be happy, live positive, it is well with you. Second Sunday of Lent,
Year B. Bible Study: Genesis 22:1-18, Romans 8:31-34
and Mark 9:2-10.
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