Transfiguration

Transfiguration Sunday
This is my son, my chosen, listen to him.

On the mount of Transfiguration Jesus manifested his divine glory.
For thirty three years Jesus veiled his glory. He appeared as an ordinary man of his time. His miracles were understated. His constant prayer was, Heavenly Father not my will but your will be done.

God the Father set God the Son into the world to save the world.

Jesus came not just to tell people about God but to reveal the fulness of God in human flesh. What Jesus revealed about God is unique. It is also counter intuitive for most if not all people.
Certainly, people in Jesus’ generation thought of God in terms of power. Religious people prayed to the divine to get favors or to avoid punishment. The important question for a religious person to ask about the divine was: "who is right?" Who has the right knowledge about what God wants in order for me to get what I want and avoid God’s wrath?

This was the question every one asked themselves as Jesus began preaching, teaching and healing. Does he have the power? What do I need to do to get him on my side? What do I need to do to avoid angering him?

Everyone attempted to re define Jesus according to their own fears, demands, and expectations. Even the apostles attempted to redefine Jesus according to the religious categories they had grown up to believe.

Just before the Transfiguration Jesus asked the twelve apostles two questions. Who do people say that I am? Who do you say that I am?

Peter had the correct answer. Peter said: you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But, Peter had the wrong understanding.

Jesus commended Peter for his answer but rebuked him for his misunderstanding. Jesus revealed that the Christ must suffer, die and rise again. Peter could not accept that message. For Peter, God was power. For Peter, God’s Messiah would conquer Israel’s enemies and reward those who followed him.

Jesus came to reveal to all people everywhere that God is love.
God loves everyone unconditionally. There is no one who has ever lived, lives now, or will ever live whom God does not love.

God loves all people everywhere unconditionally because God is love.
God has power. God is love. God exercises his power in accord with his divine nature of steadfast holy love. We know this because this is exactly how God manifested himself to the human race in Jesus Christ.

There is no fear in love. There is reverence. There is awe. There is wonder. But there is no fear.
Jesus invited Peter, James and John to experience the unique manifestation of his divine glory. The invitation comes first in a journey up a mountain. Jesus led. Peter, James and John followed.

Jesus then led the three into prayer. Jesus prayed. Peter, James and John began to drift off into sleep. Prayer can be hard work for most of us. It was hard work for the apostles. The prayer Jesus practiced was the prayer of Divine Presence. It was not the ordinary set of liturgical prayers the apostles had learned in the synagogue and in the Temple.

There was a lesson and a preparation in the prayer Jesus offered on the mountain. The lesson was that all forms of prayer lead to the prayer of Divine Presence. The preparation was for the time of prayer Jesus would face in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the Garden as on the mountain Jesus would ask Peter, James and John to pray with him. In the garden as on the mountain, the three would fall asleep.

As Jesus prays, as he stands in the Divine Presence, the apostles witness the manifestation of his divine glory. This manifestation is reminiscent of Moses’ experience of the divine glory on Mt. Sinai.

Lest we miss the reference, Moses and Elijah appear. Moses represents the Law. Elijah represents the prophets. They conversed with Jesus. The apostles did not remember the exact words. But, they did remember the topic. The topic of discussion was the crucifixion.
As Jesus manifests his divine glory he discusses his death with Moses and Elijah. For in fact, the purpose of the Messiah was to die on the cross as the one pure, perfect and final sacrifice for human sin.

God had chosen Moses to give humanity the Law. The Law is holy and good. But, the Law cannot solve the problem of human separation from God. Moses had written: whoever will not live by the Law will die by the Law. Jesus had come live by the Law and to take our place by dying under the Law.

God had chosen Elijah and the other prophets to preach two words to the people of Israel. Repent and Prepare. Now, Jesus stood in their midst as the one for whom they had been called to prepare. As the people had consistently rejected the message of the prophets so they would reject Jesus.

The appearance of Moses and Elijah at the moment Jesus manifests his divine glory reminds us that we can only understand Jesus in the context of the Law and the Prophets. It also reminds us that we can only understand the Law and the Prophets through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Once again, Peter experiences the truth of the divine revelation. Once again Peter makes a valid although somewhat insipid comment. Master it is good for us to be here.
I suspect Peter felt he needed to say something at this point. He is standing in the presence of Jesus’ divine glory. Instead of contemplating the glory in a moment of silent adoration, Peter speaks in an effort to understand it within his religious context.

So it is that Peter adds, let us make three dwellings. This is a religious reference to the Feast of Booths. It was a way of remembering the wilderness wandering of Moses and the Israelites in the Sinai desert.

Peter essentially says: let’s take this divine manifestation and reduce it and encase it in a religious custom that we can understand.

There is a time and place for religions rituals and customs. There is also a time and place for Divine Mystery. The greatest invitation God offers us is the invitation into His Real Presence. In that Real Presence we stand in silence and experience the eternal love that created us, redeemed us, and sanctifies us.

Peter, James and John missed their moment of grace that day. There would be other moments. And, they would remember this moment and feel the wonder of the invitation drawing them forward into new moments of grace.

There is one more person who speaks in this event in Jesus’ life. Our Heavenly Father speaks for a second time. The first time is at Jesus’ baptism, at the beginning of his public ministry. The second time the Father speaks audibly is near the end of Jesus’ public ministry. The message is the same.

This is my Son, the Chosen, listen to him.

For three years the apostles had been traveling with Jesus. They had witnessed his miracles but they had never seen him for who he is. They had listened to his teaching but they had never heard him. They still wanted him to be some one else. They still thought they it was they who defined God.

God will not be defined. God is the great "I am". He transcends human understanding. He is immune to human definition. He will not be defined but he will manifest himself. He manifests himself in Jesus Christ.

As the Father reveals the divine glory in the person of his co-eternal son he leaves us a simple and direct message. Listen to him.

Don’t just look at Jesus as a religious curiosity. See him for who he is. See him for who God reveals him to be. Hear him for what he says and for what he communicates. Above all, take the time to stand in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in a moment of silent adoration.

Many people say that if God only revealed himself to them in a real and tangible way then they would believe. The testimony of scripture is just the opposite. From Adam to Moses to Elijah to Peter, those who experienced the real presence of the living God more often than not rejected him. They could not see past their self will. They would not hear the simple truth over the demand of their own desires.

Jesus manifested his divine glory in a very real, tangible and visible way. The apostles barely stayed awake and had nothing to say about their experience until after the resurrection. At the time, it just didn’t fit into their religions culture and personal expectations.

Jesus continues to manifest himself in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. He reveals his Divine Presence in a very real, tangible and visible way. He makes himself available to us. He waits patiently for us to join him at the altar with angels and archangels and the souls of the Church Expectant and the Church Triumphant.

At the altar, God invites us to experience the Real Presence of Jesus Christ. At the altar, God the Father speaks to us as he spoke to Peter, James and John: this is my Son. The Chosen. Listen to him. He is here for you. Open your eyes to see. Open you ears to hear. Open your souls to be immersed in the eternal love of the co-eternal Beloved.