Gen 15 : 5 – 18, Phil 3 : 17 – 4 : 1, Lk 9 : 28 – 36
Today, our first reading and gospel have a lot in common. Both of them narrate the revelation of the glory and splendor of the future. First, due to Abraham’s faith, God revealed to him the glory that would be his in the future. Not only did God reveal this to Abraham, but he also sealed it with a covenant. This is an assurance that He will fulfill his promise to Abraham.
In the gospel, Jesus revealed his future glory to Peter, James, and John, who are collectively referred to by Bible scholars as “members of the inner circle.” They saw the glory and splendor of God revealed in Christ, who represents the New Covenant; in Moses, who represents the Law; and in Elijah, who represents the Prophets. The transfiguration of Christ before his disciples is of great significance and has lots of lessons for us.
Christ could have gone to the mountain alone, but he decided to take them with him. This was to assure his disciples that they were not wasting their time following him. He did it to increase and strengthen their faith in Him. He did it to resolve the argument about his personality. Most importantly, He did it to assure us of the future glory we would enjoy if we remained faithful to the end.
Another important lesson we must learn from today’s gospel comes from this narrative: “Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they remained awake and saw his glory.” Of course, after a stressful day of mountain climbing, the disciples were tired. However, because they were curious and wanted to know why Christ brought them there, they struggled to be awake. Physically, they were asleep, but spiritually, they were awake to accomplish the task that got them there. Like these apostles, we too must remain spiritually awake this season to experience God’s glory. If we must behold the glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ, we must be ready to make many sacrifices.
When the Lord is transfigured before Peter, James and John, they hear the voice of God the Father say: “This is my beloved Son! listen to him!”. The grace to listen to Jesus. Why? To nourish our faith with the Word of God. And this is the duty of the Christian.
What are the duties of the Christian? Perhaps some will say to go to Mass on Sundays, to fast and abstain during Holy Week; to do this and that Yet the first duty of the Christian is to listen to the Word of God, to listen to Jesus, because he speaks to us and he saves us by his word. And by this word he makes our faith even stronger and more robust.
We listen to so many things throughout the day, so many things. Do we take a little time each day to listen to Jesus, to listen to Jesus’ word? Do we have the Gospels at home? And do we listen to Jesus each day in the Gospel, do we read a passage from the Gospel? Or are we afraid of this, or unaccustomed to reading it? To listen to Jesus’ word in order to nourish ourselves! This means that Jesus’ word is the most nourishing food for the soul: it nourishes our souls and it nourishes our faith. Hearing Jesus, and each day Jesus’ word enters our hearts and makes us stronger in faith. This is what we asked today of the Father, who teaches us to listen to Jesus and to gaze at Jesus, to listen to his word
Let us ask God that our minds, our hearts go forward on the journey of hope on which the Lord places us, as we heard he did to our father Abraham. Always remember: to listen to Jesus, to make our faith stronger; to gaze at Jesus, to prepare our eyes for the beautiful vision of his Face.
In a real and special way, in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist transformation for our lives takes place, by the humble presence of Christ in our midst, in the Sacred Scriptures and under the form of bread and wine, given us as his Body and Blood, soul and divinity. May the regular celebration of the Eucharist increase our joy and draw us closer to God and one another, renewing our hearts in love and may that be a leaven of transformation for the world in which we live.