HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD. (1)

HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD.

THEME: EXPERIENCE OF ETERNITY.

BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
St. Michael the Archangel Parish
Diocese of Novaliches

Mt. 17:1-9

HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD.

THEME: EXPERIENCE OF ETERNITY.

BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
St. Michael the Archangel Parish
Diocese of Novaliches

Mt. 17:1-9

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

This Sunday we celebrate the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Jesus went up the mountain of Tabor. And there, in the presence of the apostles Peter, James and John, He was transfigured. His face became bright as the sun. His clothes became dazzlingly white. Then the voice of the Heavenly Father was heard from the clouds: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

This event, no matter how fleeting, seemed like eternity for the three disciples. For, indeed, it was an experience of eternity as they find themselves in the presence of Jesus in His divine glory. The term ‘Transfiguration’ is, in fact, not applicable to Jesus, but should be understood only from the vantage point of the apostles. There is actually nothing that changed in Jesus. He remains the same Person. But in the eyes of the disciples, His appearance changed. All the time, they see Him as just an ordinary human person. But at that very brief moment, Jesus gives them an opportunity to see His glory as God.

Let us consider several important points in this Gospel event. First, the purpose of the transfiguration of Jesus is for the benefit of His followers. At this stage, they are now on the way to Jerusalem. Jesus is painfully aware of His passion and death that is going to take place there. Hence, He decided to show to His disciples, even only for a fraction of a second, His true glory as the Son of God, in order to assure and inspire them to endure the scandal of the cross. This mystical experience should give them the strength and hope to go on in spite of His seeming failure and defeat on the cross.

Second, the Heavenly Father declares: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” There should be no question about that anymore, for it is the heavenly Father Himself who gives the testimony about Jesus. He, indeed, is the Son of God. And His words are spirit and life. But the question is, how intently do we listen to Jesus? Oftentimes, we excuse ourselves by saying we are too busy. Yet despite our busy schedule, we still have the time to watch TV, to talk to friends and to go to parties. So, why can’t we also have the time to pray and listen to the Word of God? Or perhaps God is not really the first priority in our life? Life in this world is difficult and full of trials. We need, therefore, to seriously set aside quality time to listen to Jesus and be strengthened by His comforting presence.

Third, it must be noted that the three Apostles who saw the glory of Jesus on the mountain are also these same Apostles who saw Jesus in Gethsemane. But His appearance is totally different, not an ounce of glory in Him. Jesus was in agony as He face the real prospect of His imminent suffering and death, so much so that, He was practically sweating blood. It is the same Jesus, but not as appealing and attractive as He was on Mt. Tabor. And so, whereas, when they were there on that mountain, their eyes were wide open and they did not want to leave, on the contrary, in Gethsemane, they were so sleepy and unwilling to stay and keep watch with Jesus. So, when He was arrested they all fled.

This is a challenge to all of us. In our life, we have our ups and downs. We have our Mt. Tabor experience. These are moments when we experience the exhilarating joy of being blessed and favored by God. We feel so close to Him. Like the three apostles, we do not want this to end. But Jesus invites us to go down the mountain and accompany Him in Gethsemane. Jesus awaits us there, too – but in a completely different fashion: agonizing and in pain. This simply means that in Jesus, God is with us both in our moments of triumphs and joy, as well as in our sorrows and pains. So, we ought not be downhearted and afraid in our times of difficulties and sufferings for He is with us, and He lovingly invites us: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).

Jesus is transfigured before the eyes of His chosen disciples, but nothing really changed in Him. He just showed who He really is: the Son of the Living God. We, too, are challenged to have our own transfiguration, to show to the whole world who we really are. We are not just creatures; we are not just human beings. We are children of God. So, we have to live in accord with that dignity. Then we can hope to hear the voice of the heavenly Father: “These are my beloved children in whom I am well pleased!”

Fr. Mike Lagrimas
St. Michael the Archangel Parish
Diocese of Novaliches

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