Called to burn until we are consumed

August 6, 2018: The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Dan 7: 9-10, 13-14;  2 Pet 1: 16-19; Mt 17: 1-9

This is the painting on the interior of the dome of the Church on Mt. Tabor

"A lamp shining in a dark place until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" - a wonderful analogy that St. Peter presents to us. It would apply to our faith, our life of witness, our trust, our commitment to the Reign of God and every bit of our faith and its expression here and now, all leading us towards that eternal glory that awaits us as children of God(Jn 1:12), co-heirs with Christ(Rom 8:17), people meant for the future glory (Rom 8:18). 

Our Christian life is rich and its richness will be lost if we lose the sense of mystery in understanding it. Mystery is not merely something that is unknown and incomprehensible, but it is something that is beyond all our rational calculations and empirical conditions; yet it is not totally alien from our experience; it is part of our lived experience, an experience we live on a daily basis, an experience that sustains our faith and offers meaning to our life.

The feast of Transfiguration is a symbol, a prefigurement and a surety of the glory that rests within us, as children of God. However, we are warned not to lose our grip on our daily living, on our concrete initiatives towards ushering in the Reign of God under the pretext of dreaming about a future that is glorious and splendid. 

In practical terms, to be people transfigured, is to live our lives with our eyes fixed on heaven and our feet planted firm on ground, to never lose the hope that the Lord offers in Himself and to never rest from our efforts to build the Reign of God here on earth. It is a call to burn until we are totally consumed, totally consumed for the sake of the mission that the Lord entrusts to us, consumed living our daily life to the full, empowering every person to live it to their full.