From the desert to the mountain
Genesis 15: 5-12,17-18; Philippians 3:17 - 4:1; Luke 9: 28-36
First of all, let us behold the call to be transfigured - it is a project proper to the season of lent, but not just that. It is a life project given to each of us disciples of Christ. To be transfigured, not just at the end of our lives, but in and through our lives; yes, in our life and through our life. Once we behold the call to be transfigured, we are left restless, with a few questions. Can we be really transfigured? How can we be transfigured? And what do we do, here and now? We have an orientation to respond to these questions, in the Word today.
The Final transfiguration - the element of hope: our Communion.
This is the universal call; the promise of the Lord. Every being created has to be reconciled to God and it shall be so! In a very special manner, the beings created in the image and likeness of God have the call and the privilege to enter into a communion that is eternal and transcendental with the Creator, in Christ. This is what St. Paul affirms in the second reading, Christ will transfigure these wretched selves of ours into transfigured bodies into the Lord. He will reconcile us to God through his blood (Col 1:20) and that is a perfect communion that we await, a communion that would reflect the communion between Christ and the Father.
That is the final transfiguration, the ultimate transfiguration. It is a promise, a hope that we have in being related to Christ. Anyone who listens to me, believes in the one who sent me, and shall have eternal life, said Jesus. That is the promise, to be transfigured, to be transported from this desert of our earthly life to the mountain of the glorious life in communion with the loving Father and Mother, God our Creator.
The Interim transfiguration - the unfailing strength: the Covenant.
This is the element of help; our help that comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth, who made us and who calls us to that mountain of perfect communion. It is a covenant that the Lord has made with us, to be our Lord forever, especially in our experience of the desert, in our earthly trials and temptations, in our moments of weakness and sinfulness. The Lord is there and we need never to doubt it. When Abraham (still Abram) is asked to count the stars in the sky, he is made to realise that even if it were difficult to understand, we have to believe in the promise of the Lord, trust in the presence of the Lord and take refuge in the protection of the Lord.
This is the experience of the interim transfiguration, the experiences of our trials changing into moments of growth, our temptations changing into experiences of self realisation, our moments of suffering changing into experiences of internal purification. Whatever we go through in life we are called to go through it all, in the company of the Lord, in union with the Lord who is ever present with us, making even the most trying moments, a phase of learning and growth.
The Immediate transfiguration - the untiring effort: the Challenge.
This is our response to the call that we have received to be transfigured in the Lord, the effort that we make in spite of all our failures and our limitations. The apostles who were present at the event of the transfiguration of Jesus, would have had this sensation very powerful - come what may we shall never give up, we shall never leave Christ, we shall never be separated from Christ. That is why Peter did not want to give up that moment...he wanted to make three tents and stay there! Jesus teaches them, that is not what is expected of them. What is expected of us is to make our own effort, to make our own journey to that mount. We can, because the Lord is with us. We have the way prescribed to us: to listen to the Chosen One.
This is the challenge of immediate transfiguration, to manifest our untiring commitment to remain faithful to the Lord. There are moments of splendour in our life, when we do something good, something divine, something pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. We need to value them and take all the energy needed from them. There are certainly moments of darkness, when we fail, when we falter, when we fall under the pressure of temptation. We need to rise up, look up and walk up, towards that mountain where the splendour awaits us. Our efforts cannot cease, we need to go on, right until the end! As James says, blessed are those who endure, for those who stand the test will win the crown (1:12). We can have everyday experiences of transfiguration, when we learn in the school of the Spirit, to change our temptations into life lessons, when we convert our failures into steps to grow and our experience of sin into an opportunity to taste the mercy of the Lord.
We are called to be transfigured. We are capable of being transfigured. And above all, we are empowered to be transfigured.