Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14; 2 Peter 1: 16-19; Matthew 17: 1-9
There is terror all around, there is darkness thickening all around, there is treason and treachery plotted all around, there is deception from the evil and the majority of the world seem to be falling into it... when you find yourself in such a situation, what do you do? You burn brighter! That is what Jesus teaches us. Yes, to be extinguished by the threats around is not truly Christ-ian.
When problems arise, when threats increase, when troubles augment, when failures mount, when enemies surround, if you are truly a disciple of Christ what do you do - you burn brighter. But things affect - it doesn't matter - you burn till you are consumed, says the Word today!
"A lamp shining in a dark place until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" - a wonderful comparison 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 in 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 offer 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.