Saturday, August 6. Feast of the Transfiguration
This is such a beautiful feast,
with a beautiful Gospel about the Transfiguration of Christ on the mountain
with Peter, James and John. One of the usual interpretions of this event is
that Christ wanted to show them his glory, and his union with Elijah and Moses
(which means that all of Hebrew history is subsumed in him), so that when they
had to face his suffering and death they would have some hope to cling to. There
will be a time of trial, suffering and even death, but it will lead to ultimate
glory.
I’d like to approach the feast
from another direction. I’d like to approach the feast starting with us. In
recent days, we’ve been discussing the issues of suffering and trial in our own
regular lives, and I think that some time spent meditating on the beauty of
Christ upon that mountain might sustain us as well. I’m not talking about
Christ’s suffering; rather, I’m talking about our suffering, our
trials, our humiliations, our pain and our ultimate demise
should that be part of the plan in the not-too-distant future.
I’ve often encouraged people to look to the Cross in times of
difficulty, and I still encourage you all to do that. But today’s feast gives
us yet another focal point. This time it’s not a question of looking to the cross, but rather looking to the glory that awaits us.
Each of us, no matter how low we think
we may have sunk, no matter how hopelessly under the power of various evils
that afflict us, no matter what the world may have to throw at us. Consider
particular the plot of refugees and outcasts and victims of terrorist violence
throughout the world today. My God, I wish I could to go each of them and show
them the reality of the Transfiguration and say to them “this is where you’re
headed.”
I wish I could show the reality
of the Transfiguration to you as well and say to you, “this is where you’re
headed.”
God bless you!
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