By Colleen O’Sullivan
We
did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his
majesty… Moreover, we possess the
prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark
place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:16, 19)
Jesus
took Peter, James, and his brother, John, 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… (B)ehold, 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.”
(Matthew 17:1-2, 5)
Piety
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. (Isaiah 9:1a)
Study
This past Sunday, in my pastor’s homily on Jesus’ love for us, there was
a refrain that echoed throughout: “The crowd changes. The message never does.” That came back to me as I was reflecting
on today’s Scripture readings, because this isn’t the first time we’ve heard
these words from heaven. Back in Ch. 3
of his Gospel, Matthew tells us that at Jesus’ baptism, the heavens opened and
God declared Jesus his beloved Son, adding that he was well pleased with
him. Jesus was the primary audience on
that occasion. It was a sign he must
have longed for, an acknowledgement from his heavenly Father that he was
following God’s will and that the public ministry about to unfold was what God desired
of him.
Today we see Jesus leading Peter, James and John to the mountaintop
where he is transfigured before their very eyes. They have now become the target audience for
God’s words about how pleased he is with his beloved Son. God doesn’t stop there, however. He goes on to tell the disciples to listen to
Jesus. And how do the disciples react to
this glimpse of Jesus in all his glory and these words of affirmation and
advice from God? They fall to the
ground, overwhelmed, trembling with fear. Jesus picks them up, sets them on their
feet, and they follow him down the mountain and on to their next stop. This seems to be the paradigm for Peter’s
life, in particular. He often fails to
understand what Jesus is showing or telling them. He falls down on the job. And over and over, Jesus forgives him, picks
him up, dusts him off, and sets him on course again.
We have an advantage over the disciples at this point in the
Gospel. We are post-Resurrection
followers. We know that Jesus is raised
to glory on Easter by his Father. We are
familiar with all the Resurrection appearances.
Yet, if we are honest, how different are our lives in the end from those
of the disciples? We, too, often fail to
grasp what Jesus is saying to us or what God is trying to show us. We, too, fall down, overwhelmed by our sins, our
anger, our anxieties or our sorrows.
And, fortunately, the Lord still comes along, forgiving us, calming us,
or comforting us. He does what he’s
always done out of love for us, gives us a new beginning.
I love how the writer of 2 Peter puts it: Ever keep before you that vision of the
glorified Christ, because it is “a lamp
shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your
hearts.”
Action
Where do you see Christ as a lamp shining in a dark
place in your life?
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