The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ was an event that was filled with many witnesses. Peter, John, and James joined Him upon this mountain top and we know from the text that they would fall asleep. This experience should bring our minds to the event where Christ was preparing for his death in the Garden of Gethsemane and the three apostles who joined him were unable to stay awake for even one hour. Once they were awoken upon this mountain they experienced a very magnificent sight that was hard for their minds to comprehend. Once the experience ended they could not think past staying here upon this mountain and never moving forward from it. These future priests of the Church were not alone in this experience because they were joined by Moses and Elijah. We know Moses and Elijah to be precursors to Christ and through their witness to this event the fullness of Christ is being expressed. Christ is a link to which the past, present, and future are joined together to behold His glory.
In such an event where this miraculous glory was shown to the world through these representatives we must question why were nine of the apostles left out of the picture. For some reason these nine were not chosen to be witnesses to this great glory which surely would of altered their faith in some way. On the other hand we have these precursors to Christ who are limited simply to two in number. Of all the generations that have come before Christ why would others be left out as being chosen to be witnesses to this event? After all we were told in Genesis about Abraham and the many descendants that would come from his line. In the Roman Canon of the Mass I say "Abraham our Father in faith" and yet he was left out of this experience of glory. From this we can see the lesson that is being brought into our lives from which lofty mysteries cannot be given to everyone, but must be handed down from those from whom they have been in trusted.
We who gather inside of this Church, this day, are equal to the nine who were not chosen and to all those who pointed the way towards Christ, but were not present for this event. Despite our absence we are called to enter into the profound glory that was found with the event of the Transfiguration. We can gather from the experiences of these individuals who were called to be witnesses to this event of the great splendor that has been extended into the life of faith past, present, and future through Jesus Christ. In this miracle we are told that "his clothing became dazzling white" which expresses the twofold reality of baptism and the Heavenly Kingdom. On the day of our own baptisms we experienced the life changing waters that would cleanse our life from sin and bring us into the life of faith. Being given a white garment we were told: "You have become a new creation, and have clothed yourself in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity." This splendor is the same hope that we hold for ourselves and those who have gone before us of one day reaching the splendor of the Heavenly Kingdom.
If we truly desire to be drawn towards the Heavenly Kingdom we must move forward from our daily experiences and become witnesses of the transformation that took place within our lives on the day of our baptism. There exists in the world a countless amount of souls who have yet to be moved to give themselves to Christ; maybe we even find ourselves feeling this way on certain days. Despite their absence from our midst we are called upon to be witnesses of Christ who are willing to evangelize in the name of the Gospel. Of course being witnesses of the faith calls us to continual transformation within our lives. Baptism was a good start, but from it we are called to continually educate ourselves in the faith and to continually grow closer in conformity with Christ's love.
Despite bearing witness to our own baptism we all find times in our life where we have fallen asleep. In falling asleep we have moved ourselves away from Christ and the relationship that should exist between us. In these moments where we have had a lack of trust in Christ or have fallen into the state of sin we conduct ourselves as enemies of the cross. Thankfully a hope for mercy has entered into our lives through our Saviour Jesus Christ who died upon the cross to bring the reality for salvation into our lives. May we not allow ourselves to remain asleep, but instead use the days that lie ahead during this sacred Lenten season to giving witness to our faith.
Witness through our every day need to enter into the silence of prayer with the hope of drawing ourselves closer to the glory of God. Witness given through our desire to continue to learn about the faith and its teachings, so that we in return can live them out and bring them into the lives of those whom we encounter. Witness to our inclination to sin and the reality that from it the invitation for Christ's mercy in the Sacrament of Confession has been extended unto us. Witness to the Eucharist as the source and summit of our faith from which flows all of our needs and longings. Witness that the sacrifices made within our lives, especially during the season of Lent, helps us to set straight our lives towards Christ. Despite the reality that none of us joined Christ on top of the mountain for the Transfiguration we are still being invited to become a witness to His glory though our baptisms and through the faith that we share. As these witnesses we join with Peter, John, and James and we are transformed in the presence of the glory of The Lord. We join with Moses and Elijah who gave witness to the reality that Christ was the fulfillment of the Law and of the prophets through the worship that we constantly bestow upon Him. May we use this Lenten season to be forever transformed as witnesses of the faith that have been set forth on this mission on the day of our baptism.
No comments:
Post a Comment