The following homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration was
written by Fr. RJ, and delivered on February 14, 2010. No
audio is available.
The old fishing guide sat in the bait shop reading the paper. He
had been fishing and guiding on the local lakes for years, and was
well known by the locals. He was just finishing the editorials when
a man who just arrived from the cities came into the shop and asked
for him. Without looking up from his paper, he asked, "You want to
catch some fish?"
"Yes," said the man, "I brought my son up here to go fishing. The
people at the lodge said you could help us out."
"I might be able to," said the guide still reading.
"Well, do the people you take out catch fish?" asked the man.
"It all depends," said the guide.
"I know there are no guarantees," said the man, "Sometimes the
fish are biting. Sometimes they’re not."
"No, the fish are always biting." said the guide as he folded his
paper, "Sometimes the people are listening to me. Sometimes they’re
not."
If you talk to anyone who is paid to advise a client, they will
share that same frustration. A lawyer may give a client great advice
only to be overruled by the latest episode of "The Practice."
Doctors prescribe a course of treatment, but the patient has heard
of a new herbal remedy that cured his cousin’s best friend. A
financial planner explains the efficacy of a long term investment
strategy to a young couple, who turn around and invest their money
in the sure thing their friend recommended, because it will double
their money overnight. There is something in our human nature that
compels us to ignore advice, no matter how sound, if someone else
promises an easier way.
Jesus took Peter and John and James up to a mountaintop, and
while Jesus was praying He was transfigured. Moses and Elijah
appeared and spoke with Jesus about the departure He would
accomplish in Jerusalem. Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were speaking of
another hill top experience, one that would not look like there was
glory attached to it. Luke writes of it as a departure to be
accomplished rather than a crucifixion to be endured, because he
wants the readers to understand that Jesus was going to lead a new
Exodus. This time it would be a departure from slavery to sin and
death to the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life. The departure Jesus
was about to accomplish went from the cross, through the grave,
before it came out in resurrection and ascension.
The transfiguration took place little more than a week after
Jesus had begun to reveal to the disciples that He would be rejected
and killed before He was raised. Then He told them that if they
wanted to follow Him, they too would have to bear a cross. They too
would have to face rejection and death if they wanted to be raised.
This was not the advice the disciples wanted to hear.
When Peter saw the glory of Jesus revealed on the mountain, he
must have thought that an easier way had come. Here was what Peter
and John and James had been hoping for. They could build three
shelters and the people of Israel could come to the mountain to see
their Messiah revealed in glory. Peter must have hoped that victory
could come without all of the suffering Jesus had been talking
about. Peter still did not understand what Jesus had come to
accomplish.
As Peter was trying to guide Jesus to a new strategy and an
easier way, Jesus and the disciples were enveloped in the glory of
the Lord. The voice of the Father thundered, "This is my Son, the
Chosen; listen to Him!" Three booths on the mountain may have
sounded better than three crosses on Golgotha to Peter, but Jesus
knew that the Mount of Transfiguration was only a foretaste of the
glory that was on the other side of the crucifixion. If Peter and
John and James wanted to see true glory, they would have to allow
Jesus to guide them. If they wanted to find the Kingdom of Heaven,
they would have to listen to the King of Heaven.
The story of the Transfiguration shows us that we must listen to
Jesus if we want the Kingdom of Heaven. It may seem very obvious
when it is put so plainly, but it is not always the easiest thing
for us to do. We live in a society that prefers populism to
kingdoms, which may work just fine in the area of secular
government, but does not work so well in the area of faith. Not all
points of view are equally valid, and it would serve us well to give
more weight to the teachings of Jesus than to the motivational
speaker who is beamed into our homes via satellite. We live in an
culture in which we are told we can lose weight without exercise or
dieting, in which we are told we can have a secure financial future
without sacrificing our present standard of living. Have we also
been listening to those who tell us we can be faithful to Jesus
Christ without the risk of offending our acquaintances, without
laying aside our more self-centered desires, without bearing a
cross? If so, we need to listen to the message booming from the
Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus is the Son of God, the Chosen one;
listen to Him.
The season of Lent begins on Wednesday. It is traditional for
Christians to take on some spiritual discipline, or to give up some
pleasure or vice during Lent. As you consider what you might choose
for this Lent, it might be helpful to begin by listening to Jesus.
Is there some habit that has been keeping you from following Him
more closely? Is there some attachment that has you seeking guidance
from another source that promises the Kingdom of Heaven without the
King? If so, take this opportunity to allow the Spirit of God to
free you from that attachment or habit. Are you regular in prayer
and attendance in church? Do you support the ministry of the Gospel
of Christ with your time, talent, and treasure? If not, take the
season of Lent to develop those disciplines. These are not ways of
winning God’s approval. He will not love you more or less for doing
them. They are ways of following Jesus to the Kingdom of Heaven.
They are ways that we can find the freedom to listen to Him.
The way to the Kingdom of Heaven is always open. By the Holy
Spirit, Jesus is always calling us to enter, to be transfigured with
Him so that His glory may appear in us. The question is not whether
He is calling. The question is whether we are listening. Jesus is
the Son of God, the Chosen One. He has the words of eternal life.
Listen to Him.
