Dazzling Glory

By Deacon Thomas Stephenson

March 17, 2019

We are now a week and half into Lent, and this is probably a good time for us to assess what difference this Lent is making in our lives. Whether we are doing something extra or giving something up for Lent, the purpose of that is to bring us closer to God, to deepen our relationship with Him, to strengthen us in our faith, and to grow in holiness. Our sacrifices can serve to open our hearts; to allow God’s light to penetrate into the shadowed corners that contain obstructions to our path. If what we’re doing is working, great; if not, it is still early enough for us to adjust our efforts in order to make our Lenten observance meaningful.

Each year, the Gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent is about the Transfiguration. In the verses prior to what we heard today, we are told of Peter’s recognition of Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. After Peter says this, Jesus then tells the disciples that He will have to suffer and be killed, and be raised. This must have been puzzling to the disciples, because this is not what was expected for the Messiah. It is a few days after this that Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with Him up the mountain.

Among all of His followers, from all the disciples, it was the twelve apostles who were chosen to be His inner circle, and of those, Peter, James, and John were, shall we say, His core group. These three are the ones privileged to accompany Him up the mountain, to see Him glorified, and to see Him with Moses and Elijah. They are also the ones who will be with Jesus during His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. And John will be with Him at the crucifixion. The Transfiguration is partially meant to strengthen the faith of these apostles so they can face the trials that are to take place in Jerusalem.

Even more than His works of power, the Transfiguration shows us without a doubt that Jesus is not just a healer and teacher – He is the Son of God. As the voice of God from the cloud says, “This is My Son, My chosen; listen to Him”. We can only imagine the intensity, the brilliance, of the whiteness and light that came from Jesus. The Gospel reads that His clothes became “dazzling white”, but the Greek word that Luke used is best translated as “flashed like lightning”. Who could possibly experience this and not be convinced that Jesus is truly the Son of God?

The Apostles were very familiar with Jesus. They were with Him most of the time. They had seen the things He had done, listened to His teachings; they knew that He was no ordinary man. We have to wonder if His presence ever became commonplace to them. But seeing Him in His glory must have raised their perception of Jesus to a much higher level. We, too, see Jesus regularly, every time we come to Mass. We not only see Him, we can actually receive Him in Holy Communion. This may have become commonplace to us, but it shouldn’t be. It should be a moment of awe and wonder every time we see Him and receive Him.

The presence of Moses and Elijah places Jesus, in a special way, within the past and ongoing salvation history. In the Jewish tradition, Moses represents the Law, while Elijah represents the prophets. In today’s first reading, we heard of God making the covenant with Abram. The Law and the Prophets were part of the unfolding of this covenant, the development and growth of the relationship between God and His chosen people. Jesus can now be seen as the continuation, the clarification, and the culmination of the Old Testament. He is not separate from it; all that has transpired before Him has been in preparation for Him. Jesus’ message is completely compatible with the message of the Jewish scriptures. Jesus fulfils the messianic prophecies and confirms the moral law.

What can we learn from this, and how do we apply it in our lives? One thing is for us to remember that we have hope for our own life in the presence of God after our death, just as Moses and Elijah were alive and conversing with Jesus. At some point, our own bodies will be transformed, transfigured, and shine with glory. As Saint Leo the Great said: “The whole body of Christ was to understand the kind of transformation that it would receive as His gift. The members of that body were to look forward to a share in that glory which had first blazed out in Christ, their head”. Through our Baptism, we are members of that body, headed for a share in that glory. And in today’s second reading, Saint Paul says: “He will transform the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His glory”.

We should also recognize that the Old Testament and the New Testament do not present conflicting ideas of God, but rather are complementary components of one continuing account of God’s love for His people, of His love for us. There is one God – the God of the Old testament, of Abraham, of Moses, and of Elijah; and the God of the New Testament, of Peter, James, John, and all of us, ultimately revealed as the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons in one God – this is the same and only God. He does not change, He has not changed, but our understanding of Him may develop in the ways that we need in order to grow in holiness, as individuals and as His people.

At some point, perhaps more than once, we may catch a glimpse of a measure of the Lord’s glory. We may not necessarily see it with our eyes, but with our souls; it may be so swift that it takes no actual time. Or we may have a moment when we feel especially close to the Lord or have a profound spiritual experience. These types of experiences will have a time of their own, and we should appreciate them, and cherish them, but not try to extend them by our own efforts.

Lent should be a time for us to renew our commitment to our faith, to become better and stronger Catholics, growing further into what the Lord wants for us. We can permit God’s light, the light that flashes like lightning, to illuminate our souls, to show us what He wants us to see. We should ensure that this Lent makes an impact in our lives. I will close with a quote about Lent from Blessed John Henry Newman: And during this sacred season, let us look upon ourselves as on the Mount with Him – within the veil – hid with Him – not out of Him, or apart from Him, in whose presence alone is life, but with and in Him – learning of His Law with Moses, of His attributes with Elijah, of His counsels with Daniel – learning to repent, learning to confess and to amend – learning His love and His fear – unlearning ourselves, and growing up unto Him who is our Head. from Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. 6, No. 1