In my last year of seminary, I had the joy of checking off a bucket list item along with my brother Billy. That summer and fall, we trained together for the Columbus Marathon. It worked out perfectly, because it just so happened that on Wednesdays my class schedule was completely free. Besides prayer times, I had the whole day to myself. Billy also had Wednesday mornings free, so on Wednesdays we got together for our long training runs. It was great to be able to spend those hours together, talking and running longer and farther than either of us had ever run before, and when race day came, we felt prepared.
Once you get into the flow of a big race like a marathon, even small things can make quite a big difference. One of the things I remember is that somewhere around mile 24 or 25 we saw a bigger crowd of people cheering loudly after we had rounded onto a street, and we thought we were at the end. All of a sudden, we both got this enormous burst of energy. Adrenaline was coursing through us and we felt like we were on top of the world! We made it! We both sped up, but then we realized we had another mile or so to go. That was a bit of a shock to the system, but we made it to the end anyway. It was a funny moment.
Today we join Peter, James and John at the top of Mount Tabor for an incredible moment in their lives. With Jesus, they climb this mountain and experience Him in a totally different way. Everything about this experience points out that this man whom they recognize as the Messiah is Himself God in human flesh. We hear that a cloud enveloped Peter, James and John. Listen to what Exodus 33 has to say about a cloud and meeting God:
“Moses used to pitch a tent outside the camp at some distance. It was called the tent of meeting. Anyone who wished to consult the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses. On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down at the entrance of their own tents. The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a person speaks to a friend. Moses would then return to the camp, but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, never left the tent.”
So here are Peter, James and John and a cloud is surrounding them and right before their eyes is Moses! You think that maybe they were recalling that story of Moses meeting God behind a pillar of cloud?! Maybe that is the reason Peter pipes up and suggests that they pitch some tents! Do it like in the time of Moses. And who is it that Peter is talking to face to face in the midst of the cloud? Jesus! God-with-us.
A little later, in Exodus chapter 34, we hear about Moses coming down from a mountain after meeting God and writing the Commandments on the two stone tablets. Notice what’s going on with Moses’ face: “As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he spoke with the LORD. When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him.” Once again, what do we see with Peter, James and John? They see Jesus and light is literally shining out of His face. Jesus is showing them that He is not just Moses 2.0, but the God who made Moses’ face radiant when He gave him the law and made a covenant with the people of Israel. And it’s not only Jesus’ face. Matthew tells us Jesus “was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.” In that incredible moment, Jesus was showing them and us who He is. Think about what it feels like to look at the sun, even for a moment. It burns your eyes. You have to look away! That was the only way to describe the intensity of the brightness shining forth from Jesus–He burned like the SUN! This wasn’t any man standing before them. This was and is who we still proclaim our faith in at every Mass: the God from God, light from light, true God from True God! He was and is the God who inspired the great prophet Elijah, who also joined Jesus on the mountain that day.
In this unforgettable and awe filled moment, they hear a voice which sends them to the ground in fear, the voice of the Father, telling them definitively: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” After this, knowing that they were overwhelmed to the point of fear, Jesus comes with His merciful touch and assures them that there is nothing to fear. He gives them the clear instruction not to share this experience until after He had risen. Why would He do this? Because after His resurrection, the disciples would have definitive proof of Jesus’ divinity, the fact that not even the horrible torture of the Cross could hold Him! Also, after the Resurrection would come the Ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit. With the help of the Holy Spirit burning in their hearts, they would have the clarity to recognize all that the Father wanted us to know about this amazing day on the mountain with His Son.
So what does this awesome experience of Jesus’ transfiguration mean for all of us? It gives us great reason to hope, to persevere and to have confidence. That encounter with the glory of Jesus reminds us of the glory we now share. How often we forget who we are because of Jesus’ incredible, death-defeating love. Brothers and sisters, we are transfigured in Him! As sons and daughters of God, we have that same power dwelling within us, a share in the Divinity which made Jesus shine like the sun on that day at Mount Tabor. And the voice of the Father thunders over each of us: “This is my beloved son, my beloved daughter, in whom I am well pleased!” What a gift we have in all the Sacraments that bind us together with the Son. What power we have, but so often fail to live in! This power draws us forward toward that Heavenly homeland which will totally fulfill our heart’s desire!
Consider the example of St. Jose Luis Sanchez Del Rio. He was 12 years old during the Christero uprising in Mexico in the 1920s. The Communists were trying to crush the Catholic Church’s influence in Mexico, but brave Catholics rose up everywhere to fight for Jesus and His Church. Their rallying cry was, “Viva Christo Rey!’ “Long live Christ the King!” Even though Jose was only a boy, he ardently desired to join those fighting for their faith. Reluctantly, his parents allowed him to join the fighters. A couple years later, when Jose was 14, Communist troops captured him and kept him imprisoned for weeks while they tried to get him to renounce his faith. Finally, realizing they would not be able to break him, they cut the bottoms of his feet and forced him to walk through the town to the local cemetery. They assured him that if he simply said “Death to Christ the King,” he would be spared. But he didn’t give in. He prayed the rosary, lifted up prayers for his enemies, and sang songs to Our Lady of Guadalupe even as they tortured him. When he reached the place of his execution, one of the Communist guards approached him and asked, “What should we tell your father?” José answered: “That we will see each other in Heaven! Long live Christ the King and the Virgin of Guadalupe.” Those were his final words. St. Jose Luis Sanchez Del Rio had the power of Christ burning within him. He lived by the words of St. Paul which we heard today:
He saved us and called us to a holy life,
not according to our works
but according to his own design
and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
but now made manifest
through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,
who destroyed death and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel.
Near the end of our marathon when my brother and I saw those people cheering, it awakened in us that surge to make it to the finish line, even though it was farther away than we thought. It set our hearts on the goal. The Saints show us that same lesson, spiritually. They allowed their hearts to be filled with the Holy Spirit so much that they lived by the glory and power of Christ which shone out on that day of Jesus’ Transfiguration. This glory drew them on to the goal of Heaven! What greater adventure could there be? It is possible for the glory of Christ’s light to set our hearts aflame during this Lenten journey. Let’s allow Jesus to send us forward in the light of His glory as He did with Peter, James, John and all the Apostles and disciples after His resurrection. Let’s allow this time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to conform us to Jesus so that we can be sent forward, too, with hearts ablaze!
+ Father, thank You for drawing us to Your glory through Your Son. Thank you for making us your beloved sons and daughters in Him! Jesus, help us to recognize the great dignity we have as sharers in Your glory. Holy Spirit, move our hearts today to trust more fully in Your power in us, poured out through our Baptism, Confirmation and all the Sacraments. We pray this in Jesus’ glorious name. Amen. +