The past week and a half I was blessed to be the chaplain on a men’s retreat called Wilderness Outreach in the mountains of northern California. It was a great week of prayer, good brotherly discussions about faith, and daily Mass at an altar we created out in the woods. Our last night in the mountains was this past Tuesday, and it was a full moon. Some of the guys and I decided to go on a nighttime hike to see the full moon reflected on the mountain lake that was nearby.
As we left the campsite, I failed to pick up my small backpack that was laying by the fire. It contained my headlamp. I regretted that decision pretty quickly. Even though it was a fairly bright night because of the full moon, we walked for a good way through some trees, which blocked a lot of the moonlight. Thus I was forced to stick close to the guys who did have their headlamps on. More than once, we came upon rocks, big branches, or a hole that needed to be avoided. Without being close to those with the light, I could’ve easily twisted an ankle or worse. But by their guidance, I made it safely to the lake and got some amazing pictures. I can show you after Mass. I’m really glad I had those brothers to light my way.
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, that incredible moment when Jesus allowed His divine nature to literally shine through His human nature at the top of a mountain. Having just come down from the mountains, I can attest that this would’ve been an ideal place for Jesus to reveal His identity. Up in the mountains, having the incredible view of everything around, my heart rejoiced in God and His marvelous creation. Ever since Moses encountered the Lord God on the mountain and received the Ten Commandments, the Jews had looked to the mountain as a place of encounter with God. So Jesus knew what He was doing as He led Peter, James and John up the mountain that day.
Jesus allowed Peter, James and John to glimpse the glory of His Divinity and to hear the powerful words of the Father not for their own sakes, but for the sake of all of those to whom He was sending them. They didn’t at all understand the implications of what they were seeing and hearing. It was so overwhelming that Peter stammered, “Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” When they hear the voice of the Father, they fall flat on their faces in fear. After this, knowing that they had seen all that they needed to, Jesus mercifully touched them and invited them to arise and not be afraid. He gave them instructions to hold onto this experience and not share it until after His resurrection.
This event finally made sense to Peter, James and John only after Jesus’ resurrection, because it was in the resurrection that Jesus proved once and for all that He was God made man, the victor over death and the King of a new Kingdom which transcended even death itself. In that moment on the mountain, Jesus allowed the disciples to glimpse the fact that He is the light shining in the darkness, the light predicted by the whole of God’s plan leading up to that point. This plan was represented by Moses and Elijah, who appeared to converse with Him. Jesus was and is the New Moses and the hope of all the Prophets. He is our king, the Light of the World.
We can tell that Peter and the other Apostles took this glorious experience to heart after the resurrection. In the second Letter of Peter, we hear him confidently speak of hearing the voice of the Father on the mountain saying, “This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Against suspicions that they are just making up such a dramatic experience, he reminds them that he was a personal witness to it, and not just making up a cleverly devised myth. He ends with that confident and hopeful statement: “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.”
Peter speaks here to you and me about the importance of having our hearts fixed on Jesus and His light. In the midst of the darkness of the world we live in, the light of Christ is meant to guide us as it has guided the Church throughout all the twists and turns of her history. Like me on that evening hike through the woods without a headlamp, all of us go through life needing light to illuminate the dangers ahead. THere are so many things which can harm us, make us fall, severely damage our souls and even cut off the new life that God has planted in us through our Baptism. But the call remains for us to be attentive to Jesus’ light, shining brightly to show us the way. Jesus has given us successors to the Apostles, who, through their ministry in the Lord, help light the way of the Church through the darkness of the world. We also have the benefit of many holy brothers and sisters in Christ that we walk side by side with. It is no accident that Jesus invited a group of the Apostles to experience His glory. On our own, it can be easy to get distracted from the light and guidance of Christ, but through the love, encouragement and even correction of our brothers and sisters in the Lord, we can find our way once again. When we deepen our knowledge of the Church’s teaching and cling closely to those whom God has given us to walk with, we keep our attention focused on Jesus’ light, which still shines brightly in the Church today.
Brothers and sisters, I encourage you to trust that the Bishops of our Church, when they cooperate with the grace of their office as successors to the Apostles, do keep us close to the light of Christ. They have spoken clearly against the efforts to enshrine abortion in our state Constitution in November because they see this for what it is, an attack on the dignity of life of mothers and their unborn children. And although it is not directly a moral issue, Bishop Earl is encouraging all of us to vote ‘yes’ in this special election happening on Tuesday as a tactic for defeating the amendment in November and in the process bolstering our state constitutional process.
I pray that all of us continue to seek the light of Christ as we walk together as His disciples.
+ Heavenly Father, thank you for so clearly speaking to us of your love for your only Son. Jesus, help us to heed the Father’s command to listen to you by following Your guidance. Holy Spirit, open the eyes of our hearts that we might more clearly perceive the light of Christ shining in and through us and those you have strengthened to lead the Church. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. +