Our Father Who art in heaven...
Jesus had just given the apostles the troubling news that he would be rejected and have to suffer much. But Jesus won't let his friends stay in the sadness of that news. How kind Jesus is, he has a plan that will lift their hearts.
And so Jesus went up Mount Tabor with Peter, James and John. In the Bible, whenever someone goes up a mountain it is a sign: God is here. That's why monks often live in mountain places - a reminder that God is what matters first and most.
Hail Mary full of grace...
And so Jesus went up Mount Tabor with Peter, James and John. In the Bible, whenever someone goes up a mountain it is a sign: God is here. That's why monks often live in mountain places - a reminder that God is what matters first and most.
Hail Mary full of grace...
And then the the face of Jesus became as dazzling as the sun and his clothes as radiant as light. It is as if the door to Easter has been opened and the apostles look inside to the future. It is God's future plan of victory for Jesus, but also for us. The dying and rising of Jesus will win the contest.
Hail Mary full of grace...
See the beautiful opening in the sky behind Jesus. It is the heavenly space that has opened up and from which the voice was heard, "This is my beloved Son, listen to him." There is so much talking and so little listening. A Russian saying goes: Where there are many words, sin cannot be avoided.
Hail Mary full of grace...
If the world listened to Jesus, there would be peace, people would have the food and clean water they need, all the children would be able to go to school, the plants and animals would have their forest or watery worlds given back to them. Someone might say, "You're just a dreamer!" Yes, God's dream!
Hail Mary full of grace...
The light is too much for the three apostles. They fall down before the illuminated Jesus. Peter tries to speak. James and John even have to cover their eyes before the brightness of Jesus showing God's light. The word for this shining is deified. We're all supposed to shine with something of God's light. Maybe we could begin with the warmth of our eyes and our smile.
Hail Mary full of grace...
On the way down the mountain Jesus told Peter, James and John not to tell anyone about the bright vision until after Easter. He was thinking that the people wouldn't understand or that they would only be interested in him because they wanted to see something spectacular.
Hail Mary full of grace...
Any word that has trans in it is a word that means action: from this to that, from here to there. Transfiguration means a change in the appearance of Jesus from ordinary to God-radiant - like at Easter. We can hope for our own transfiguration and the transfiguration of the world - growing and changing to show that we are all children of God - children of the light.
Hail Mary full of grace...
Remember, before the brightness of Easter, Jesus had said he must walk the way of suffering. Much of the world suffers everyday. But we often complain so much about even the tiniest suffering. We could all try to complain less. Let's count blessings instead.
Hail Mary full of grace...
Jesus led the apostles up the mountain and then down the mountain. Our lives are like that, aren't they: up and down and up and down. Sometimes we feel it very deeply. But along the way of success and failure, sorrow and joy, progress and setback, Jesus-God is there. Let's keep moving he seems to say, God is here with us!
Hail Mary full of grace...
Glory be to the Father...
