2nd Sunday of Lent 2012

My Brothers in Christ,

 Through the Transfiguration, Jesus reveals himself to Peter, James, and John  on a mountain in all of His glory. From that point on, there is no doubt as to who He is: the Son of God. His kingship is also solitified by the presence of Moses, Elijah, and God himself.

It is important to understand why Peter, James, and John were there and no one else. It is also important to understand why Elijah and Moses were there. Peter, James, and John were the key disciples of Jesus’ “Inner Circle” of 12. After Jesus left this earth, it was Peter, James, and John who were instrumental to spreading His message of everlasting life and salvation. Peter was “The Rock” from which the Church was built upon, James brought the Faith to Spain and evangelized throughout Jerusalem. He and his brother John were known for their fiery tempers and passion for the Faith. In the end, this caused him to be the first Apostle to be martyred. John, the Apostle whom Jesus loved, was the only one who did not suffer matyrdom. He lived well into the next century until the age of 94. He was central to the founding of the Early Church at the end of the Apostolic Age. Saint Polycarp, one of the most important Bishops in the Early Church, was a disciple of John.

The signifigance of Moses and Elijah being present with Jesus in the center is an indication that Jesus is indeed the Son of God: Elijah represents all of the prophets whose messages point to Jesus’ coming and Moses represents the Law of God. Then there is God Himself reveiling Jesus as His Son.

During this Lenten Season we all can relate to the Transfiguration. As Jesus and the three climbed a mountain to its peak, we are climbing our own mountains to reach a greater glory through our own suffering and struggles. To get to the peak and to the Easter Glory that waits us, we must first challenge ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually to achieve our own Transfiguration that awaits us. Jesus is at work in all of us. We need to recognize this and let Him influence our lives. The more we ajoin ourselves to the Suffering Christ during this season the more we will understand our relationship with Christ.

There is a special kind of Grace that can only be experienced through suffering and pain. All of us here are in a unique poisition to experience it. All of us here have had something taken away from us and have experieinced a crisis in our lives that have brought us to this point. The challenge now is to let it affect us in a positive manner and to prevent it from destroying us. Through this Lenten Season we will then be able to experience our own Transfiguration and become closer to Jesus.

Yours in Christ,

Deacon Tom