“THE
POWER OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
My Brothers in
Christ,
The
Transfiguration was a powerful event that revealed exactly who Jesus
was to Peter, John, and James. It gave them strength and courage in
preparation for Jesus' coming Passion. It also gave them a glimpse of
Jesus' divinity; leaving no doubt in their minds that he was to son
of God. They would be able to look back at this event in times of
crisis to garner hope. Just like all of us, the disciples on that
mountain needed validation in their ministry and in their lives.
Doubt can be a powerful inhibitor and it can take a lot of strength
to overcome it.
Our journey through
Lent is still very young. There are five more weeks until we can
fully experience the Easter Joy. This is why we find that the
Transfiguration is the Gospel Reading this Sunday. We are all facing
our own struggles this season and have entered into a period of
serious examination that can produce a lot of guilt and doubts of our
own. Our faith demands that we continuously judge our own conduct and
make the changes necessary to live a good Christian Life. During Lent
we are reminded that being a Christian is a transforming experience.
We are always in a state of renewal and rebirth. This is especially
true as we prepare for the Easter Joy. But to truly celebrate the
Resurrection we must first experience The Passion. Each of these are
joined together forever.
With this in mind we
are all place upon that mountain to witness The Transfiguration.
There was a reason why Peter, John, and James were chosen to witness
this and we should take comfort in the fact that we have been chosen
to meditate on it also. The event is mentioned in three of the
Gospels which increases its relevance. Nothing in Sacred Scripture is
mentioned without a reason and when it is repeated the emphasis of
importance cannot be overestimated. We are given a glimpse of the
Resurrection and Jesus' divinity at a time when we are asked to focus
on his human nature and suffer with him. We are reminded that any
suffering experienced will not be forever and will pass as we journey
for something far greater and eternal.
We have been chosen
by God and have been given this gift. Each of us are given the
opportunity to be witnesses of Christ's eternal presence. We need to
embrace this completely if we want to be transformed by this
relationship. We need to further commit ourselves to the Christian
Experience by accepting the consequences of our discipleship. These
consequences include abiding by Christ's teachings, surrendering
ourselves to his will, and letting Christ mold our lives. What we
receive in return is a fuller understanding of our creator and true
happiness.
In this world we all
risk the danger of being lost. We need to stay connected with the
physical and the spiritual. These can never be separated. Even though
society encourages the separation it must be understood that this is
the work of Satan. You cannot separate creation from its creator. If
this happens, true happiness and understanding cannot be achieved.
Society has been trying to do this for thousands of years and has
never succeeded. Success can only be achieved through Our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Yours
in Christ,
Deacon Tom
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