What awesome readings we have for mass today! No wonder the readings are so beautiful. Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. All three readings are a treasure in and of themselves. The first reading from the book of Daniel describes God the Father in all His glory, majesty and power. The scriptures say that His clothing was as white as snow and his hair was like pure wool and He sat upon a throne of fire, with ten thousand times ten thousand people who served him. (That comes to 100 million people by the way. Hopefully He has ten times more by now.) We know that the human being that was presented to God was Jesus Christ, and he was given dominion and glory and kingship over all the people in the world. It says that “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed”. How awesome is that? Jesus Christ is our King forever, our Lord and Savior for all eternity. Our human minds can not even begin to grasp what eternity really is like or what Jesus really looks like in all his glory though. That’s ok because God no doubt created us this way for a reason and we will hopefully find out why in heaven one day.
The second reading is just as much of a treasure, spoken about through Christ’s disciples. Their testimony about Jesus being the son of God is just awesome. They said it wasn’t cleverly devised myths that they told us about, but the real experience of hearing the voice of God Himself say “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” They said “We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven”. How can atheists say they do not believe in God? They do not believe in the witness and testimony of all the people who have experienced the genuine, personal presence of God Himself? They believe the humans who create a road map on a piece of paper enough to trust they will get to their destination, why do they not believe in the testimony of countless men and women in the bible who have said “yes” God is real? “Yes” Jesus is truly the son of the living God? The designer of the road map does not stand before them either. All we have are the awesome words of the witnesses who saw and heard the truth with their own eyes and ears.
The second reading ends most beautifully with: “You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts”. Who says the bible does not have poetry? These are words of comfort and truth, spoken from a place most solidly set in the deepest recesses of Saint Peter’s heart and soul. These words are words of hope for all of mankind. But, not as much as the gospel today.
It is also awesome that Jesus retreated to the isolation of the mountain, but took his closest friends on earth with him. The inner circle of friendship is a sacred place even with us, and we should make note of how Peter, John and James kept silent about what they witnessed there on the mountain. They kept it secret, and what a secret it was to keep! Seeing Moses and Elijah in person right before their eyes. And Jesus, their master, teacher and friend Jesus who was miraculously transformed into a being of light, in radiant glory, right in front of them. Another awesome thing about the reading is how Moses and Elijah were speaking to him about his imminent “departure” in Jerusalem. The scriptures did not say his “death” but departure from this world, indicating they would be seeing him soon. It was also amazing that Jesus spoke with them, almost like friends.
Of course Peter didn’t know what to think when he saw this. When Elijah and Moses got ready to leave, he probably did not want them to go and that is why (in typical Peter fashion) he impulsively blurted out that he would make each of them a place to stay. God love him!
Actually, God does love His son, very much. It is amazing that God appears once again in a cloud, but this time one that envelops them, saying “This is my Son, my Chosen: listen to him!” What more confirmation could you ever possibly need than this? God Himself told them that Jesus Christ is His son and to listen to what he had to say.
There is one thing that is for sure, is that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God, and he is sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven right now in all his glory. How beautiful it must be there at this very moment and how much joy the inhabitants of heaven must be feeling today. The communion of saints are so much a part of us that you can almost hear their hymns of praise, that they are surely singing to Jesus today in heaven. Only a very thin veil separates us from them and the Lord Jesus as well. Let us go about our day today, with joy in our hearts and peace in our souls and with total confidence in Jesus, because not only is he God’s own son, but he is our redeemer and savior who has purchased for us a place in heaven with him forever.
