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July 31, 2017The scene of the Transfiguration is like something out of a classic movie. One stands brilliantly, radiant-faced atop a mountain, gleaming in white garments. His changed appearance astounds three bewildered friends. A pair of heroes from centuries past emerge and enter into conversation with the One who is full of light. Then an overwhelming cloud envelops them all, with a thundering voice speaking from within the cloud.
Peter, James, and John had a profound experience of Jesus, who touched them in their fear, and who they could not deny seeing glorious before their eyes. They heard with their own ears the very voice of God to proclaim Him as Son of God, Messiah. This was a real encounter with Jesus!
And yet they are not able to fully understand it, at least not right away. Not only does Jesus ask them to keep the experience private, but they can’t seem to understand His words about his impending death and resurrection. They had seen a miracle, but miracles don’t automatically produce faith. Recall that a few weeks later, Peter still fell away, denying Christ three times. James ran away in the chaos of Jesus’ arrest and imprisonment and was nowhere to be found at Calvary.
Whether we realize it or not, we all encounter a miracle each week when we attend Holy Mass. Jesus Christ, the same son of God whom the Father announced on the Mount of Transfiguration, comes in our midst in various ways. He is most fully present in the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist, His Real Presence in the consecrated Host and the Precious Blood of the chalice.
Just like Peter, James, and John, we may not fully understand this encounter. We may become drowsy, as some accounts of the Transfiguration recount say the disciples were falling asleep there. We may also be afraid of God or of a real and profound encounter with God in Jesus Christ, because it may mean confronting certain realities we’d rather not admit, or giving up control in some aspect of our lives at the promptings of Jesus.
But recall that Jesus touches the disciples. Personally and profoundly He encounters them and reaches out to them as His beloved children. Not only does He touch them to allay their fear, He touches to keep them close. He does not leave them in their bewilderment, even knowing that Peter and James will be among the many who scatter when times get very rough.
In the week ahead, we can have confidence that Jesus is really present at Mass, and He really touches our hearts. Jesus is in our midst in the Scriptures and homily, in the person of the priest-celebrant who acts as Christ, in the assembly of the Baptized, and most especially in the Eucharist for those who are disposed to receive Him.
And this encounter with Jesus can charge us up for the week ahead. We will then be living tabernacles, carrying Jesus into our homes, our workplaces, our leisure activities, and beyond. Jesus’ presence is real. But this is so that our faith can also be real. Mass can transform us, and can transfigure our lives. When this happens, we become other Christ’s, radiating the brilliantly shining love of God in a world that is often despairing in darkness. But it cannot happen without the encounter of faith, a heart that is open to experiencing Jesus, and for staying close to Him throughout our real lives.
This week, may we beg Jesus for the grace to be a living tabernacle in the week ahead, to carry His light into our world in our own presence, our own good actions, and inactions by avoiding evil. This is how we glorify God with our lives, our real lives. And we can be really transfigured, transformed into the holy and happy people of God.
