“The Transfiguration of Christ” – Meditation for Lent by Fr. W.Shomali

Many events from the life of Jesus happened on mountains: the second temptation, the famous Sermon on the Mountain, His prayer on the mountain, His Agony on Mount of Olives, His death on the Calvary and His Ascension. It seems that Jesus chose mountains and heights to accomplish important events of salvation. This applies also to the Gospel of the Second Sunday of Lent: Jesus took three of His disciples to a high mountain, identified as Mount Tabor (1929 feet or 588 meters high), and there in their presence he was transfigured.

Here are some examples: an experience of prayer which has overwhelmed us, a well-prepared Mass during which we have been touched, a snowy day which transformed nature before our eyes, a beautiful scenery that became a symphony, a pilgrimage to the Holy Land during which we experienced the presence of Jesus. All these events make us feel the immensity and transcendence of the creator, who is the same Loving God, living inside us. At times, the feeling becomes so strong that we remain overwhelmed.

So strong was the fear of Peter and his companions in front of the miraculous draught of fishing and in front of the transfiguration; so strong was the terror experienced by Abraham before meeting his God. The feeling of God’s beauty, the perception of his majesty motivates us and pushes us. Peter confesses: “It’s wonderful for us to be here.”

Unless we come to believe because of the beauty that surrounds us and fills us, our Christian faith will miss something.

A priest wrote: “Friends, do you know why I am a priest? I could not find anything more beautiful than Christ.”

We may have to rediscover this aspect of our Christian life, the experience of the beauty of God. We urgently need the beauty. Our silence, our singing, our prayers, the decoration of the place where we pray may bring a touch of beauty in our daily lives.

Let us pull out all the good that lives inside us. The good Lord will make us masterpieces of splendor and beauty if we let him work freely.

Transfiguration of Christ and our future

Saint Paul, in the second reading, says: “The Lord Jesus Christ will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” Tabor is an open window on our future. It makes us sure that the opacity of our bodies will turn one day into light. Tabor is also a spotlight pointed to our present. It highlights what our body already is, behind its shabby appearance: the temple of the Holy Spirit.

The human body for the Bible is not an insignificant and secondary thing. It is an important component. The biblical man remains enchanted by the splendor of the human body: ” You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. ” (Ps. 139: 13-14). The body is destined to share the same glory of the soul.

But what to say to those who suffer? To those who attend the “disfigurement” of their own body, or that of a beloved one? For them the most consoling message is the Transfiguration. “He will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body.” Bodies humiliated by sickness and death will be redeemed.

Beauty and prayer

Jesus went up the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightening.

What is prayer?

With all the things we have to do, with all the practical problems to be addressed, deadlines and emergencies, prayer seems to be a waste of time. Better an hour of extra work to pay the mortgage and the tuition fees of the course of music of our son. These days, money is never enough. Better one hour of gym to recuperate our health lost by a sedentary lifestyle and wrong food. Better an hour consecrated to reading a good book or surfing the Internet to increase our knowledge and broaden our horizons. Better an hour in supermarkets which offer discounts. Otherwise, how to make ends meet? And certainly better to go for an hour and help someone in need, an old man in the parish …

But an hour or half an hour of prayer this week, no! I do not need and I cannot afford that …

What is the benefit of prayer?

I lost precious time, but eventually my face and his face were happy and shining after the visit.

Perhaps this is the meaning of prayer.

Without prayer, my heart fades away …

So what is the benefit of doing many things and getting everything if my heart fades away?

Luke is the evangelist who insists the most on the prayer of Jesus, and tells us the relation between his prayer and His Transfiguration. It is through his prayer that the aspect of his face changed. It is in prayer that the heavens opened (the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan) … We discover Jesus in prayer even before choosing the twelve and when his passion became closer.

It is through prayer that we can speak to God. We need to thank him for his continuous goodness and the many blessings he bestows on us every day. We need to ask him forgiveness for our failures and lack of love. We need to ask him for the many needs of our community and of our selves. We need to listen to him while we read the Holy Scripture. We need to offer to him our life and good actions. How can we talk to him and how can he talk to us and fill us with joy and trust if we donot lose some of our precious time in the prayer.

Mathew 17: 1-9 Psalm 139

Thing “to do this week”

I will close the door of my room, open the Gospel and read the narrative of the Transfiguration according to Mathew. I will then close the book and try to speak with God about my life.

Fr. William Shomali