“’Throwing’ our lives into the Hands of God and receiving what He gives to us, and thus ‘being transfigured, transformed and transcendent!”
(Based on Mt 17:1-19 – Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord – Thursday of the 18th Week of Ordinary Time)
A five year old boy was playing in the front yard of his house, by throwing a ball up in the air.
An elderly priest, who was passing that way, asked the boy what he was doing.
The little boy, with innocence answered:
“I am playing a game of ‘catching the ball’ with God!
I throw the ball up in the air…
… and He throws it back to me!”
The senior priest was pretty amused at the simple answer.
And as he moved ahead, he thought in his mind…
“Although, the boy in his innocence just said his experience of a law of nature…
… in that simple statement, he also expressed a religious reality:
Divine experience is this: Throwing of ourselves into the Hands of God…
… and receiving what He gives to us”
That’s very true isn’t it?
Divine experience is “throwing of ourselves into the Hands of God…
… and receiving what He gives to us”
When we throw ourselves into the Hands of God, and receive what He gives us…
… that is the experience of Transfiguration!
The Gospel of the Day presents before us the Lord undergoing the Transfiguration.
The Disciples shared in this joy.
You and me are invited today!
The Scene of the Transfiguration is one of the most captivating and thrilling scenes of the Gospels.
The Gospel of the Day presents to us the account of the Transfiguration through the eyes of St Matthew’s Gospel.
It’s interesting to see that this scene takes place on a high mountain.
Mountains play a key role in the Gospel of St Matthew.
Mountains of course, dot the landscape of the Biblical regions.
They are a great part of the physical reality of the Biblical world.
They are a symbolic of “being closer to God”.
St Matthew’s Gospel has a particular love for this “lofty symbol of God’s presence”
Jesus underwent a temptation by Satan on the Mount…
… the Mount of Temptations (Mt 4:8)Jesus delivers His Sermon and Teachings on a Mount…
… the Mount of the Sermon (Mt 5:1)Jesus performs many deeds of healings on a Mount…
… the Mount by the Sea of Galilee (Mt 15:29)Jesus is transfigured on a Mount…
… the Mount of Transfiguration (Mt 17:1)Jesus gives His final teaching and discourse on a Mount…
… the Mount of Olives (Mt 24:3)Jesus gives up His life on a Mount…
… the Mount of Calvary (Mt 27:33)Jesus delivers His Final Mission mandate on a Mount …
… the Mount of Galilee (Mt 28:16)
So in this Lofty and High Place of the Presence of God – a Mountain – Jesus undergoes His Transfiguration…
… and is joined by the presence of two other “Mountain” Figures – Moses and Elijah!
Moses is the Man of the Mount of Sinai and Mount Nebo – representing the Law of God!
Elijah is the Man of the Mount of Carmel – representing the Prophets of God!
Jesus is the God and Man of all the Mountains – the Fulfillment of all the Laws and the Prophets!
What is the purpose of the “many mountain settings” of the Transfiguration Scene?
To look further….to imagine deeper…to hear beyond.
To see the way God sees us.
To imagine the way God perceives us.
To hear the way God wants of us.
We all need a Transfiguration Moment in our lives…
… a Transfiguration Experience in our lives!
Vision that needs to be transfigured…
… into God’s representation!Imagination that needs to be transfigured…
… into God’s resemblance!Hearing that needs to be transfigured…
… into God’s resonance!
Let us take courage….and accompany the Lord….
Beyond the peripheral problems of life…away from the hardships and difficulties of our physical, mental, spiritual, emotional worries…
… to climb the Mountain of Spiritual Closeness and Presence of the Lord, and share in the joy of the Transfiguration!
Life has much more to offer.
Life has much more to be expected.
Life has much more to hope for….
Let us “throw” our lives into the Hands of God…
… and receive what He gives to us
And thus… Be transfigured! Be transformed! Be transcending!
Happy Feast of the Transfiguration!
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Quotable-quote-a-day-with-St Francis de Sales (SFS) – “Now, we know that our prayer is good and that we are advancing in it if, when we leave it, we have, in imitation of Our Lord, a face dazzling as the
sun and our habits white like the snow.
I mean to say, if our face dazzles with charity and our body with chastity.
Charity is the purity of the soul, for it cannot support in our hearts any impure affection or one which would be contrary to Him whom it loves (charity and love being only one and the same thing).
And chastity is the charity of the body, since it rejects all sorts of impurities.
Reflection Capsules 