Gospel Reflection for Sunday March 13th, 2nd Sunday in Lent

By Brian Maher OMI

All of us, at different times, face moments of crisis or stress. They might be the anxiety of making major life decisions, dealing with illness or bereavement, worrying about family members or simply facing the reality of getting older. No matter what causes them, they can cause turmoil in our lives, sometimes a turmoil which clouds our rational thinking.

Left to ourselves it can be difficult to get out of this spiral or stress and anxiety. We can become paralyzed by doubts or make sudden, impulsive decisions that we later come to regret.

Way, way back in 1965, Simon and Garfunkel’s song, “I am a Rock”, wonderfully captured the dilemma we find ourselves in when we try to handle our crises alone. The final verse finishes:

“Hiding in my room safe within my womb,
I touch no one and no one touches me.

I am a rock. I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain.

And an island never cries.”

The reality, of course, is that we were not created to be heartless rocks or lonely islands, cut off from one another by oceans of apathy and indifference. In the Book of Genesis, did not God say, “it is not good for man to be alone….” (Genesis 2:18)?  No! Joy, happiness, peace, contentment come from our communion with one another. Without them we wither and die.

And so, in our moments of crisis or stress we automatically reach out to friends, family or companions, seeking their advice, support and, maybe most of all, their reassurance that we are on the right track and can trust our own judgements.

Why would it be any different for Jesus?

Whenever I reflect on the ‘Transfiguration’ (today’s Gospel) I cannot help but see it as a very profound experience of reassurance, not just for Jesus but also for those who were with him, Peter, John and James.

Luke shapes his Gospel around Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, where he must suffer, die and rise again.

The Transfiguration is placed just before Jesus begins his last steps to Jerusalem. There is no doubt that it reflects a moment of crisis, and maybe doubt, for him. Already things are beginning to turn against Jesus, opposition to his message is growing and there is a sense that some kind of confrontation is inevitable. If he continues towards Jerusalem he is moving into the centre of Jewish power and Roman authority and placing himself in mortal danger.

From the experience of the Transfiguration on, Jesus increasingly walks under the shadow of the Cross. He is aware of it and speaks to his apostles more and more about it.

The Transfiguration was a moment of decision for Jesus. Maybe it reflects his last chance to turn around, abandon his mission, and live. It was a moment when he needed the companionship of his closest friends, Peter, James and John, and a moment when, more than even before, he needed some reassurance that his mission was valid and his journey was from God.

It was an experience set in a time of prayer (“Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray….”) and therefore it was a spiritual or mystical experience.

‘Moments of God’, brief glimpses of the love of God for us, can never be described in words. They are beyond words. Yet, for us as humans, words are all we have to try to share what we have experienced.

The language, the symbolism, the allusions to the Moses and Elijah, the mountain, the cloud, the radiance of his clothes, the shadow, the glory of God, all attempt to express in words what cannot be expressed in words. They are steeped in Old Testament imagery and allusions to the God who journeyed with his people from the time they were ‘chosen’. A quick Google search will unveil all of this richness to anyone who wants it.

For me, for this reflection, the details are interesting but not central. What is central is that Jesus had reached a moment of crisis in his life. Moving forward meant extreme danger and possibly death. Turning around meant abandoning his mission and betraying those who followed him, for the sake of his own survival.

Taking with him his three closest friends, he withdrew to pray. It is worth noting that he does exactly the same at another moment of extreme crisis, the “Agony in the Garden”, just before he is betrayed. In both stories his friends are distinctly lukewarm, unaware of the importance of what is happening and presented as falling asleep!

While in prayer, Jesus, and through him the three apostles, have a real, profound and mystical experience of God’s presence. For Jesus it is the reassurance he needs in his moment of crisis. “You are my son.” God says to him, “…and you are the Chosen one.” When he returns from the mountain, he does so with a new boldness and the courage to move forward with a fervour which never deserts him.

Even though we are told that Peter “didn’t know what he was saying” (I just hope poor Peter never got to read this Gospel!) those with him were told to “listen to him.” It is both a reassurance and a command, given to weak and sleepy men, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Chosen One, and he is worth following, even if it leads to the Cross. While they continue to stumble along, always weak and unsure, they are still there when he rises from the dead, ready to be sent forth as witnesses to the Resurrection.

As with all the Gospel stories, it is too easy to dismiss the Transfiguration as being “only for Jesus” because “he is God.” If mysticism is about hearing God speak to us and experiencing his presence with us, then all of us are called to be mystics.

Pope Francis, in “The Joy of the Gospel”, his first publication (2013) and still, for me, an incredible document, issued this invitation:

“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ.” (EG 3)

What is a “personal encounter” if not being with the person, speaking with and listening to them?

In our moments of crisis, we, like Jesus, can, in prayer, seek the reassurance we need that we are doing the right thing and God is with us. It may not involve clouds, shining clothing or being covered in shadow, but they are no more than interesting details, trying to express the inexpressible.

Within our very selves dwells the Holy Spirit, always communicating with God on our behalf. So too,  within our hearts we can, in prayer, experience the presence of God with us and hear God speak to us.

Stripped of all its details, that is what happened on that mountain, for Jesus, Peter, James and John.

They experienced the reality of God with them, they knew in their hearts that it was God, and they heard the voice of God reassuring them that ‘all is well’ and that ‘all will be well’.

In our times of crisis, stress, anxiety or doubt, if we, like Jesus, pray and listen and wait, we too will experience God’s presence among us and receive whatever reassurances we might need.

If God granted it to Jesus, why would he not also want to grant it to us?

Many thanks,

Brian.

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection you would like to share, I would be delighted to hear from you – please feel free to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie