Do I listen to Jesus in the ordinary events of my life, or only in the dramatic ones?

Matthew 17:1–9

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up to a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with Him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Music Meditations

Pleni Sunt Coeli et Terra—by Gjeilo, sung by Phoenix Chorale
How Great Thou Art—Chris Rice
Holy, Holy, Holy—Hillside

Opening Prayer

Jesus, there is a time for silence and a time to speak. Help me to cultivate a silence that is free from distractions and obligations, and truly open to your word. Help me to see you as God’s beloved, and help me to see myself as God’s beloved.

Help me to hear you and see you in ways I have never been able to do. Especially help me to see you in those around me—in those who love me and those who don’t; in those whom I find admirable and those whom I don’t.

Companions for the Journey

From Living Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

In order to understand today’s Gospel, we need to put it into context. Peter had just, in the name of the other disciples, recognized their Teacher, Jesus, as the expected Messiah of Israel. “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” It was a climactic moment in Jesus’ relationship with his disciples.

But this was immediately followed by Jesus clearly telling them exactly what being Messiah was going to mean for him. Far from being a mighty warrior-king who would crush all the enemies of God’s people, he was going to be rejected by the leaders of his own people, arrested, tried, condemned, tortured and eventually executed – not by them, but by the very hated enemies they expected the Messiah to overthrow.

This was too much for Peter (undoubtedly speaking in the name of all his companions) and he objected strongly. In turn, he was severely scolded for obstructing God’s way of doing things. Even more, Jesus had said that if anyone wanted to be his follower, then they would have to be prepared to walk the same road of rejection, oppression, and even death.

Morale boost

All of this must have seemed like a large bucket of cold water landing on the heads of the disciples. What Jesus had said was totally against all they had ever heard about the expected Messiah. It is in this perhaps depressed mood that today’s experience takes place.

To give a boost to their morale, to help them see that the way of Jesus would lead to victory and triumph, Jesus takes Peter, James and John to a high mountain. They are the inner circle of the Twelve, and are found with Jesus at other times of crucial importance, like at the raising of Jairus’ daughter and during his agony in the garden.

This happened “six days” after the declaration of Jesus as Messiah. It is perhaps a reminder that it was after six days that God called Moses into the cloud of glory on Mount Sinai. Also in biblical times, revelations often took place on mountain tops. There has been much speculation about which mountain in Palestine was the ‘Mount of the Transfiguration’, but it does not really matter. It is the divine significance of a mountain, any mountain, that is being emphasized.

Transformation

As the disciples watched, Jesus was suddenly transformed (Greek, metamorphoo, a rare word in the New Testament, from which our English word ‘metamorphosis’ comes).

His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzlingly white.

Again it reminds one of the radiance on Moses’ face after he came down from the mountain where he had spoken face to face with God.

Then, suddenly, Moses and Elijah are seen talking with Jesus. Their presence is very significant as they represent the two great traditions of the Old Testament: Moses personified the Law of God’s people, and Elijah, the traditions of the great prophets.

Their presence and their talking with Jesus indicate their total endorsement of all that Jesus is doing, and also of all that he will experience in the days to come. Jesus is the natural continuation of their Jewish tradition and is fully part of it. Therefore, the disciples need have no misgivings about anything they have heard from Jesus about his coming destiny.

A good place to be

Peter, with his usual impulsiveness, enthusiastically suggests building three tents or shrines for Jesus, Moses and Elijah so they could stay on the mountain. It was a wonderful place to be just then. Often, when things are good, we would like them to stay that way forever. Unfortunately, life is seldom like that and we have to move on. When we are in the cinema watching a film, we can’t shout to the projection room and say, “Stop the movie right there! I like this bit.” Life moves on. It is true of Jesus and it is true of his followers. We have to keep moving forward, and come to terms with the happenings in our lives. In the First Reading, Abram too is told to leave his country and his family home, and go to where God will lead him. God is telling us the same every day of our lives.

As Peter spoke a “bright cloud” covered them. It was no ordinary cloud, but a luminous cloud. It both concealed the unbearable brightness and revealed the very presence of God himself (again, it reminds one of the cloud which covered Mount Sinai when Moses spoke with God there).

From the cloud comes a voice, the voice, of course, of God himself: This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him! These are the exact words spoken at the baptism of Jesus. Again, they are an endorsement of Jesus and of all that he will experience, including his rejection by his people and his suffering and death on the way to life and victory.

“Listen to him”

This is directed at Peter and the others. To listen to Jesus is:

to hear what he says,
to accept what he says,
to make it one’s own,
to identify with it fully. So far, the disciples have not been doing this. They have been hearing, but not accepting.

Only Jesus

At the sound of God’s voice, the disciples prostrate themselves on the ground, terrified. They hear the gentle voice of Jesus, Get up [rise up] and do not be afraid.

Jesus words point to resurrection to a new life and the abolition of fear and anxiety. They look up and see Jesus standing there alone; the Father is gone, Moses and Elijah are gone.

From now on they will see “only” Jesus but, after this experience, they know that he is not alone, that he has the full backing of his Father and of the Jewish tradition of the Law and the Prophets. They were learning the lesson that, though Jesus the Messiah would be rejected, suffer and die at the hands of his own people and their enemies, glory and victory would follow.

They were learning that, if they wanted to be truly his followers, they must accept this fully, and that they themselves must be ready to go the same way. If they stay with Jesus, victory, his victory, will be theirs too. If they stay with Jesus, they will have nothing to fear.

Back with the people

Then they came down from the mountain. Being with Jesus means not staying up on a mountain. Being on the mountain was a wonderful experience. “It is good for us to be here,” said Peter. But Jesus came down from the mountain to be with the people in their pains and sorrows, in their fears and anxieties, in their sicknesses and disabilities, in their sinfulness…

Jesus’ other name in Matthew’s Gospel is Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus’ place is to be with his people, and his followers have to do the same. It is nice to spend quiet days at a lovely retreat house deep in the countryside. It is nice to have a really good Mass with good homily, lovely choir, candles and incense. But most of the time our Christian life is to be spent sharing in the joys and sorrows of our brothers and sisters. We are to be the salt of the earth, the leaven in the dough, the candle on the lamp stand, helping people to know, understand and experience the love of their God for them.

Most of the time we meet Jesus especially in those in need: the hungry and thirsty (in every sense of the word), the sick and disabled, those in prison.

As often as you do or do not do it to one of these the least of my brothers, you do or do not do it to me.

We are to find Jesus in them and they are to find Jesus in us.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

Have you ever had a “mountaintop” experience that left a deep impression on you?
Have you ever heard yourself being called “my beloved son”, or my beloved daughter?
Have you ever had a religious experience that left a deep impression on you?
How did it affect your daily life?
Did it cause you to make any significant change?
What have been some “events of grace” in my own life?
Did I recognize them at the time?
Is it hard, in everyday lives, to hear Jesus?
Where do you go to get away from noise and distractions?
What is Jesus saying to me in the people and events of today?
Do I listen to Jesus?
Do I understand what discipleship asks of me?
What are the risks involved in listening to Jesus?
Do I really believe his words: “Do not be afraid”?
For some people, God and religion inspire a lot of fear. Why is that?
When you have had glorious, “mountaintop” experiences, how hard was it to come back to “real” life?
Did you try to prolong or memorialize the experience as the disciples did?
Like the disciples, we are attracted by what we see of Jesus on the mountain and resistant to what he says about the cross. Going up the mountain to get a glimpse of glory is one thing; going up on the cross is quite another! Are we willing to include in following Jesus both realities: the glory of the Transfiguration and the glory of the cross?
We identify any situation that brings pain and loss to our lives as our “cross.”
What has been a particular “cross” I have had to deal with or bear in life?
Do we often, using such stories at the transfiguration, emphasize the divinity of Jesus at the expense of recognizing his humanity?
What is the danger in that?
In my own spirituality, which image do I prefer?
Do I listen to Christ by listening to other people in my life—really listening?
Do I listen to Christ in the scriptures, more often than once a week?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from First Impressions 2008”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

The Transfiguration account is surrounded by two predictions of the passion—one comes immediately prior (16:24-28); the second is later in the same chapter as the Transfiguration (17:22-23). The disciples on the mountain certainly understood the glorious part of Jesus’ identity. There he was, shining bright, with Moses and Elijah and a voice from heaven affirming him–it doesn’t get much better than that! What they missed and we often do too, is the meaning of a later event in Matthew when Jesus goes up to another “high place”—his cross. There were onlookers at that “high place” too. But the presence of God wasn’t obvious to Jesus as he cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” At the crucifixion, Elijah and Moses are replaced by the two thieves and Jesus’ garments are not “white as light,” but are stripped off him in preparation for his death. At the crucifixion there is not the same evidence of God’s glory as there was on the mountain. Instead, there is the mockery of the onlookers and the soldiers crown Jesus with thorns and shout, “All hail, king of the Jews!” Was this what the voice on the mountain was telling the disciples to listen to—that we must heed what we hear from Jesus and follow the same path he chose, the way of the cross?

We are often critical of the disciples who did get the part about glory while they were on the mountain with Jesus. What they didn’t get was the message about discipleship Jesus had for them as they came down from the mountain and continued their journey to Jerusalem. However, we can ask ourselves whether we stick with Jesus and his teachings when things are easy, but falter when things are hard. Some crosses, like illness, death financial loss, are not of our making and still we are asked to bear them with the same fortitude Jesus did. How hard is that? What have I done is such situation? Did my faith in the ultimate goodness of God sustain me, or did I retreat into anger and bitterness? Other crosses--like refusing “to play the game” to get ahead in business, or choosing the narrow path of morality instead of short term satisfaction, or giving more generously to those that need it—require a good deal more devotion to the words of Jesus. Have I ever faced a personal decision and taken the harder one because it was the right one? How hard was it? Do I truly understand what discipleship asks of me? What crosses are harder for me to bear? Can I follow Jesus both to the glory of the transfiguration and the glory of the cross?

Going up the mountain to get a glimpse of glory is one thing; going up on a cross is something else again.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Read Matthew 17: 1-9 (The Transfiguration).

Imagine that you are Peter, and you have been invited by Jesus to accompany him to the top of this mountain for prayer. Put yourself completely in his shoes for this entire experience, trying to be present in the event as he was. Take time to sit with each question as you insert yourself into the events of that day with Jesus:

What are you expecting as you set out on this experience? At what time of day do you start out? What is the weather like? What do you see? Smell? Hear? Is the journey easy or tiring? What do you four chat about along the way? How long after you all reach the top do you see something happening to Jesus? How do you react when you see Jesus transformed right in front of your eyes? Are you frightened? Exhilarated? Confused? What expressions or reactions do you see on the faces of James and John? What do you think when you see Jesus conversing with Moses and Elijah? How do you know that is who they are? Why do you suggest building three tents? When a cloud envelops all three of them and you hear a voice, do you know who is speaking? Is it because in your Jewish culture no one looked directly on the face of God, and because your stories of Moses tell you that God spoke to him from within a cloud? Why are you afraid when God speaks the words telling you that Jesus is God’s son and you are to listen to him? In what instances up until now have you been too dismissive of what Jesus was telling you about what his mission is, what his fate will be, and how you are to be conducting your life--about your mission? How do you react when Jesus quietly comes upon you and touches you, telling you not to be afraid? Are you less afraid? Have you recovered and reverted to your first sense of wonder and awe? Are you apprehensive? Why do you think Jesus tells you to speak of this event to no one until after his resurrection from the dead? Do you even get what he means by talking of being raised from the dead? Has he spoken of his death before now? Did you believe him?

Sit with this experience for a few moments, then imagine a transformative or exceptional experience in your own life. Recall if you fully understood what was happening while it was happening, and what you have learned about yourself and about life after having some time to digest the meaning of the experience. T.S. Eliot, in “Four Quartets”, writes: “We had the experience, but missed the meaning”. Have you taken time in your own life to process an event which was pivotal in some way? Try to recall such an event, and see if you can hear Christ speaking to you in the aftermath of that experience. Were you listening? Are you listening now?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read Isaiah 42:1-9. “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” We all know that this passage is taken by Christians as a reference to Jesus. But if we are followers of Jesus, if we Listen to Him, then it should apply to us as well. In your journal, write your own response to the Lord who calls you “my chosen” and says that the lord's spirit is upon YOU, that YOU have been given as a covenant to God's people. How do you respond to this awesome honor/task? Speak from your heart about your desire to follow in Jesus' footsteps.

Poetic Reflection:

Thomas Merton, OSCO, a monk, mystic and poet, saw transfiguration everywhere. In this following meditation from Thomas Merton, A Book of Hours, edited by Kathleen Degnan, “Psalm,” adapted from Merton’s book New Seeds of Contemplation, (pp 30-31 excerpted) reflects the joy and total exuberance of God’s presence in our natural world: Psalm/ transfiguration/transformation/Nature The forms and individual characters of living and growing things of inanimate beings, of animals and flowers and all nature, constitute their holiness in the sight of God. Their inscape is their sanctity. It is the imprint of His wisdom and His reality in them. The special clumsy beauty of this particular colt on this day in this field under these clouds is a holiness consecrated by God by His own creative wisdom and it declares the glory of God. The pale flowers of the dogwood outside this window are saints The little yellow flowers that nobody notices on the side of that road are saints looking up into the face of God. This leaf has its own texture and its own pattern of veins and Its own holy shape, and the bass and the trout hiding in the deep pools of the river are canonized by their beauty and their strength. The lakes hidden among the hills are saints. and the sea too is a saint who praises God without interruption in her majestic dance. The great, gashed, half naked mountain is another Of God’s saints. There is no other like him. He is alone in His own character; Nothing else in the world ever did or ever will imitate God In quite the same way. That is his sanctity. But what about you? What about me?

Closing Prayer

Jesus, transfiguration is about you and about us. When we are with you, we are with the divine; when you are with us, you are with the human.

Your love, grace, sacraments, and compassion can transfigure us. And when we look around us and see as you see, we find there are others in our loves capable of transfiguration. Help me to be present in prayer to your light and brightness; allow me to know that the light given to me at Baptism is never extinguished. Help me to light the lives of others.

Weekly Reflections

Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6, 2023