Homily: August 6, 2024, Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Transfigration Glory).

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“Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

What Peter said so spontaneously reflects an instinctive desire common to all human beings.

I was away last few days in Colorado Springs. I went there to meet my second sister and her children for a short vacation. She needed the vacation, I was there to accompany her. But honestly, I did not want to come back to reality, I would have loved to continue the vacation forever. I was relaxed and free.

I can understand Peter’s suggestion. He had just seen the full glory of his master, this mountain is the best place to be, why go back to the troubles and dangers in the town? Surely, he would prefer to stay on this mountain forever.

Similarly, in life there would be moments when we experience deep satisfaction, pure happiness, love and peace, we would want that moment to last forever, we want things to stay that way. We wouldn’t want to go back to how things were before, and we wouldn’t want that moment to change.

But life cannot be on a standstill. Jesus had a mission to accomplish, so He had to go back down the mountain. And each of us have a purpose to fulfil, we too have to step out of our comfort zone.

At that moment when Peter made that suggestion, God spoke from a cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.”

What was Jesus going to tell them or teach them after the Transfiguration?

Jesus told them everything about His passion, death, and being rejected by His own people. He also foretold His resurrection. He taught them how to serve, about forgiveness and mercy. He showed them what true love means on the cross.

Did they listen to Jesus? Did they understand?

Are we listening to Jesus? Do we understand?

Like Peter, James and John, we too want to live in the glory of Jesus forever. But on this feast of the Transfiguration, we are reminded that to live in Jesus’ glory is to live as God wills. Jesus lives to glorify God the Father, and in turn, the Father glorifies the Son.

As Jesus walked down the mountain after His glorious transfiguration, back to the reality of His earthly life, He showed His disciples and shows us that His full glory comes from His unwavering faithfulness, strengthens through His passion, bursts through His death, and lasts forever through His resurrection.

If we want to live in His glory, we must live like He did while on earth.

Lord, grant us the grace to be faithful in our living, joyful in our serving, steadfast in our suffering, and fearless in our dying. May we then live in your glory in our eternity. Amen.


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