Cycle A - Cycle B - Cycle C
Genesis 15:5-12,17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:20-4:1
Luke 9:28-36
my Chosen One.
Listen to him."
-Luke 9:35
This weekend's gospel is more than just a preview of the Easter glory, which we are preparing to celebrate. This gospel of the Transfiguration of Jesus is not a pep talk to get us through our Lenten observance. In his Transfiguration, the Lord Jesus is calling us to conversion. This call to look at what is within ourselves is a call that is magnified during the Lenten season, but it cannot be just within Lent that we respond to this call. Conversion is a life-long process. Conversion is the heart of a vocation.
When we begin to look within ourselves, what do we see? Do we contain the image of the love of God that shone through Jesus in his transfiguration and his resurrection? What are we holding onto that keeps us from responding to this call to convert? What keeps us from seeing the glory of God within ourselves?
As we continue to move deeper and deeper into this season, we have to remember that Jesus is by our side. Jesus is not sitting across from us or looking down on us. Jesus is standing with us. He provides us with the ultimate model of conversion in his passion, death and resurrection. Jesus offers himself to the Father and allows the Father to change him. Can we do the same? Can we be like the bread and wine presented at Mass and allow Jesus to offer us to the Father? Are we afraid of what we may become if we offer ourselves to God?
In our Lenten journey, may we discover the glory of God that is within each of us. It is that glory, gained through the crosses that we bear in our lives, which must more us into service of one another. It is the unleashing of the Spirit who is within us that continues the saving work of Jesus and connects others to God. Let us look deep within our hearts for the glory of God, not fearing the inevitable crosses, but embracing them as together with the Lord we pass through Lent and each day of our lives.
Peace,
Shaun Lowery