Homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
(Aug 6, 2006)
story: An old pilgrim was making his way through the Himalayan
Mountains to get to holy shrine. The weather had turned bitter cold and
freezing rain had started to fall. The inn keeper asked: "how will
you ever get there in this kind of weather, my good man?"
The pilgrim responded, cheerfully: "My heart is already there, so
it will be easy for the rest of me to follow."
Story: a worldly pleasure seeker, made fun of her young niece, "
why should you give up so many of life's pleasure just because you want
to go to Heaven? To go to some place you have never seen?
It doesn't make any sense to sacrifice so much because you hope some day
to do to a place no one has ever seen.
Her niece had wrestled with this question, and responded: "You're
right that I have never seen it, but I have had a few glimpses along the
way. And once I gave my heart to Jesus, nothing in this world satisfies
me."
For a brief moment in time, who Jesus really is came pouring through
his human skin. Peter, James and John had a peek into the inner sanctum
of God's Son, as they heard a voice from heaven telling them who Jesus
really is.
I imagine that later they had doubts about what they had experienced.
But, I wonder if Jesus himself also had doubts about who he really
was?
The voice did not come only for PJJ. It was also a moment for Jesus to
be reassured
God was leading Jesus to a go through a horrible trial and Passion, that
the world would call an unmitigated disaster. But in that moment Jesus
saw what lay beyond his crucifixion
Our faith cannot be explained fully and no words can completely
describe what happened to Jesus on that mountain, any more than you can
describe heaven. The Bible speaks in images and stories, because linear,
literal language has no chance to put heaven into terms that make sense
in our world.
Just as Heaven is from beyond our world, from another dimension of
reality, so is the one who came down from heaven. But for a moment,
Jesus ( along with PJJ) had a peek at the deeper truth.
When you get a little slice of Heaven on earth, you will never be
fully satisfied with the things of this world, since they can only be
reflections or images of what is to come.
Once the pilgrim has their heart set on the holy place of God, nothing
on this earth will stop them from getting there
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