Daily Reflection – Aug 6, 2016

Saturday 6 August 2016

First Reading: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Responsorial Psalm:
The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth
Psalm 96(97):1-2, 5-6, 9
Second Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-19
Gospel Reading: Luke 9:28-36

Today’s Feast: Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Gospel Reading:

Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up a mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
“Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.

Reflection:

This is my chosen Son; listen to him. (Luke 9:35)

You pack up the car, corral the children, and head out on vacation or to Grandma’s or the circus. Invariably, just a few miles down the road, a little voice chirps, “Are we there yet?” The good-natured response is “No, but we’re getting closer.”

This scene is one way we can understand the apostles’ experience at the Transfiguration. It showed them that they were getting closer to their final destination of heaven, where they would gaze on Christ in all his glory.

One day we, too, will reach the glory of heaven; we, too, will be transformed to be like Jesus. Every day that we live by faith brings us one step closer to that goal. Of course we don’t experience everything that God has promised us. We still sin; we still fall short of all we can be; we still fall prey to fear and temptation. But it’s too easy—and, for some of us, too natural—to see only the failures and shortcomings and to forget that we are making progress. Even now, according to Bishop Anastasius of Sinai, we who live in faith “shine resplendent to spiritual eyes, renewed in soul and made over in his likeness, ceaselessly transfigured, sharers in God’s being.”

God is so powerful and wise that he can use your failures to bring you closer—more so, even, than he uses your successes. He has a plan for your life, and he is always at work to bring it to fulfillment. Your faltering and stumbling do not negate his promises or cancel his plan. You are being transformed—not in an instant, but day by day, little by little, as you come to him and allow his presence to overshadow your daily grind.

So ponder the Transfiguration today. Imagine what it will be like when you are finally with Jesus in heaven. Remind yourself that your faith is growing as you sit with the Lord and as you read his word in Scripture. In every conversation you have with him, in every minute that you spend in his presence, you are moving closer to your destination. If you just try your best to stay faithful, you will one day join the chorus “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.”

“God, stir up my hope and expectation for the day when I step into the fullness of all your promises.”