Transfiguration: Love Makes Light any Burden
These readings come at a good time. They speak about a deep mystery, and Lent is a good time to hear about mysteries. We are trying to purify our minds by works of penance and more intense prayer. If our minds become more purified we will be able to see and understand more…
The mystery is the end of the world and the meaning of history, the reward of the just and the price of justice. Abraham is told that God means to give him a land, a whole country in his possession but… is that really God’s intention? Is that a promise, or does it depend on other things? In order to receive that assurance, Abraham must pass the test. Deep darkness enters his soul, but he perseveres in prayer, watching and waiting, until the Lord Himself appears and makes a covenant with him. “It is a promise: my descendants will possess this land.” Abraham can now walk his whole life with the assurance of faith: “The Lord is my God, I will not be disappointed. I will be faithful to Him for the rest of my life.”
The Apostles also received an assurance of faith from their experience at the top of the mountain. (Luke 9:28b-36) But they had to climb the mountain, they had to persevere with Jesus in prayer, they had to listen to Jesus speaking about the Cross—with Moses and Elijah—and, like Abraham, they had to stay awake and overcome the temptation to sleep. After all that, they could see the light: “Yes, this is the Messiah prophesied by Moses and Elijah. Yes, this is nothing less than the Son of God, the Chosen one. Yes, this is His tremendous power to restore our bodies and His own body, this is His tremendous power to make us happy and give us joy even in the middle of this bare mountain top… How good it is to be here with You…! But we must climb the mountain, we must suffer with Him. Today, however, we have received the assurance that it’s worth it: what comes after this life cannot even be imagined, and what we must suffer cannot be compared with the glory which is to be revealed in us.”
One of the greatest scandals pulling people away from their faith is suffering. “If the Lord is God, why is this happening to me?” The response is: suffering is not the end, the end will be happy; but suffering is the means, the Cross is the only way. We Christians must suffer with the assurance of final victory. But let me be clear: the assurance I’m talking about changes the way we suffer and the way we live, and results in suffering itself becoming something easy to carry… “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, who am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30) Is the Cross really easy? A weak man can hardly lift a heavy sack of flour, but it is a joke for the strong man. Love makes light any burden, love makes all things possible. If God instills in a soul the power of His love, that person becomes a powerhouse, a rock, with the strength of the Spirit. This is what we are invited to aim for: that strength, that assurance of faith, which makes us Christians able to overcome every difficulty and to walk with God in faithfulness, all the days of our lives.
This is what happened to Abraham and the Apostles. We are not simply saying: “Abraham and the Apostles suffered, but they finally made it to Heaven. So, Christians, suck it up, one day it will be over!” No. Abraham and the Apostles fought courageously their whole lives with a conviction, with an assurance that made them able to overcome every human power and every human expectation. Nothing could put them down. Abraham did not hesitate in offering his own son at the request of God. The Apostles did not care about so many people trying to kill them, and were faithful to Jesus even while they were actually being killed. But those who killed the Apostles could not overcome them: the spirit of the Apostles was more powerful than death. There is a power that shines and breaks through in a very special way only through suffering, and this is the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are invited this weekend to obtain, with the Apostles at the top of the mountain, the assurance that God is with us and that He will raise our bodies and reward us for our efforts on the last day. It is the word of the Lord. He does not lie. He rose from the dead Himself first, so that our hope in the future resurrection is invincible. He can do it, He promised us He will do it, end of the story: I am saved. It is like waiting to cash in your ticket for the prize after winning the lottery: it is just a matter of time. But in order to obtain this assurance, this strength, this joy, we need to purify ourselves, climb the mountain, pray, overcome sloth and laziness, and make every possible effort to be ready when the Lord visits us. How beautiful would our Christian lives be if we had that touch of glory which the Apostles had! How easy it would be for us to follow Jesus, how much joy in our hearts, how much joy for us—and to spare—sharing our joy with our brothers and sisters! This is what modern saints have exemplified—saints like St. John Paul II, St. Teresa of Calcutta…a joy that actually becomes contagious, so great their love for the Gospel.
May the Lord grant us the grace of His Spirit, so that we may walk faithfully and joyfully with Him, all the days of our lives.