II
Sunday of Lent (A) – March 16, 2014
Gospel
reading: Mt 17: 1-9 (Transfiguration of
Jesus)
At a
dinner party I attended years ago, one fellow sported a t-shirt with the
message, “Coincidences: God’s way of remaining anonymous.” It got the attention of most everybody
present and some interesting discussions ensued. Everyone
there had an experience to share of amazing coincidences; some were like
religious experiences relating them to God, while others were not. In
Latin America, they are referred to as “Dios-idencias,” or God-incidences, experiences where God seems to be present because
of the way things and people come together.
How
do you respond to brushes with God or religious experiences? Why is it they often seem too brief or
infrequent? Perhaps, in addition to how
God coincides with us, we should also consider our coinciding with Him. Coincidences and religious experiences are
wonderful, but they are only part of the life of faith. Our willingness and commitment help complete
the mosaic of our experience of God and experiences with others. The
Transfiguration of Jesus was, undoubtedly, an awesome religious experience for
Peter, James and John. Even so, Jesus
himself led them down the mountain and said to them, “Rise, and do not be
afraid!” Peter was there and witnessed
it all, but after hearing his responses, it seems like his mind was
elsewhere. The
true experience of Jesus demands a full commitment, the engagement of our
minds, bodies and soul. More than just
sensing the divine or a mystical experience, we are talking about joining
ourselves to him, conforming our will and thinking to Christ.
Pope
Francis writes, “The believer who professes his or her faith is taken up, as it
were, into the truth being professed.”
Don’t stop there; our Holy Father has set us rolling. What
we are to profess is actually God’s gift to us.
It’s our coinciding with God because he first coincided with us. Still, in the light of Divine Mercy, talk of
coincidences sounds too temporary. God
is about lasting relationships.
As we
commit ourselves to love as he teaches, we are taken up into the Lord’s way. As we profess our faith, we are taken up into
his truth. Perhaps talk about Christ’s presence in our
lives might seem like a series of coincidences, but it’s all about being taken
up into his life.
In the
Transfiguration, Jesus opened the door for us to experience his glory, so that
we might coincide with his humility.
Jesus went up the mountain to be transfigured. He
comes down the mountain so we might be transformed.
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