Essentially, we are all called to ultimate transfiguration. Matthew’s gospel today says: “and he was transfigured before them” (Matthew 17:1-9), a destiny that flows from a holy life rooted in authentic humanity. As St. Paul would reiterate in the second reading, God “has saved us and called us to a holy life” just as we are (2 Timothy 1:8b-10). Connecting these points, I remember one of my professors-in-training (during my seminary formation years ago) describing heaven as the ultimate transfiguration of the human body in the experience of God. That description mirrors the spirit of today’s liturgy.
With that in mind, I reflected today on Abraham and God’s invitation to leave familiarity behind, to go forth from the land of his kinsfolk to a land that He (God) will show him (Genesis 12:1-4a). The point I want to direct our attention to here in God’s invitation is that God had already blessed Abraham before asking him to offer Isaac years later, a request he obliged. Likewise, God called us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), knit us together in our mother’s womb, and gave us life before we could merit anything.
Beloved brethren, I did not intend to offer a lengthy reflection this weekend, but to set before us a simple invitation to contemplate God’s love. I want us to sit with that idea for a while. Ask yourself whether you have done anything extraordinary to deserve grace from Jesus Christ (John 1:16). Perhaps yes, or possibly no. Whatever may be our response, the decisive truth remains that God loves you; God loves us (John 1:14). And that love is not static. It summons us to participate in His reign by extending our reach, even to faraway lands, beginning where we are.
That mandate is the quiet surprise of this Lenten season. The reason for the season is not merely discipline, but transformation; our gradual participation in divine life, call it human transfiguration. We can respond if we choose to, or not respond at all. I highly recommend that we do. Let us continue to proceed modestly, taking one faithful step at a time, and allowing grace to build momentum within us until our ordinary lives start to reflect the glory God is preparing us to share with all creation.
