“Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
Mark 9: 7
By Fr. Philip Shano, SJ
The Second Sunday in Lent offers the Gospel account of the Transfiguration of the Lord. We hear about Jesus and a few close followers having a profound religious experience on a mountaintop, even involving the Old Testament figures of Elijah and Moses. Remember how often significant encounters happen on mountains in scripture. We all have mountaintop experiences in our lives. The Transfiguration holds a significant truth for Jesus, but also for us. Like the disciples, we are tempted to hold on to peak experiences, but we must descend from the mountain and return to our ordinary lives. Something on that mountaintop changes Jesus and it can bring about a shift within us.
Peter, James and John have a privileged moment with Jesus. While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. The disciples knew that something significant took place on the mountaintop. Peter spoke for them. It is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. How wonderful it would be to stay here in this beautiful moment! However, Jesus has work to accomplish. He was speaking with Moses and Elijah about his movement toward Jerusalem. His encounter on the mountaintop involves listening to the call of God. It deepens his energy and zeal for the mission. Jesus still has work to do before his Passion.
Very much like the Baptism of Jesus, the Transfiguration includes the voice of God: This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him! But there is a difference from the Baptism. The Baptism is about identity. The voice from the clouds now uses the word listen. Jesus must listen to God and we must listen to Jesus.
Listen to him! Listen to him when he offers his teachings about the beatitudes, about the people on the margins, the commandment to love our neighbour. Listen to him as he speaks in parables and offers important reminders about our lives and how we are to relate to the other. Listen as he tells us about the good Samaritan and as he spends time with the Samaritan woman at the well, both individuals outsiders. Listen as he quotes from the prophet Isaiah and announces that he has come to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind and to set the downtrodden free. Listen as he asks probing questions of his followers – what are you looking for? Hear him as he asks a blind beggar what he can do for him. Feel the compassion he offers to those who are the lost sheep.
The captives and the downtrodden and the others that Jesus was attentive to are not unlike the very women and men and children who are the focus of the many projects supported by CJI and those we work with. We are acting in the name of Jesus every time we come to an intimate and life-changing stance by listening to his words, truly listening. The Transfiguration is about personal transformation.
LISTEN
Something New is Being Born
Lead me, Guide Me
REFLECT
PRAY
Let us remember in our prayers, ERIC-Radio Progreso, a CJI partner in Honduras, which accompanies poor and marginalized communities in their struggle for justice and equality. It works for social change, speaks out for the most excluded communities in the country and makes their voices heard even in the face of violence. Several journalists, environmental activists, and human rights defenders, including some from ERIC-Radio Progreso, have been killed for daring to speak out against widespread poverty, inequality, and corruption in their country. These martyrs are God’s beloved.
Jesus’ transfiguration makes me think about Nex Benedict, a 16 year old non-binary high school student who was brutally and viciously beaten inside a bathroom at Owasso High School in Oklahoma on 7 February 2024. Nex died the following day. Three cisgender girls beat Nex, as Oklahoma’s law requires students use the school bathrooms associated with their sex assigned at birth. Trans-figured people undertake the long and confusing journey to understand their core identities. I want to lift them up as the beloved, trans-figured people of God I see them to be. Nex Benedict: Pray for us.
God bless you, Fr. Shano, for this uplifting reflection on today’s Gospel reading. Your words are very nourishing for the spirit and will help me with my metanoia.