What is transfiguration? For western Christians it's an explanation of mysticism or asceticism and for eastern Christians it is a passage of enlightenment that the disciples of Jesus should go through once in their life time.
Arch bishop Raya hierarch of Melkite church says, " transfiguration is not simply an event out of the two thousand years old past, or a future yet to come. It is rather a reality of the present, a way of life available to those who seek and accept Christ's nearness".
I would say transfiguration is a private and intimate moment of discipleship. It takes about what happened to disciples than what happened to Jesus. At this moment of enlightenment the disciples realized who Jesus is, he is the one they were expecting, he is the one Father is pleased with and he is the fulfillment of law and prophet.
And today as the second week of lent we remember transfiguration to remind us that our faith would be incomplete if we do not experience private and intimate moment with Jesus.
When apostle Peter had that moment of private and intimate he said, "Lord, how good it is for us to be here!”
Pope Paul VI once said in a homily that Christ "is necessary, and we cannot do without him; he is our fortune, joy and happiness, our promise and hope; our way, our truth and our life"
We can see many private and intimate experiences with Jesus in the Bible.
Look St. Thomas the apostle when he had a private and intimate Jesus' experience, he said loudly; my lord and my God. St. Francis Assisi when he had Jesus experience, he said my lord and my all. St. Paul when he had Jesus experience he was blind for three days and he couldn't eat or drink anything. In Indian spirituality we call this as enlightenment, some western philosophers call it as aha moment.
Lent is a time of enlightenment, aha moment and Jesus experience. It's time to evaluate what is my experience with Jesus? Did I ever had an intimate and private experience with Jesus? Who is Jesus for me?
I gave Holy Communion to one of our children who has been respiratory assistance. His name is Emil and he is 11 years old. After receiving First holy communion at kosair hospital he shed tears, I asked why? He said tears of Joy.
I found in the room of one of my friends- "Jesus is intoxicating than drugs". He wrote this after he stopped drug and alcohol through 40 days of prayer.
Lent is a time of Transfiguration and remind us to transfigure ourselves.
To have this transfiguration what we have to do? We have to go with Jesus- go to the mount. Mount is a place of silence, it's a place where we are quiet and away from your busy world.
Then you will encounter Jesus and experience Christ's nearness.
Once we have this encounter, a wow moment, it will transfigure our lives, our marriages, our homes, our work, our relation and our community.
Without this enlightenment, aha moment, wow moment, without having a private and intimate moment with Jesus, our faith is incomplete and our faith will be lukewarm.
Buddha was having bath in a river and a disciple came and asked him, how can I be enlightened? Buddha invited him to the river and pushed his head in the water for few seconds. Disciple used all the power to come up on the water. Buddha said, seek God as you searched for breath under the water.
Let us pray that this lent season will be a time of enlightenment and transfiguration. Let us pray that we will have a private and intimate experience with Jesus to become people of enlightenment and transfiguration.
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