When Jesus is shrouded in the darkness of the Cross…fulfillment
Each of us needs to experience moments of intense closeness to God, joy, and fulfillment on our journey of faith. There is nothing wrong with this desire. However, seeking a “spiritual honeymoon” in our spiritual life, while avoiding periods of darkness, emptiness, and the cross at all costs, would be naive. The Gospel reading for the second Sunday of Lent is always the story of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain, and this year it is from Matthew (17:1-9). Let us not forget that, especially in this year’s cycle, the Lenten Sunday Gospels are chosen to prepare catechumens for baptism and introduce them to basic Christian attitudes. We can engage with them by entering into the narrative, identifying with the individuals Jesus encounters, and relating the events to our lives.
His name is my beloved Son.
Peter, James, and John were led up the mountain. Jesus chose them from among the other apostles because he wanted to be with them. This is not to make them feel superior but to show them that the Lord cares for them and is happy with them. The evangelist adds that Jesus took them up the mountain so that they could be alone. Something intimate is happening here that cannot be conveyed except in solitude. This cannot be fully appreciated unless one steps out of the nameless crowd and enters into a personal relationship with Christ.
The apostles are then permitted to catch a glimpse of Jesus in all his glory, standing alongside Moses, the representative of Jewish law, and Elijah, the representative of the Old Testament prophets. The Mount of Transfiguration thus becomes the new Sinai, where Moses met God in the burning bush (Exodus 3) and received the tablets of the law (Exodus 19), and where Elijah recognized God in the gentle breeze (1 Kings 19:8–18). Moreover, Jesus’ authority is confirmed by the Father himself: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him! ‘ Jesus is therefore not only the interpreter of the law and the prophets, but he is also their fulfillment—he alone must be listened to above all. Fulfillment recognized
It would seem that the culmination of Jesus’ mission takes place here; that everything has been leading up to this moment. Peter wants to stay here, and it goes without saying that he wants to pitch his tents here because there is nowhere else to go—this is the fulfillment of everything they experienced with Jesus. If we are to apply Peter’s, James’s, and John’s experiences to our lives, it is worth remembering what every Christian has probably experienced at some point: a time when the nearness, beauty, and power of Jesus were beyond doubt. We all have felt the Lord’s presence, his shining clothes, and a desire to pray. There was no need to force ourselves to do anything except stop praying because we had to go to school or work. One would therefore like to pitch tents here and preserve these moments so that nothing more may come.
Preparing for the period of darkness
But then, to everyone’s horror, the apparition ends, and they must descend the mountain. Jesus commands the disciples: ‘Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’ The apostles will only understand the meaning of the events on the mountain after Easter. First, they must witness Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion. The apparition, which they had rejoiced over so much, was apparently not the climax of Jesus’ mission after all. Perhaps it was intended only to encourage the disciples to remain steadfast when the true apparition occurs: when the Lord is transfigured on Golgotha, not between Moses and Elijah, but between two criminals; not wearing a white robe, but covered in his blood and the spittle of the soldiers. It seems that something similar can happen in our lives. What if those moments when God seems particularly close are intended to prepare us for periods of darkness and emptiness, when something significant in our relationship with God may be about to happen?
There, instead of trials, there will be brightness and peace.
In one stanza of her poem ‘Living for Love,’ Saint Therese of Lisieux confesses that she does not want to settle on the mountain of the Transfiguration: ‘Living for love, my Lord, is not to pitch one’s tent on the summit of Tabor. Instead, it is to suffer with you on Calvary, where the cross is our treasure! In heaven, I will be alive in pure happiness; there, instead of trials, there will be brightness and peace. But here on earth, even in pain, I want to live only for love.” As we have said, the Gospels of the Sundays of Lent aim to introduce catechumens and others to key Christian attitudes. Jesus is beautiful in both glory and in the darkness of the cross.
