Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
Fr. Ben Riley
I had a very nice time on my vacation. My family and I went out to Myrtle Beach, and it was great to spend so much time with my extended family, all the aunts and uncles and cousins that I don’t get to see very often. My mom has five brothers and sisters, and they have a bunch of kids who live all over the country. So, it’s really special when we can get together for a quasi-family reunion. And by the way, the whole time I was on vacation, I was thinking about you. I was thinking about the Church and praying for all of your intentions. And I want to thank you for your prayers. I believe that the ease of travel I experienced with no flight delays or cancelations, is an answer to prayer. So thank you.
It was good to have a little rest. To have some extra time for prayer. To watch the sunset and sunrise. And to catch up with my brother, Zack. But something else happened while I was away, and it’s something I still need to pray about and unpack. What I noticed was there were a few, and I mean more than one occasion this past week when I was, and I don’t know any other way to say it, a butthead. Kids, please don’t repeat that over and over again. There is just no other way to say it. There were three or four particular occasions when I was short- tempered, rude, and even hurt the feelings of my family members. And I want to tell you about one of these occasions.
My family loves to play board games. We are a board game family. It doesn’t matter if it’s cards, dominoes, dice, charades, or Pictionary, we like it all. But, we can also get pretty competitive and sometimes unfortunately that competitive streak leads to hurt feelings. So, you don’t need to know the whole story of what happened, because it’s kind of a long story, and nobody wants to hear me preach for thirty minutes. But to put it very briefly, I lost my temper, I got upset. And the worst part is that I got upset with my Mom. Fool that I am, I got upset, with my incredible, loving, and faithful mother.
I hate that. I hate that I was so proud, or so frustrated, or arrogant that I couldn’t just keep my mouth shut and enjoy spending time with my family. I’ve often said that if you can’t have fun playing a game that you’re losing, then you shouldn’t be playing at all. And that night I didn’t follow my own advice. But it’s worse than that: I uncovered a wound, some part of my past, or my disposition, that is not properly aligned with the will of God. I hurt my mother’s feelings; I made her cry. And although we thankfully were able to forgive each other, and everything is fine between us, I still recognize that there is something in me that needs to change. That needs to be more properly aligned with God’s will for my life. Thankfully, Transfiguration is a lifelong process.
And I know I’m not alone. Let’s see if we can be real vulnerable for a second, can we? Raise your hand if you have lost your temper with your spouse. Yea, keep your hands raised. Raise your hand if you have failed to show appreciation for your spouse. Raise your hand if you have been rude to a stranger. Raise your hand if you have been impatient with your children. Kids, you’re not left out either. Raise your hand if you have disobeyed your parents. How about this one: raise your hand if you have yelled at somebody who cut you off while driving. Yea, all our hands are raised on that one. Thank you for being vulnerable, you can put your hands down. We aren’t perfect. We know that. And I’ll tell you a secret. Your imperfections, are why you are here. Because on some level, we all know we need to change our lives. We know that we need to be more compassionate, more patient, more understanding, more loving. We understand that we need to fight against the temptations of our lives. I know I do. I made my mother cry. I need to amend my life, and I know that I cannot do that on my own. I need the grace of God.
Jesus took, Peter, James, and John up a mountain, and he was transfigured before them. Why did Jesus do that? Was it to show off? “Check out how awesome I am. I’m glorified, I’m powerful, be afraid.” And they were afraid. Scripture tells us, they fell prostrate, flat on their faces, and were very much afraid. Fear? Does Jesus want us to experience fear in the face of our inadequacies, in the face of our scruples. No! Jesus showed them the transfiguration, He showed them the fullness of His divine glory so that they could understand and so that we could understand. God became man, so man could become like God. God in his infinite goodness, loves humanity so much, and desired to save all of humanity, that he became a man to save us. Could He have snapped his fingers and saved us? Sure, why not? But then we would be slaves of God, not brothers and sisters in Christ. Slaves don’t get to choose, we do. God not only wants to save us, He wants to share His entire nature with us. This is so incredible. He wants to give himself to his creation, so what does He do, He becomes a part of his creation. He sacrifices himself for us, and gives us the gift of his own body. “If you do not eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you, says the lord.” Jesus gave his life for us, so that we might be transfigured into his divine life. That’s amazing. How do we do it?
Let’s look at the Apostles. Let’s look at Peter, James, and John. What was their response to seeing the glory of Christ’s transfiguration, a transfiguration they are called to strive for in their own lives? They prostrate themselves, flat on their faces. What is that action of prostration? They humble themselves before God. They humble themselves before the divine glory. You might think, “Well that’s great Father Ben, but Jesus isn’t here now.” Wrong. Jesus is here, right now, truly present in that tabernacle, about to be truly present on this altar. And Jesus is truly present through His, one, holy, catholic, apostolic church. You are here because you want to change, you are here because you want to amend your life. To be kinder, more virtuous, more loving, more patient, and all the rest. If that’s true, then to do it, you must humble yourself before the divine glory of God and the authority of His Church. I hear it all the time. “I’m Catholic, but I don’t like the Church’s teaching on contraception.” Humble yourself. “I’m Catholic, but I don’t go to Mass every Sunday,” Humble yourself. “I’m Catholic, but I don’t agree with the Church’s teachings on gay marriage.” Humble yourself. We are often so prideful, and yet we are still confused about why things don’t change. Thankfully, transfiguration is a lifelong process.
It’s okay if we struggle against the teachings of the Church, continue to struggle. It’s okay if we have doubt. Doubt leads us to be curious and search for answers. What’s not okay, is to give up. We all have areas of our lives that need to be transfigured. Maybe we are too quick to judge, maybe we are short-tempered, maybe we curse and swear when we don’t get our way. Maybe we make our mothers cry over a stupid board game. Whatever it is, what is ultimately going to heal us, is to humble ourselves before the Lord and His Church, and be transfigured by His divine grace through prayer and the sacraments. This doesn’t happen overnight, so please, be patient with yourself, and be patient with others. We are all on this journey of transfiguration together. Let’s help each other along the way. May God bless you.