GROW AS A DISCIPLE
As humans, we are often burdened with heavy crosses. Experiences of loss, lack, failure, and betrayal can riddle our existence, leaving us fatigued and with a weary question in our hearts: What is this all for? And then, we look up. We raise our gaze and see before us the transfigured face of Christ. Having taken on our human form, Jesus stands before us in radiant glory. As we take in the scene, our senses mingling somewhere between admiration and alarm, we remember the promise he made to us. The promise that we, too, will be made new. The promise that our bodies will also be redeemed, and our burdens will be relieved. And as we remember, we respond, like the disciples, “It is good that we are here.” The life of discipleship, at times, can seem to require more than it rewards. But in these moments of intimate encounter, when we see glimpses of Jesus’ beautiful face, he reminds us why we are here on this mountain: to love, to serve, and eventually to reap our eternal reward.
GO EVANGELIZE
We see why we are here on the mountain, but today’s readings also reveal a weighty reality: before we are transformed, we must climb that mountain. The whole story of Jesus’ life is this: before a promise is fulfilled, sacrifice is offered. Our human existence, without the mercy and mission given us by Christ, is empty. But taking up the cross of Christ and following him toward glory, we find our purpose. Earth is our pilgrimage, and our journey will most certainly be punctuated by peaks and valleys. But today, St. Paul reminds us in his Letter to the Philippians that we won’t be carrying around these crosses forever. Though strapped with suffering for a time, we know our eternal destination: “Our citizenship is in heaven.”
REFLECT
Lent is inherently a season of waiting for the fulfillment of a promise. In our own lives, we may be aching for transformation, perhaps for ourselves, or for another. Remember: God enters deeply into our lives, dwelling so intimately with us that he syncs his every breath with ours. Take the next week to think and pray about how the Lord may be asking you to be transformed. Pray today’s Psalm each day, and “Wait for the Lord with courage.”
By The Faithful Disciple