Second Sunday of Lent
March 13, 2022 •
Why were they chosen to receive this revelation (the Transfiguration) and the others were not? Our Lord actually gives us the reason in a different Gospel. Today we hear the story from the Gospel of Luke. In the other Gospels, when they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus tells them, "Share this with your brothers, not now but later, to strengthen them."
Jesus gave these three men this gift to give to the other apostles. This miraculous event was for all of the apostles, all of them. But it was meant to be seen and then shared by these three. They were chosen by Christ in a sense as angels. The word "angel" means messenger. Jesus certainly could have revealed this to all of them, yet He chose three so they could reveal it to the others because He wanted the apostles to learn to be interdependent. To need one another in their relationship with Christ.
It's a Christian heresy that teaches that individual people can have a relationship with Jesus Christ apart from other believers. "It's just you and Jesus." That's heresy. Jesus clearly acts out and teaches the lesson that we are members of the Body of Christ. We together are united in the Body of Christ, not separate. In fact, if a cell or a limb is separated from the body, it dies. It's the unity of the parts that make up the body, the whole.
To facilitate the unity of Christ's Body, He doesn't give the same gifts to everyone. We have to depend on one another. The other apostles needed Peter, James, and John to tell them about what happened. . . .
Remember Jesus said where two or three witness to something, I am there in their midst. The beautiful thing about that quote is that, that's exactly what happened on this mountain. You have the two, and the three, witnessing to the Truth. Moses and Elijah witness to the Truth because of the past. Moses gave the Law, and Elijah is considered the greatest of the Prophets. So the Law and the Prophets testify to the Truth of Jesus Christ. That's basically the Old Testament.
The New Testament? Peter, James, and John. You see the past and the future all testifying to the Truth for everyone else. . . .
Our Lord wanted to use special instruments so that the Body of Christ would be drawn closer together. So that we would need one another. . . .
He wants us to be united. Why is this so important to Him?
Because God Himself is a unity of persons. It is His Divine Nature, to be three Persons in one Divine unity. As we are made in His image and likeness, the unity of us as people is also necessary for the Divine image. Necessary. Not optional.
Ultimately, it's Christ we're depending on, but we have to do that through one another.
If you're not humble and open enough to listen to whomever the Lord may chose to use, you could actually miss the grace He's trying to give you, the consolation and strength that you need.
If we're not open to the Lord using others in our life to minister to us, then more often than not, we will not receive the grace that He is providing.
Gn 15:5-12, 17-18; Ps 27:1, 7-9, 13-14; Phil 3:17--4:1; Lk 9:28b-36
Homily begins at 24:17