Do not be afraid to pick up your cross and follow Jesus, because suffering becomes redemptive when we are intimately united to him. The battle is half-won if you have an able companion, and Jesus is with us the entire way. And we have this pledge, the hope given to us on the mountain of the Transfiguration: the promise of glory for the sons and daughters of God.
This Sunday, we will hear the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor. Jesus will take Peter, James, and John up the mountain where he will become radiant in divine glory—flanked by Moses and Elijah—before their very eyes. We, too, will ascend Tabor with Jesus. On this second Sunday of Lent, he wants to give us a small glimpse of his majesty. We see the whiteness of his robes, behold the cloud of the Holy Spirit descend upon him, and hear the Father’s voice: “This is my beloved Son.” Meditating on this scene in the Gospel is important for us at the beginning of our Lenten journey.
No one can begin a journey unless he knows his destination. If you were to begin a road trip without knowing your destination, you would get lost or even end up going somewhere you do not want to be. Similarly with Lent, we need a roadmap. This Gospel gives us a taste of that for which we are preparing. Towards the end of our Lenten journey, we will ascend another mountain, Calvary, and see Jesus lifted up. At that moment, however, he will appear forsaken on a cross—not in majesty but in nakedness and blood. We are preparing right now to behold that tremendous sight and cry out, “Lord, have mercy!”
Knowing the end of the journey can increase the desire for it in our hearts and fortify us to persevere through any hardships we encounter. The Transfiguration is a glorious event. The power and majesty of the Eternal Son is manifested to human eyes and his communion within the Trinity is revealed. He is never alone—he is never forsaken. This scene fortifies our hearts as we prepare to endure the memory of his passion on Good Friday. The power of the Transfiguration is nailed to the cross. The glory of the Transfiguration bleeds through the wounds of the crucified Savior. The horrific image of crucifixion becomes the shining forth of divine love, when Jesus lays down his life for sinners—you and me. And we burn with desire for this love.
This Sunday, while this penitential season is still young, we are invited to set our minds on the purpose of these forty days and fortify our hearts to endure the journey. During these weeks of Lent, we are preparing to walk with Jesus as he suffers and dies for us on the cross. But we are also watching the story of our own lives unfold because we are united with the suffering and crucified Lord—we must suffer and die to the world and to ourselves.
Do not be afraid to pick up your cross and follow Jesus, because suffering becomes redemptive when we are intimately united to him. The battle is half-won if you have an able companion, and Jesus is with us the entire way. And we have this pledge, the hope given to us on the mountain of the Transfiguration: the promise of glory for the sons and daughters of God.
Republished with gracious permission from Dominicana (March 2023)
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The featured image is “Transfiguration of Jesus” (1872) by Carl Bloch, and is in the public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
