Homily for March
1, 2015 2nd
Sunday / Lent,
[__01__] Wasn’t it true that the disciples – Peter,
James, John – wanted to capture – and remember the moment they had experienced?
With cameras – and with other means, we also
endeavor to capture moments of our own experience.
For example, we take photographs at family reunions, weddings, and other occasions… to be saved and shared.
Winning teams and competitors have their trophies, their medals.
And, in some special cases, explorers –
navigators – astronauts – will place the flag of their country – perhaps our
own Stars and Stripes on the top of a mountain, or on the moon.
In these situations, we make the experience
memorable… but then, we also may be reducing the experience to something
material.
For a good celebration cannot be reduced to a
photograph, the moon cannot be reduced to one American flag …and even the World
Cup or Stanley Cup championship cannot be captured only in the trophy.
This was the caution to Peter, James, and
John in the Gospel we have just read.
[__02__] They were motivated to build 3 tents – 1 for
Moses, 1 for Elijah, 1 for Jesus – to remember this mountain and moment of the
Transfiguration. The tents would be their monuments.
**** PAUSE
****
[__03__] However, our Lord is telling us not to put all
our energy into these material reminders or monuments, but rather to to recall
that TIME away with God is its own reminder, its own reward.
I
think we know this naturally in our own relationships. That is, our time with our loved ones has value beyond
anything material. The time has value..or as the old saying goes, time is
money.
[__04__] In
the excitement and spectacular illumination of the Transfiguration, Peter,
James, and John seem to have forgotten that this TIME is MONEY…that their TIME
with Jesus has its own value.
In other words, the Lord is asking them to
take a step back from the bright light, from the spectacular, and allow the
event to change them, to overturn the
earth within them…rather than overturning the earth by digging into the
mountain.
For we receive the Body of Christ in the
Eucharist so that we, first, can be changed …before we would change anyone else
or influence the actions or perceptions of anyone else.
[__05__] Our Lord is
cautioning us about a response or reaction that is based only on the bright or
the spectacular.
Sometimes, the bright or the spectacular can
produce an overload …or it may trip all the electrical circuits and cause a
blackout.
[__06__] Consider,
for example, that you and I are – these days – encounter (we see or hear about)
images about once a week – if not more frequently – of brutality, terrorism,
even martyrdom.
Many of these images are linked to ISIS/ISIL
activity in Syria, Libya, and other countries. The images are truly
frightening… The malefactors in question do need to be stopped; the victims, to
be defended.
And, in fact, journalists and reporters have
a responsibility to report these images that our U.S. government and others
would step in and take action.
[__07__] However, are we in danger – at times – of
being on overload – being blinded by the light of these images … rather than
simply forwarding these images or dwelling on them.. we can meditate on their
meaning and take action by, for example, contact to our legislators, our
lawmakers.
In other words, we can let the images change
us – internally – before we act externally.
Our suffering Savior – and our Transfigured –
and our resurrected Savior – also motivated his disciples to act out of
compassion and justice for others.
[__08__] In the case
of images that might seem spectacular and far away, we might remember that we
are called –
· To pray, to fast for peace …even privately
· To pray for our enemies
·
To bless those
who persecute us … as Paul wrote to the Romans do not return insult for insult,
but return a blessing instead (Romans 12:17, 1 Peter 3:9)
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