Similar to the Transfiguration, God’s glory can shine through us as members of the body of Christ
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This week we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration on Aug. 6.
The first reading, from Daniel, speaks of the enthronement of the Ancient One (which we can understand to be God the Father), and the enthronement of the Son of Man (which we can understand to be Jesus, the Son). Following up on that, Psalm 97 speaks again of the throne of God.
It makes me think of the Catholic tradition of the enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the home. Let me suggest, to anyone who hasn’t done this, that it’s an excellent thing to do: to let Jesus be enthroned in our homes, and to make that not just an interior attitude but an external action as well (just as our love for friends and family is both internal and external). This would be a great way to take the feast of the Transfiguration seriously and put its readings into action in our own lives.
Here’s another way to take the feast day seriously and put it into practice. In the second reading, St. Peter talks about his experience of the Transfiguration of Jesus. He says, first: “We had been eyewitnesses of His majesty.” Then he says, with respect to the Father’s declaring ‘this is my beloved Son’: “We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven.”
This makes me think of the question of witness — in which we, ourselves, say what we have seen and heard. How have you seen God at work, either in your life or in the lives of those around you? And what have you heard — how has the Word of God spoken to you?
As Catholics, we’ve not been very good at “giving our witness.” But we can — and should! — get better at it. And it’s not complicated! It simply means telling what we have seen and heard. It strikes me that this is another way we can honor of the feast of the Transfiguration. Like St. Peter, we can make “telling what we have seen the Lord do” and “sharing what we have heard the Lord say” the ruling power of our lives. That, too, is a kind of enthronement.
Friends, let’s enthrone Jesus this week — both in our hearts and homes. If and when we do so, another transfiguration happens: His glory begins to shine through us. Just as glory once shone through Jesus’ body on Mount Tabor long ago, so it can shine through us as members of His mystical body today. And that is a fitting way to celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration!
