Father Kleppner - August 6, 2006“Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.” In the magnificent and glorious vision the Apostles Peter, James and John received of seeing their transfigured Lord in all His radiant glory. Jesus was not demonstrating some new bleach or laundry detergent to whiten and brighten their clothing. Instead, in the vision of the Transfiguration, Jesus desired not to simply whiten the Apostles clothing, but to transform and purify their hearts, their minds and their souls! For Jesus took three young adults – Peter, James and John, high up upon that mountain not to give them a vision of clean and bright clothing, but to brighten their hope of the future, to cleanse their minds of doubt and uncertainty about His divinity and to make their outlook and disposition of certain trials and difficulties to become more joyful, bright and hope-filled! For Peter, James and John were soon to face the greatest trials of their lives. They were about to see their Lord placed on trial, condemned and crucified upon a cross. The Apostles were about to have their faith in Jesus shaken to an unimaginable degree. And they were soon to face tough times themselves as they would be sent out by Jesus to carry on His mission of preaching and teaching His Gospel to a sometimes hostile world. And so to strength their resolve to courageously face the difficult times ahead, Jesus gave them a glimpse into His (and their) future glory to strengthen their resolve to persevere in their upcoming struggles. And for us too, one of the greatest challenges of being a disciple and a young adult is never to lose hope and trust in Jesus Christ and His Church. We are called not to lose hope in God’s presence among us, not to lose hope in God’s promise to be always with us through His Holy Spirit, not to fall into despair over all the troubles and challenges that face young adults in our world today. We should never lose sight of the bright glory that awaits us as blessed disciples in this life and in the eternal future glories promised us as God’s faithful children in heaven! But daily life as a modern day disciple of Christ can sometimes frustrate us and tend to weaken our spirits. We can often become discouraged by all the sin and evil running rampant in our world and wonder why evil sometimes seems to triumph. We can become disheartened at the lack of response of the world to our efforts of evangelization. We sometimes become tired and weary of the difficulty of carrying our daily crosses and persevering to the end. But so must have Peter, James and John as they followed Jesus as He approached Jerusalem and Calvary. So Jesus gave them a wonderful insight into heaven to buoy up their spirits. Jesus gave them a tiny glimpse into the joys that awaited them if they but listened to Christ and remained faithful to His word. Jesus allowed these young adult apostles to see an image that would burn itself into their minds and hearts, never to be forgotten, even when the going gets tough! Today, Jesus wants to give us similar insights into our call to future glory. On this Feast of the Transfiguration, Jesus wants us to recognize all the hopeful signs that God is indeed still with us in a powerful way and is fully in control of the world. And although we will probably never be gifted to receive such an awe-inspiring earthly vision as Peter, James and John to see Jesus in His magnificent transfigured glory, each of us are given glimpses into Jesus’ (and our) future glory if we are willing and open to recognize them. St. Augustine tells us the surest proof of the existence of God is the beauty of creation. For such “ordinary” transcendent visions as a glorious sunrise or sunset, a full moon over a lake, the twinkling stars of a night sky, the wonder of a butterfly, the delicacy of a blooming flower can all help us to see the glory of God. Similarly, the birth of a baby, a mother’s love, the smile of a stranger, a kind word of encouragement, the 1st Holy Communion of a child, the realization that Christ is with us in His Word and Sacraments are given to us as little “transfigurations” as tiny open windows to peer into the joys and peace of eternal life with Christ. But in order to perceive all these little signs of God’s presence, we must separate ourselves from the daily grind of the world. All people, especially young adults need to take the time and effort to leave the pressures and worries of this world behind and take time in daily quiet prayer and an annual retreat. We, like Peter, James and John need to allow Jesus to lead us up a high mountain with Him where He promises to reveal Himself and His glory to us to recharge our spiritual batteries. But we also must not be “tent-makers” as St. Peter suggested and dwell on that mountaintop for long. For we must also follow Jesus back down the mountain and proclaim the light, the glory and the kingship of Christ we have seen to a world dwelling in darkness!
Our Parish Young Adult MinistryContact Ellen 724-775-6363 / ellensfc@comcast.netfor information on any of the below.
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A Pennsylvania Charitable Trust
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Center Twp., Aliquippa, PA 15001 |
724-775-3848 Fax |
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