Atop the Mountain

“Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.”

Matthew 17:1

On the Second Sunday of Lent we hear proclaimed the account of the Transfiguration where Jesus brings Peter, James, and John up the mountain. Whenever we hear of mountains we know something important is going to happen. Mountains are the places of encounter between God and man. Just as Moses encountered God in the cloud on Mount Sinai, Peter, James, and John encountered the Son of the Living God transfigured before them on the high mountain, giving them a glimpse of Jesus in His glory. Today we are invited to go up that mountain too.

The trio Peter, James, and John has been given a special privilege and they are set apart from the other Apostles not because they are more special or important but because for whatever reason God chose to reveal to them and allow them to experience things that others did not. God chose these three for this mountaintop experience. On that mountain Jesus showed Peter, James, and John a side of Him that was yet to happen in human history — Jesus in all of His glory, in the Resurrection and the Ascension.

Peter exclaimed, “It is good that we are here!” Indeed it was, and so much so that Peter offered to build tents — one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. But Peter got it wrong. Jesus did not bring Peter up for a camping trip and to stay a while to see the gorgeous views. This moment ought to serve as an anchor and a moment to encourage the Apostles when the journey grew difficult after Jesus ascends to the Father. To think back on this mountaintop moment, knowing that the victory has been won and that Christ is victorious and that they are sharers in His glory. Jesus did not bring them up so that they could stay, but rather so that they might have the strength and courage to go down the mountain to meet and serve the people who awaits them.

These tents that Peter offered to pitch can be thought of as our many attachments. What are the attachments in my life that keep me from following Christ and pursuing all that is good and holy? Peter did not want to go, he did not want to face what was to come, and he did not understand (yet) the mission of Jesus. Perhaps we are the same sometimes. Where are the places in our hearts that we so often want to and have pitched tents? How long have we stayed there? Perhaps it is time to pack up our things and continue with our journey. Jesus leads us, but will we follow? Let us bring to mind those mountaintop experiences — a good retreat, a “God moment,” a moving encounter, a powerful moment of grace in the sacraments — and allow them to motivate us and encourage us on our journey when we feel tempted to pitch tents. When we feel tired along our journey, pitching tents will not give us the reenergizing we need. It is the Sacraments, and encounters with God in those privileged words and actions that will nourish us, reenergize us, and point us back to Christ.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus leads us atop the mountain today. As we kneel before the Eucharist when the priest elevates the consecrated Host at Mass today, may we see Our Transfigured Lord, and, after receiving Him, courageously walk down the mountain and bring the Good News of Christ to all we come to meet.

Power of Temptation

“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
‘Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?’”

Genesis 3:1

The story of Adam and Eve is perhaps one that is well known to Christians and non-Christians alike. God created man and woman, Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve — all humanity — is the greatest of all creation for they were made in the very image and likeness of God. They had the enviable gift of sharing in the life of God Himself. They had the gift of sanctifying grace. They also had the gift of free choice and free will, and they chose to reject that life with God.

It would be foolish of us to ignore the power of the enemy. The devil is real and he is powerful. But we should also remember the devil is nonetheless a creature, a creature of God who has chosen to reject His love. No creature is greater than its Creator. So, the devil is powerful, much more powerful than us, and he uses our weaknesses to tempt us. The devil tempts us with lies. He promises us things that He can never really give. He tempted Adam and Eve with this knowledge, this opening of the eyes that will make them like gods. The irony in this is that Adam and Eve already possessed those gifts. They were already made in the image and likeness of God — they were like God already! As being as such, they were infused with a special knowledge that no fallen angel could give to them. Adam and Eve were tricked and tempted to receive something they already had. How often do we allow our pride and jealousy to get the best of us? What much more could we ask for? We are made in God’s very image and likeness. By our baptism we have come to share in the life of God Himself. What greater gift is there? In the fullness of time, God gave us one greater gift — Himself. He became man and died so that we might live.

The power of the devil’s temptation can cause us to reject all that we already have in the selfish hope of getting something even better and more. So, what can we do? We must reflect upon our own weaknesses. What are the things that cause me to fall? Know those well and know that the devil will prey on those weaknesses. Bring those weaknesses into the light. Bring them to the Lord. Here is a sample prayer: “Lord, I know that ‘x’ and ‘y’ usually leads me to anger and frustration and I end up feeling sorry for myself. Teach me to offer up my ‘x’ and ‘y’ and to believe that You will use them for good. As for the enemy, I reject his lies and his empty promises. Keep me close to You, Lord.”

When we bring before the Lord our weaknesses and all that causes us shame, the power of the enemy’s temptation becomes nothing. God is our strength and He is our life. The enemy seeks to bring us down but God seeks to raise us up. Let us never forget that.

Doesn’t Make Sense

“But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one as well.”

Matthew 5:39

I am confident we have all heard of the phrase, “turn the other cheek.” Perhaps we understand that as to keep quiet and just walk away when someone attacks us and provokes us. To some this is a cop out and shows that we are afraid of confrontation. To others this may be the way to avoid unnecessary pain or violence. But to Christians, this means none of the aforementioned. For Christians, “turn the other cheek” means something different: it means exactly what is written.

Could Christ really mean for us to turn the other cheek if someone slaps us on the other? Maybe so. Does Jesus really want us to take the shirts off our backs and the pants around our waists and leave ourselves indecent and exposed for all to see? Maybe so. Is Jesus serious when He says for us to help someone double the time that is asked of us? Maybe so. This doesn’t make sense. But, does love have to always make sense? Does it make sense that the Son of God became man, and not only that but also died for His creatures in the most shameful of ways — naked and exposed for all to see on a bloody cross? It doesn’t make sense, but God chose to will it. Of all the many different ways He could have shown us His love, He chose to do so in that manner. (In fact, God really didn’t have to prove to us that He loves us, but He did.) It doesn’t make sense. But that is why God did it.

To love someone who hurt us and wants us to suffer seems foolish. To greet those who slander us makes us look weak. Yet, that is what the Lord instructs us to do. To “turn the other cheek” then is not a “cop out” or a sign of avoidance from confrontation; rather it is an invitation to see the other as Christ sees them. To peer into the heart of the one who slaps us, figuratively and literally, and seeing that this act of violence is really a cry for help, the fruit of feeling unloved, the product of sin — this is what it means to “turn the other cheek.” To look upon the other with love and sitting with their pain and anguish, showing them that someone cares and that they are not alone.

We turn the other cheek because that could be the only act of love that person has experienced. Why isn’t he yelling back at me? Why doesn’t he punch me? Because he sees me. Someone finally and really sees me. Only acts of genuine love that is rooted in the love of God that can melt hearts and build relationships. So yes, to turn the other cheek does not seem to make sense, but if we look closely and dig deeper and try to understand it from the level of faith and not merely sense, we can come to understand why Jesus said what He said. We turn our cheeks because Christ first turned His when He endured the spits and buffets, scourging and crowning with thorns, the drilling of the nails into his hands and feet, and when mounted on to the Cross, looking out and seeing the people mocking Him and humiliating Him. He turned His cheek because He loved them, because He loved us. Jesus turned His cheek because only by doing so would we have eternal life.

Brothers and sisters, let us imitate Christ today and turn the other cheek.