This Transfiguration scene marks an important stop on the road as Jesus moves towards Jerusalem. Yes, he still has some teaching to do.  He still has to suffer and die and be raised again. But this is a  milestone in his ministry. And it very deliberately echoes the  beginning of that ministry.  

You will recall that Jesus had come to be baptized by John in the  Jordan River, and, after the baptism, a voice from heaven was heard  saying, “This is my beloved son. My favor rests on him.”  And now he  hears, “This is my son, my chosen one. Listen to him.” After that  baptism, we are told that God’s favor rested on Jesus. And his whole  life was now a response to that favor of God, that graciousness of  God. He had spoken well. He had given new insights into the mind and  intention of God. He had spoken well, revealed to us a God of  compassion and mercy and love. He had urged us to love one another as  he had loved us, and he told us that the value of our lives would be  judged by the way we treat other people, especially the poor, the  marginalized, the sick, the hungry. “Whatever you do,” he said, “for  the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for me.”  

And now, at this moment in his ministry, witnessed by the great  figures of the past, Moses and Elijah, witnessed by the future great  figures, Peter, James and John, now he hears his Father, saying to  him, in effect, “You’ve done well. Congratulations! Keep up the good  work.” God says, “This is my son, my chosen one. Listen to him.” This  is powerful, powerful affirmation and Jesus, as a human being, needed  that affirmation as he continues his journey to Jerusalem, the city  that represented the highest desires of every  Jewish heart. He  needed affirmation because he knew, as any thinking person would  know, that if he continued preaching the way he had been preaching,  if he continued faithful to his mission, he would inevitably clash  with both the Jewish and the Roman authorities. And so, now, he draws  strength from this affirmation by the Father.

When we too are on a journey, a journey of faith, we seek our  Jerusalem, our ideal of a life’s mission lived to its fullest, as God  wants it to be lived, and we too need to be assured that we are loved  by God, that we are God’s chosen ones. And how can we have such  reassurance? We can have it if we heed God’s urging. Listen to  him.... Listen to him. We read the words of the Gospel. We hear it  proclaimed at Mass. We hear, but do we really listen? Listening is an  active exercise. It involves hearing with the heart, not just with  the ears. Listening requires us to get involved with another person,  to truly concentrate on that person and listen to what is being said,  an active exercise. And so, listening to Jesus means being really,  really open to him. This, of course, as in any true listening  exercise, can be risky. How so? Well, as we make our Lenten journey  of conversion, his words may point to a path that is hard, steep,  stoney, one that we would really not want to take. So it’s risky to  truly listen to Jesus. But it can be so rewarding, so fulfilling, so  uplifting for the spirit. Listen to him.

Where do we hear his voice? Well, first and foremost, of course, is  Sacred Scripture. When the first reading was ended, it was proclaimed  “The Word of the Lord.” And we said, “Thanks be to God.” The Word of  the Lord, written or proclaimed not just some story or event that  happened some two thousand years ago, but something that affects me  today, something that has a relevant message for the way that I live  my life today, relevant to this journey that I am making to the new  and eternal Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven.  Sacred Scripture has sometimes been described as a map for our  journey. It’s more than that. It is indeed, we might say, the voice  of Jesus himself explaining the map because he himself is the map. He  said, “I am the Way.” And Scripture is his voice explaining that way,  telling us how to live on that journey, how to make that journey with  Jesus who has gone before us. And so we are affirmed by Sacred  Scripture. We are affirmed, assured that we are important to God,  that we are God’s beloved children, that we are alive with God’s  spirit, that Jesus has walked the road before us, that he truly is  the Way to eternal life. Listening to Sacred Scripture as we read it  ourselves or hear it proclaimed might well be described as our moment  of Transfiguration, when God reassures us that, in spite of our  faults and failings, in spite of the number of times we have fallen,  we are loved. We are precious in God’s eyes and loved by God. And so,  we are encouraged by the heroes of both the Jewish and Christian  scriptures and traditions. We are affirmed by the voice of God and we  journey onward full of hope and trust and love.  

And, as we feel strongly affirmed ourselves, surely we should reach  out in affirmation to others. The Christian way is not an easy road  to follow. Many find it very, very hard indeed. So let us acknowledge  their struggle. Let us encourage their efforts. Let us pray that we  all persevere on our journeys. Amen.