Homily
for August 6, 2006
Liturgical Year B - Cycle II
The Transfiguration of the Lord
By Fr. Joshua Nyoni Topic:
Listen to Jesus
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Reading I
Dn 7:9-10, 13-14
As I watched:
Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne . His clothing
was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool; his
throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire. A surging
stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands
were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. The
court was convened and the books were opened.
As the visions during the night continued, I saw:
One like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached
the Ancient One and was presented before him, The one like a Son of man
received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and
languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall
not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed
Reading II
Book 2:2
Reading II
2Pt 1:16-19
Beloved:
We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses
of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father
when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, “This
is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard
this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy
mountain. Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether
reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining
in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your
hearts.
Gospel
Mk 9:2-10
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John, and led them up a high
mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and
his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could
bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they
were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi,
it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one
for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were
so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the
cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." Suddenly,
looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to
relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had
risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning
what rising from the dead meant.
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Daniel’s vision in the first reading describes, as we all have heard,
the majesty and the splendor of divine glory. I would put it in a way
of preparing us to understand the transfiguration of Jesus in the
Gospel.
In the second reading, Peter clearly testifies or gives witness to what
he himself had seen and heard, what he had experienced. “We heard this
ourselves spoken from heaven when we were with him on the holy
mountain.” What did they hear? Of course, they heard God’s voice, “This
is my son. He enjoys my favor.” Peter recalls those moments as moments
of powerful evidence. The evidence that did bring about the conviction
in him to preach and proclaim what he had seen and heard. He says, “We
are witnesses to these things.” Now for the disciples that was a
powerful moment, the moment of revelation. They saw. They heard. Then
they went out to give out what they had seen.
Now in our lives there are such moments, moments when we get that
powerful evidence that comes from God. The question is, “Are we
attentive to those moments?” The Gospel today demonstrates that
witnessing to the glory of God and that the transfiguration is
something terrifying. When Jesus’ clothes were dazzling white, the
disciples were terrified by that reality. Speaking about the Holy, I’m
reminded of one author Rudolph Otto when he speaks about the Holy, “The
holy is,” he puts it in Latin, “Mysterium tremendum et fascinans.” Now
what does that boil down to? It comes to something like this. When you
are before the Holy, you tremble. You don’t know what to say. You are
afraid. This is exactly what happened to the disciples. They were
terrified.
Now, as I speak about this, I am reminded of my own experience in
Zimbabwe. Listen to what happened. The Pope came to Zimbabwe in 1988
and I was an altar boy, an altar server. When the Pope was celebrating
mass, I was asked to be the one who holds the microphone. We had no
microphone stand to hold it. We were still poor, you see. We had no
stand to put it. So, we had the microphone and I would hold the
microphone for the Holy Father. I tell you my experience was that I was
afraid and the microphone was in trouble you see.
Before a holy person you feel it’s a mystery. You are afraid. You are
trembling. You are terrified. You don’t know what to do. This is
exactly what happened to the disciples. They were afraid. Peter, James,
and John saw the dazzling glory of Jesus. They saw Jesus for who he
really is, his true divinity. Jesus is not only human he’s also divine.
Elijah and Moses appeared conversing with Jesus, now signifying that
Jesus himself was the fulfillment of the prophet; we have Elijah, and
all the law; we have Moses because the law was given to Moses so that
it can be given to us. Now, the disciples then heard God’s voice from
the clouds saying, “This is my beloved son. Listen to him.”
Yesterday in White Rock, when we were in the sacristy, Deacon Bob asked
me a question. He said, “Father, the Gospel says there was a cloud that
came and it cast a shadow. That should mean that there was the sun
somewhere there, you see.” Then he said, “What do you think?” I said,
“Well, I don’t know. But theologically speaking the cloud signifies
God’s presence. Whether there was the sun coming that way or this way,
I don’t know.” That was my response. Now in that cloud what came was
the voice and the voice said, “This is my beloved son. Listen to him.”
From all this, what do we learn? Just as Jesus was transfigured, we as
well need to be aware that in our lives there are moments of
transfiguration, moments of transformation, and moments of certain
revelations. It is in those moments when God himself reveals himself to
us, personally and privately. Nevertheless, are we attentive to those
moments or do we just let them go?
The second point is this: Just as the disciples went up that mountain,
they had to come down the mountain also. We see in that that the
mountaintops of our lives give us the strength and the energy to be
able to withstand or bear the difficulties of life when we are in the
valleys of our lives. When we are down there, life is tough. But if we
are attentive up there that will remind you that, no, there is
something greater in as much as the disciples realized that in Jesus
there was something greater.
Lastly, I would like to comment on, “This beloved son. Listen to him.”
These words are very powerful and we need to take them seriously. Why
do I say that? I say that because these words mean our destiny. They
mean our salvation. Our salvation will depend on whether we have
listened to Jesus or not. Listening to Jesus is not hearing Jesus
because the things we hear pass by. They come into this ear and then
they go on. I don’t know where they go. They fly maybe into the choir
or I don’t know where. They go on fast to the rectory. But the things
we listen to, if we listen to Jesus, those things remain with us.
Listening leads to eternity. Listening brings before us heaven. Now the
question is: Do we listen to Jesus or do we hear Jesus? Do we put into
practice what he tells us?