The first half of St. Mark’s Gospel tells us of Jesus’s ministry of teaching, his mysteries and his healings in Galilee. Before Jesus’s mission, however, he was baptized by the St. John the Baptist. At that moment the spirit of God came down upon Him like a dove and the voice came down from the Heavens says “ you are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased .” as we heard in last Sunday’s Gospel, immediately the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert for fasting and prayer for forty days.
Today we hear from chapter nine in Mark’s Gospel.. Mark is preparing to tell us about Jesus’ final days and his suffering and death. At the beginning of the Gospel, we hear God the Father speak out about His beloved Son. On this occasion, Jesus took his three Apostles up to the top of the mountain, while there He transfigured his appearance. The apostles saw Jesus’ true identity and the glory that was always hidden by the human flesh. As before in the Baptism in the Jordan River, the voice of the Heavenly Father speaks; “ This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.”
The apostles were terrified and yet wanted to pitch three tents to remain there for a while. But it was not to be. Jesus’s ministry was not finished, and it would not be finished until after his death and resurrection. Jesus told them not to tell anyone about this vision until after He had risen from the dead.
Like the apostles, we prefer to picture Jesus in Glory, but we can’t forget Jesus as he was hanging on the cross in extreme agony. Our God could not suffer in his divinity, so he took on our human nature to share our suffering and so he could give his life for us. We must meet our God under both aspects, as our Suffering God and our Glorified God. It is in meeting him under both aspects that we are more able to deal with the suffering that comes our way in our journey through life. Going to Mass each week keeps us close to Jesus’s sacrifice of his body and blood, and it gives us the hope for the future Glory. Lent helps us continue to be aware of what Jesus did for us all.
Amen
