2nd Sunday of Lent
Cycle A
March 12,
2017
Others – More Than
Meets the Eye
It is
easy to label people.
It is
easy to slide into the habit of summing up others with a one or two-word description. We might say that a co-worker is lazy, or
that a neighbor is moody, or that an in-law is very self-absorbed.
Sometimes
we make quick conclusions about the character of others and sum them up in a
word or two. We may even be partially correct.
But, if
we are honest, we also have to admit that we are likely seeing only part of the
picture. We all know that there is a lot
more to an iceberg than what shows on the surface.
Well in
a similar way, we cannot sum up ourselves or another person in one or two
words. There is more to a person than
what meets the eye.
Jesus – More Than
Meets the Eye
Today’s
gospel gives us a similar message about Jesus.
It says
that Jesus is transfigured – or transformed – before the disciples. The voice from the heavens proclaims: “This is my beloved Son.”
And
then there is the presence of Moses and Elijah.
Up to Jesus’ time, they did not refer to the Scripture as the Bible.
They
simply called the sacred writings “The Law and the Prophets.” So when Moses – the giver of the law, the Ten
Commandments – and Elijah – the last great prophet – when they appear with
Jesus in the middle between them, the meaning is that Jesus is the fulfillment
of the law and the prophets – the fulfillment of everything in the Scripture.
So
Jesus’ unique relationship with God and his unique mission shine through
here. His divinity shines through.
Before
this moment, the disciples had been seeing just the tip of the iceberg. Here the disciples discover that there is a
lot more to Jesus than what meets the eye.
For Us – More Than
What Meets the Eye
There
is also more than what meets the eye in each one of us.
We are
composites of many qualities. Our task
is to allow the divine, God-like qualities shine through us more and more.
Maybe
this is a good way of understanding the mission we have for our time here on
earth. We are to allow Jesus to
transfigure or transform us.
So
maybe we are demanding, but we can also allow our gentleness to emerge. Maybe we are very task-oriented and
hard-working, but we can also allow our easier, person-centered self to shine
through.
Maybe
we are cranky at times, but we can also allow our positive self to be seen. The idea is that there are divine-like
qualities in each of us, like forgiveness, imagination, generosity, joy at the
accomplishment of another, and on it goes.
There
is more to us than what meets the eye.
The gospel calls us to allow Jesus to transfigure or transform us too.
How to Be
Transfigured/Transformed?
I want
to recommend one specific way of doing this.
My
thought is that we use the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass to help us
with this. And on the other days of the
week, we do a brief examination of conscience on our own.
Pick
out just one thing in my life that is blocking a divine, Christ-like quality
from emerging. Just pick one thing and
keep bringing that to God maybe for three or four months.
Ask God’s
forgiveness for this as we feel it is needed.
And also ask God’s grace for the flip side of that quality to emerge in
us – like patience instead of impatience.
Maybe
even think of a way to take the initiative and express in a specific situation the
divine, Christ-like quality that needs to shine through. Over time, this will be a way to allow what
is more than meets the eye in us to emerge, a way to be transfigured or
transformed.
