Beloved of the Father

2nd Sunday of Lent Mar. 4, 2012 (Mk 1:12-15)

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and 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; then 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.

Just as our Lenten journey will conclude in the glory of Easter, so our life journey is directed to eternal life with God. The Transfiguration of Jesus shows us that our goal is a glorious life with God. This glorious moment on the mountain is a foretaste of the glory of Easter and of the life that awaits us as beloved sons of God.

But aside from showing us our destination, the Transfiguration also shows us our way - Jesus Himself. On the mountain, the Father calls Jesus His Beloved Son and commands us to listen to Jesus. Jesus is our brother who came to the world not only to die for our sins, but also to live a life that we ought to imitate. In His own life, Jesus showed us how to live as true children of the Father.

As we take this Lenten journey, Jesus should be our model and His Word should be our inspiration. We should follow His example of sacrifice, service and prayer. We should reflect on the Gospel, His story and His words, ever more deeply. We must learn to live as Jesus did.

Only in following Jesus' example of carrying the cross can we ever get to our glorious destination. Jesus descended from the mountain and faced the sufferings that awaited Him in Jerusalem. So too must we face the trials of everyday life, living as Jesus did, especially now as we try to change our lives this Lent.

Only in making that successful journey in following Jesus' way can we find the glory that was revealed in Jesus' Transfiguration. Then we could find the transfigured Jesus, with ourselves also transfigured, beloved of the Father.

Emmanuel in the Midst of Confusion

4th Sunday of Advent Dec. 19, 2010 (Mt 1:18-24)

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.

Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

A Christian existentialist philosopher named Soren Kierkegaard said that there were three stages of man's life. The first is the aesthetic stage where all that matters is pleasure. The second is the ethical stage, where social norms and ethical rules govern one's life. The last stage is the religious stage, where one goes beyond ethics. Kierkegaard said that man can only be at one stage of life at a given time, but man can make a leap towards the next stage.

Abraham was said to be a man in the religious stage of life. Ethical rules told him that murdering his son Isaac would be wrong, but he ignored ethics because he trusted God who asked for the sacrifice. His faith in God went beyond social norms. He knew that God's wisdom is far higher than human conventions.

I believe St. Joseph, in our Gospel today, also made a leap from the ethical to the religious stage. He made a leap of faith, trusting in God who, through an angel, told him to marry a pregnant woman. Marrying a woman who bears a child that is not even one's own was quite a scandal in Jewish society, especially back then. But Joseph realized that the angel's command was part of a grand plan that God was working on. He trusted that everything will work out because God was the event organizer. So he ignored the social norms of his time and chose to obey God.

Today's Gospel reminds us all that God has a plan for our life. Jesus is the Emmanuel, the God who is with us. He is the God who works in our everyday life. The angel's message to Joseph is also God's message to us, "Do not be afraid." In times when we don't know what to do, God makes us realize that He has been and will always be with us. In the midst of confusion, God makes everything make sense, as He did in Joseph's life.

As He did to Joseph, God asks us to trust in Him, to listen to Him, and to cooperate with Him in whatever He has in store for us. Even when nothing makes sense to us, we must make a leap of faith and obey the will of God that is revealed to us in prayer. Only then will everything make sense to us. We will realize God's plan and we will see how much better His plan is. At such a point in our lives, we will feel happy simply because we allowed ourselves to be part of God's plan, and we will forget all the confusion and all the difficulties we faced before.

Jesus is the greatest proof that God is with us. He was born here on earth to dwell with us precisely because He wanted to show us that God is working for our salvation and that we have to participate in His plan. He came to show us how to live in faith. He reminds us to make room for Him in our life, even if our life is one chaos of a manger.

In this world where we make many important decisions, where we hear many voices telling us what to do, and where most of us want to do everything their way, Jesus offers us another way - His way. He invites us to try doing things His way, for we might just find it better. Even when we are not sure where Jesus' way will take us, our faith in Him assures us that His way is the best way to go.

As the world makes noise this Christmas, may we find time to pray and to listen to what God is telling us. May we be open to His will, like St. Joseph, and may we be able to participate in God's plan for us. May our faith survive amidst confusion and amidst all the challenges that this world poses and ultimately lead us to the way which Jesus was born to show us.