This is My Beloved…Listen to Him

I wonder how aware are we of  the "voice" of God in our lives and the way in which it is manifested? While reference to "a spiritual calling" is commonly associated with clergy, we don’t often consider that we’re “called” to a career or a secular vocation or even volunteering. But, why not? I pose this question because the story of the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28b-36) reminds us to listen with all our senses for God’s will for us. And while the unworldly spectacle of the transfiguration blinded Peter, James and John, aren't we  easily be distracted by the “noise” of the world?

The scene  moves very quickly as Peter in his excitement is eager to commemorate and memorialize the event feels the need to freeze the moment and do something to capture this life-changing event… even before he has been able to process what he has just seen. We feel like saying to Peter "Please be quiet and just listen before you do or say anything!"  While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 

Maybe everything started to become clear and make sense to Peter when he listened and heard the word of God, but as we know too well, it didn't last very long.  How many times did Jesus remind Peter of his destiny? Peter may hear but is he really listening?  

Peter's transformation comes about when he repeatedly fails, falls, and is lifted up again. We too try our best and sometimes succeed and sometimes fail. We, too, have moments of insight and moments of denial. We too, fall down in fear and are raised up again and move ahead in confidence. This is a pattern that shapes our lives on this spiritual journey. We all must face the wilderness that ultimately leads to transformation and growth. This story is as much about Peter and Jesus as it is about us as we are asked to listen and to hear his voice and know God’s will for us.

 In these past weeks Luke has called our attention to Jesus’ humanity so that we might see our lives in and through his. But make no mistake,  in this gospel Luke reveals Jesus' divinity in no uncertain terms: “This is my beloved…listen to Him.”. And as we share in Jesus’ humanity, we also share in his divinity. We must listen with every fiber of our bing and allow the message to seep through the din of our day to day and know that we are being called each day to be transformed and allow our divine nature find it's way through on our journey back to "from whom we've come."

There have been quite a few times when I have felt the winds of God’s grace in the sails of my small boat. Sometimes these graces have moved me in pleasant and sunlit directions. At other times the requested acts of love were born in the darkness of struggle and suffering. There have been spring times and there have been long cold winters of struggle for survival. God has come to me at times with the purest kindness, at times with the most affirming encouragement, and at other times with bold frightening challenges. I think that all of us have to watch and pray, to be ready to say “yes” when God’s language is concrete and his request is specific-“yes” in the sunlit spring times and “yes’ in the darkness of winter nights. (John Powell, S.J., The Christian Vision, The Truth That Sets Us Free, p147)

Our Time in the Desert

 Lent is an important part of our journey. Each step we take has been walked at one time in the gospels. We know that this, our spiritual journey, begins in the desert and leads us to the cross and to a tomb and “ends” with Easter, at which time our journey to God begins again. In our readings for this upcoming Sunday in Lent, Luke 4:1-13, we are told that “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”  What do these temptations or tests mean to us today? 

I have been fortunate to have had an opportunity to travel fairly extensively in my life, both for business and pleasure. Although less so much now, travelling was one of my passions. Today the desire to travel has been tempered by time, circumstance and the need to be more selective. Over the years I have observed that there are two types of  journeymen. I would categorize these as being either tourists or travelers. The tourist travels through his journey in comfort, ensuring that his experiences are familiar and safe. He makes sure that he takes “his stuff” from  home with him. There are many vendors along the way who, for a price, would be willing to accommodate the tourist’s expectations and satisfy his needs, most of which are soon forgotten when he returns home armed with photos, souvenirs, and pleasant memories. On the other hand, the traveler  becomes totally absorbed by the experience in which the destination is not the only focus but part of a continuum. He is enriched in mind and spirit as new experiences are revealed and long remembered.

A few years ago, we decided to take a trip to Alaska. Our goal was to experience it as up close and personal as we could, requiring that we leave our “comfort zone” and all the attachments of our lives back home. This required that we travel on a small ship that had access to small ports and "fjords." There would be no cell phones, internet or TV. Our accommodation was a small room reminiscent of spiritual retreat.  While a departure from the way we might typically travel, this was one of the most enjoyable trips we’d ever taken. We were living as being absorbed by the journey, in the journey, as "explorers" mindful of our days' activities, unencumbered by distractions. 

Jesus’ time in the desert somehow relates to our journey as a traveler leaving our comfort zone and sharing the food we have, instead of waiting for stones to be turned into bread. If our goal is to find God in all places and things, we may to find Him in "new" places, among "new" people. As an act of faith, like Jesus, we place ourselves in God’s hands and surrender to his will by the power of the Holy Spirit