“He saved us and called us to a holy life…” – 2 Timothy 1:9
This second week of Lent, we travel up Mt. Tabor with Peter, James, and John and witness Jesus’ Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9). This miraculous manifestation of the Holy Trinity seems like a strange detour during Lent. Shouldn’t we be sitting somewhere covered in sackcloth and ashes (Jonah 3:5-6)? Instead, we find ourselves on a mountaintop surrounded by Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, the voice of God the Father, and the glory of the Holy Spirit shining all around us through Christ. What beauty and wonder! Can you imagine what this experience was like for the three apostles?
Consider for a moment why the Church, in her wisdom, offers us this Gospel reading for the second Sunday of Lent. I believe it’s because the Transfiguration of Christ shows us the true goal of our Lenten sacrifices: the power of encountering the Risen Christ in order to live holy lives. The Transfiguration is a foretaste of Jesus as experienced in His glory. He was outwardly transformed to reveal the glory of His divine nature.
In our second reading, St. Paul explains this point to his spiritual son, Timothy: “He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began…” (2 Timothy 1:9). Jesus came to save us from eternal separation from God (damnation). God’s saving work can start even before we die–thank you, Jesus! It can start here and now. He came to save us so that we can spend eternity with Him in heaven and live a life of holiness and abundance in the present (see John 10:10).
It’s an encounter with the Risen Christ that can transfigure our own lives, allowing them to become holy. Our open hearts, touched by Christ, are able to be filled with God’s grace. Lenten sacrifices help purify, widen, and open our hearts to receive more grace, allowing for deeper transfiguration. Can you imagine your heart after receiving sacramental Confession? It has been swept clean of the impurities of sin. Next, imagine your Lenten fast, making the capacity of your heart a little less full of the things of this world. Your consistent prayers during Lent have opened up communication lines between you and God. Your heart has given of itself by giving alms to the poor, and it is even more open to receiving grace. Finish with this imagination: your clean, open, and receptive heart receives the Presence of Jesus in Holy Communion, becoming full of His radiance and love. The Holy Spirit abides in you and you in Him. The love of God has been poured into your heart and you seek to pour it out to others (see Romans 5:5). It has been transfigured by grace!
Jesus, thank you for calling me to live a holy life and for the way that You transfigure my heart so that I can live abundantly in You.