Pep Talk

We can all use a pep talk now and then.

We might just be weary.

Or we might be suffering from uncertainty, doubt, lack of confidence, or fear.

Especially if we’re getting ready for something that’s going to push us to our limits.

We might need a little reassurance,

A little boost to our faith in ourselves and in our cause.

Words from a trusted leader or advisor.

The coach before the big match.

The general before the big battle.

The mentor before the big step.

The Transfiguration was a great reassurance to the apostles.

Assuring them they were on the right track, that Jesus truly was the Messiah.

Our passage from the Letter of Peter shows how profoundly impressed he was.

He’s assuring the new disciples that he and John and James were eyewitnesses.

They actually saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus!

They heard God’s voice from heaven say:

This is my Son, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.

And that great event becomes not only their assurance.

But assurance they can pass down through generations of disciples, to us.

Another piece of evidence for any of us needing a little boost of faith.

But one line struck me as I reread Luke’s Gospel account.

[They] spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.

As Moses led the Israelites out of the grip of the Egyptians,

Jesus would soon lead the world out of the grip of death.

But the accomplishment would require great sacrifice and suffering from Jesus.

Maybe this event wasn’t all about us.

Executed to give the apostles and us some reassurance.

Maybe the main purpose was to reassure someone else.

What did Jesus know and when did he know it?

He knew all that he learned through his frequent listening to God in prayer.

But did he know that he was actually God himself?

More than just a vague understanding or a firm belief.

But actual, certain knowledge?

What restrictions did God the Son place on his own knowledge when he became man?

When did Jesus fully know that he was God?

In the womb?

In the manger?

In the temple?

In the Jordan with John the Baptist?

On the mountain with Moses and Elijah?

Or perhaps, outside the tomb on Easter morning.

Whether Jesus had full knowledge that he was God or not,

He knew that he was already weary from the burdens of his mission.

He saw that his time of extreme suffering in Jerusalem would soon be upon him.

It was a great blessing from the Father to send him encouragement.

And to send it with such convincing and reassuring power.

Through  a personal visit from messengers no less than Moses and Elijah.

And through His own direct, audible, fatherly voice from heaven.

It was an unmistakable sign to Jesus that he was on the right path.

And that he was in good hands.

The Transfiguration may not have been all about us.

But it was, in large part, meant for us too.

Not only to bolster our faith in Jesus.

But to show the kind of Father we have.

One who sends us encouragement and comfort and guidance.

If we’ll just look for His messengers and recognize them when they come.

And learn to recognize His voice.

The Feast of the Transfiguration
Tuesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Mt 13:24-43           Read this Scripture @usccb.org