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Gospel: Mark 9: 2-10
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother 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;
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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Do you have an iPhone?
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If so, suppose I took it and threw it into a lake.
Although you’d be inconvenienced by my antics, you’d have no reason to be angry with me, because you could either go online or straight to an Apple store and by another phone on me.
For your troubles, let’s say I give you an upgrade.
Now all you have to do is upload your photos, contacts, and apps from the iCloud onto your new phone. Everything was conveniently stored there for you.
Not a bad deal, right?
I take your old phone and, in exchange, give you a new, upgraded one with all of your information intact.
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This Apple “model” was originally a Christian idea.
When we go to heaven, we exchange our earthly bodies for a heavenly one, and all of our good memories remain intact, because God is the original iCloud.
What proof is there, you say?
Just look at today’s Gospel.
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First, Jesus is transfigured before his disciples; he’s glowing like a light bulb. Then, Peter sees Moses and Elijah standing on his left and right, speaking with Jesus. Keep in mind, these were men who lived and died hundreds of years before!
Yet somehow Peter is able to recognize them. Each is a distinct person with his own name, face, and body. Peter recognizes them based upon the good they did in this life; they were prophets.
What has happened to Moses and Elijah?
Much like your iPhone that I tossed into a lake, they’ve exchanged their earthly bodies for heavenly ones, then God – the original iCloud – uploaded all of their memories onto their heavenly bodies.
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This is one of the many incentives for us to live Christian lives.
We believe that all of the good that we do in this life goes with us in the end. As it’s written in the Book of Revelation, the final book in the bible, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Their good works go with them.”
Make some good memories today.
After all, we’ll have them forever.
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Image credits: (1) Apple iCloud (2) Transfiguration, Raphael (3) Christianity Today