Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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I’m sure many of us have seen Beauty and the Beast – either as children or with our children and grandchildren.
Do you remember one of the main characters, Gaston? He seemed to have everything a person could want – good looks, lots of money, and lots of praise.
All the girls in town thought he was great! … Except Belle, the only girl he wanted.
Belle thought Gaston was a selfish showoff. While he was attractive on the outside, he was ugly on the inside, only caring about himself.
Rightfully, she was unimpressed.
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Jesus says the same thing about the scribes and the Pharisees in today’s Gospel.
Like Gaston, they wear nice clothes, they’re smart, many of them are rich, and they love to be recognized.
But Jesus sees straight through their appearance. The Pharisees are religiously attractive on the outside but are ugly on the inside.
“All of their works are performed to be seen,” he says. They try to maintain a false image, only caring about themselves.
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So, if nice clothes, lots of money, and good looks won’t impress Jesus, then what will?
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“The greatest among you must be your servant,” he says. Thatperson is beautiful and praiseworthy in the eyes of God.
During this season of Lent, how can we be better servants of others?
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; 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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Have you heard the story of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad?
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Harriet was born into slavery in 19th century America. After years of forced labor, she ran away from her captors, finding freedom in the North.
What makes her story so incredible is the fact that, after finding her own way to freedom, she turned around and spent the next 10 years of her life helping other slaves to do the same.
Estimates are she led hundreds of people to freedom.
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By all accounts, the Underground Railroad was a dangerous journey. It took weeks to complete, because Harriet and her “passengers” as she called them, could only move at night, under the cover of darkness, out of fear of being caught – or worse, killed.
Throughout the perilous journey, every “passenger” chose to remain close by her side, because only Harriet knew the way.
Amazingly, in all of her travels, she never lost a single passenger. Anyone who stuck by her side made it safely into the North.
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A similar journey is happening with Jesus and his disciples.
Just as Harriet promised to lead others into freedom, so Jesus promises to lead his disciples into the kingdom of God.
And only Jesus knows the way.
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So, what is heaven like?
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Today’s Gospel offers us a clue.
Consider what Peter sees.
Peter not only sees Jesus. He also sees Moses and Elijah, prophets from the Old Testament who lived hundreds of years before him.
Somehow, they’re alive again.
They’re standing right in front of Peter, speaking with Jesus.
Peter sees their bodies and their faces; he knows Moses and Elijah by name; he can distinguish between the two of them; and he recognizes each of them by the good works they did in life – they were prophets.
Meaning, Moses’ and Elijah’s earthly identities remain intact in heaven.
The same will be true for us.
When we pass from this life and enter the presence of God, we will keep our names, our faces, and even the memories we make in life.
All of the good we do in this world carries over into heaven.
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I celebrated a funeral for an eighty-three-year-old woman this week named Marie. At the wake, I spoke to her nine grandchildren about the Transfiguration, using an analogy that may be helpful for some gathered here today.
So, how many of you have an iPhone?
If I take your phones and throw them into the lake, you don’t have to worry. You can go to the Apple store and buy a new one.
Then you simply upload all of your photos and contacts onto that new phone using the iCloud. Although you’ve exchanged one phone for another, your memories were never lost.
The same is true for us.
We’ve all been given earthly bodies. When we pass over into heaven, we’re given heavenly bodies, much like an upgraded iPhone. God then “uploads” all of our memories onto that heavenly body, because God is the original iCloud.
He stores up our memories for us.
This is why Peter recognizes Moses and Elijah. God has taken their earthly bodies, exchanged them for heavenly ones, and “uploaded” their histories, keeping images that Peter would recognize.
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Who is my Moses? My Elijah? Who do I long to see again in heaven?
Perhaps it’s a parent, a grandparent, a spouse, a friend, or even a child.
Personally, I long to see my mother again. This Gospel assures me that I’ll know her when I see her; she’ll still have her beautiful face, her bright smile, and her curly auburn hair.
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“Master, it is good that we are here.”
The Transfiguration is a moment of divine revelation for Peter. He has a glimpse of heaven.
Jesus allows him to see Moses and Elijah, and to hear God’s voice, to console him. Peter will need this memory as he journeys back down the mountain, because there is still great sorrow ahead.
Before he enters the kingdom of God, Peter must watch Jesus suffer and die on Calvary. He himself will be nailed to a cross. But when that ends, he’ll enter the kingdom of God, where his parents, his friends, and his family live with God, Moses, and Elijah.
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Similarly, today’s feast is meant to remind us that good things are ahead. Although we may suffer in this life – take COVID as an example – this is not the end. There are beautiful days ahead.
Like Harriet Tubman leading her passengers into freedom, Jesus is leading all of us into the kingdom of God, where heavenly bodies await us.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Why is it that we don’t always get what we pray for?
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus says clearly, “Everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Yet some prayers go unanswered.
Why is that?
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Context is everything.
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This Gospel passage comes only a few verses after Jesus gives his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer we’ve all prayed thousands of times.
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
That’s key.
Jesus links today’s promise – ask, seek, find – to the Lord’sPrayer. Meaning, Jesus will give anyone who asks the grace to do God’s will here on earth, just as it’s done in heaven.
God may not give me a Ferrari, even if I pray for it. But he will give me the grace to resist temptation; to endure dry periods of prayer; to grow in humility and patience; and to embrace this penitential season of Lent.
“Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread?” Jesus says.
“If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.”
God will never give us anything evil.
But sometimes when we don’t get what we pray for, it doesn’t mean that God isn’t listening or that he doesn’t care; he simply has other plans – better plans – for us, which often make sense in time.
May the Lord give us the grace to accept his will, whatever it may be, today.
