Too often, we become complacent and do the same old, same old. Why? Because it’s easy; it’s comfortable; it’s effortless. However, it’s also lazy. When we are lazy, we become idle, and, as the saying goes, “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” As Catholic Christians, we cannot afford to be lazy. We cannot allow idleness or complacency to become the norm, especially in our spiritual lives. Abram was asked to leave the comfort of his kinsfolk’s land and travel to unknown parts. In the process, God made of Abram a great nation. He became the ancestor of the Jews, Muslims, and Christians. His descendants became more numerous than the stars. But moving out of our comfort zones requires courage, trust, and faith.
When Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the top of Mount Tabor, it was a walk of trust. They were about to experience something that would shake their faith. I’ve been to the top of Tabor; the journey is long and difficult, and it would have been even more so in the first century. At the top are views of the Megiddo valley and the surrounding mountain ranges. There is a tradition that the Battle of Armageddon may be fought in the valleys below Mount Tabor. In any case, Jesus chose this site to reveal His divine nature to His most trusted companions. At the transfiguration, Peter, James, and John received a brief glimpse of Jesus’ divinity and an insight into what lay ahead for them. In order to achieve the Kingdom, they first must bear the hardship of the Gospel.
As Christians, the Gospel challenges us to go out of our comfort zones. It is not easy to follow the Lord; if it were, everyone would do it (but as we know, not everyone follows God). The Gospel invites us to look beyond the usual and the familiar to see the world as God does. Moreover, the Gospel challenges our assumptions and attitudes about who God is and who we are. Again, this involves trust. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to inspire in us words and actions that reflect Jesus Christ. We are invited to place our trust in God and have the courage to leave what is comfortable and go out into the world, armed only with the mantle of the Lord to protect us.
This Lent, ask the Lord to give you a transfiguration from complacency to courage, from laziness to action, and from old habits to new life in the Spirit. May each of us be like Abram and do as the Lord directs us.
