Have you ever done something or been a part of something
that was truly spectacular?
Whether an accomplishment in sports, school, career or family, think of
a time that caused you to think when you woke up the next morning, “Did that
really happen? Was that a
dream?” Is your experience the birth
of a child? Making it to
state? Graduating? (I hope we will experience when the
Vikings win the Superbowl next year).
These dreams-come-true, nothing short of glorious, draw us out of our
normal daily lives. They give us a
glimmer of what we can be and become through hard work, diligence and
discipline.
Multiply
this experience by 100—actually, multiply it by infinity—and this is what God
has in store for each of us. God’s
vision of who we are to become is so much deeper and more profound than our
limited vision of ourselves.
Take
Abraham, for instance. “The Lord God took Abram outside and
said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the
stars, if you can. Just
so,’ he added, ‘shall your descendants be.’” Imagine standing in for Abraham,
looking into the sky to try to count the stars to number your descendents. As you attempt this impossible task,
remember that you are almost ninety years old and have no children! And don’t forget—God doesn’t ask
Abraham this question at night—it is in broad daylight. God promises something to Abraham far
greater than anything he can ask or imagine.
We
also reflect today on the transfiguration—one of the Luminous mysteries of the
Rosary. Peter, James and John had
been walking with Jesus and seeing him cure, forgive, exorcise and preach for
quite a while. Yet they still saw
a man, albeit a man with remarkable powers. On top of Mount Tabor Jesus allowed these men to glimpse something
far greater than anything they could have dreamed—His divinity. “…His
face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.” In Jesus’ transfiguration we catch a
glimpse of who exactly we are following.
St.
Paul nails down why we are capable of true greatness beyond our own hopes and
dreams—“But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to
conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all
things into subjection to himself.” We are not citizens first of Duluth, Minnesota, the United
States or even the world. First
and foremost we are citizens of heaven.
We are called to be heavenly creatures both here on earth and forever
with God. And I would dare say
that the experiences in our lives—the dreams-come-true, achievements and
miracles—are a foretaste of heaven itself.
In
a few moments we will sing a powerful hymn. We pray then, and we pray now:
Transform us as you, transfigured,
Once
spoke with those holy ones,
We,
surrounded by the witness
Of
those saints whose work is done,
Live
in this world as your Body,
Chosen
daughters, chosen sons.
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