God-moments: 2nd Sunday of Lent

            Peter, James and John had a taste of Jesus’ divinity on Mount Tabor.  For a moment, Jesus’ glory as God shined through his humanity.  Peter rightly declared, “Lord, it is good that we are here.”

            If you think about it, we may often say the same in our own lives in different words—“I wish this moment would last forever.”  This could come from seeing a newborn son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter, soaking in a sunset, experiencing a team victory, falling in love, spending time with a friend or watching a buck in the crosshairs.  Whenever we have such moments—those goose-bump moments—God is often nearby.

            Like Peter, we may desire such God-moments to last forever.  Peter went on to say to Jesus, “If you wish, I will make three tents here…”  Yet after the powerful God-moment of the transfiguration, Jesus led Peter, James and John back down the mountain.

            Do you know what happens next in the Gospel according to Matthew?  They get back to work!  Jesus, with these three apostles, immediately met a man who had a son who suffered from epilepsy (attributed to the work of a demon).  Jesus cured him.  Jesus came down the mountain to alleviate grief and suffering. 

This was very instructive for Peter, James and John and for us as well.  God gives us special moments for two reasons.  First, they are meant to call us closer to Him.  But they also spur us on to do good: to alleviate suffering, accompany the sick, feed the hungry and be present to the lonely.

I am often called crazy, but I run long distances.  And at mile seventeen, eighteen or nineteen in a marathon there is nothing better than a glass of water or Gatorade.  During water stops I often wish I could stay there, build a tent and die!  Yet the point of a water stop isn’t actually to stop—it is to be nourished to continue the race to its completion.

We are each living in a God-moment now—we are at Mass.  Sometimes we feel this at an emotional level—Mass may feel especially insightful or inspiring and we may perceive God’s presence in a special way.  Yet sometimes we feel nothing at Mass—it may be routine or even feel boring.  You may be thinking, “I wish the priest would stop talking and get on with it!”  But at an objective level, Mass is always a God-moment as we hear His Word and receive Jesus’ Body and Blood.

Mass, like other God-moments is meant to feed, nourish and strengthen us at a personal level.  But it can’t remain only personal—we, like Peter, James and John, must come down the mountain to carry out God’s work in our families, with the poor and those most in need of God’s presence.  And, please God, may our work help many more experience God-moments in their own lives.