the criterion is God - 2nd Sunday of Lent A
The transfiguration of Jesus on a mountain came at a time when he was
about to enter Jerusalem, the Jerusalem of his call and vocation, the Jerusalem
of his suffering and death. It is an
important juncture in his life, an event that would be repeated again on
another outcrop on earth, on the Mount of Olives. In fact the two accounts do not have only a
certain similarity in setting but also a similarity of characters. The three disciples he brought with him were
the same. It was a final journey before
a big decision – a decision which he knew ran contrary to his feelings and
liking. Should he take this decision to
suffer or should he rather not? He can
choose. He can say yes or no. He is free.
On the mountain of the transfiguration he went down and proceeded to Jerusalem. On the Mount of Olives he stood up and faced
his betrayer and his persecutors who brought him to Jerusalem - two similar mountains, two similar events,
two similar choices, and two similar decisions.
I speak for the 4th year High School. For some of you this is the first of the many
mountains to climb. This climb should be
an experience of the shekinah, the cloud which is symbolic of God’s presence,
for the choices to be made are not ours personally but to choose what God
chooses for us as Jesus did.
This is now also your time to choose in freedom, not because you want
to please your parents, not because you have to live up to the expectations of
people and friends, not because you are more secure here and not even because
you like it here. Jesus chose what God
wanted him to choose.
It is not simply what he liked.
It is not simply choosing what is more secure. Jesus chose to go to Jerusalem.
Jesus chose to face Judas. It was
something that anybody would rather avoid.
But it was not what he liked, it was not what he felt secure in that
mattered. What is important for Jesus
was that it was his Father’s choice.
Consider things thoroughly before making a choice. Jesus has to go to a mountain to make a
decision. He has to go to the Mount of
Olives, to Gethsemane to make a choice.
You went to Talisay by the shore to make a choice.
Jesus has to consult God, for God is his only criterion, his reference
for the choices he makes.
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