Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
The three apostles are told by the Father, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.” (Mark 9:7) In what follows we hear the first example of how Peter, James, and John are given an opportunity to listen to what the beloved Son tells 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.” (Mark 9:9) And what do the three do? They listen to Him. “So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.” (Mark 9:10)
The apostles listen to the Lord and do what He says. Often in our prayer, we are like Peter. We encounter God, and we say something, but we really are not sure what to say. The question to ask though is: what has the Lord said? As I listen to Jesus, which of His words do I hear and allow to rest in memory and move my heart? The more we listen to the words of Jesus in prayer, the more we fulfill the Father’s will. However, we must not just stay there. The apostles do what the Lord says. When the Lord speaks to us, it is to guide us, to shepherd us, to keep us from certain things harmful or unuseful, and to encourage us in doing what will bring more of God’s life to others. In this case, the Lord tells the apostles to hold on to this experience, not to share it pre-maturely, but to share it after the Resurrection when they would comprehend the mystery more deeply and be able to share it intelligently with others. As I listen to Jesus, do I hear Him inviting me to action? Am I trying to attune myself to His timing?
Lastly, the apostles did not understand what had happened, nor what Jesus had told them. They continued to have questions about what the Lord said concerning the Resurrection. Oftentimes if we do not understand something, we simply let it go and forget about it. Yet, the words of the Lord are to be listened to. When they exceed our understanding, we are not to dismiss them. Rather, like the apostles, we can continue to return to these words of Christ and ponder them again and again, asking ‘what does Jesus mean?’ Let us ask for the grace to listen to the Lord with hearts open to the action He calls us to and to the deeper mysteries He wants to share with us.