18 February 2023
Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
In the Gospel today, the apostles demonstrate for us the reality of the evolution of faith. There were so many individual circumstances that they experienced while journeyIng with Jesus that, while absolutely amazing, were not fully comprehensible to the apostles in the moment. The episode of the transfiguration on the mount is one such instance that clearly demonstrates this point. While Peter, James, and John received a tremendous gift in the context of this experience, it’s not really until after the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus that the events of the transfiguration really make sense.
A beautiful but mysterious facet of the revelatory experiences God gives us is that we’re not simply meant to one-and-done them and put them on the shelf to gather dust. We’re meant to chew on them, to savor them, to contemplate them, and to return to them again and again and again. How many times in our own lives have we failed to recognize the significance of particular events until later on? There’s a similar unfolding, even a blossoming if you will, that occurs in the lives of the apostles as God’s will is slowly manifested to them and they are gradually brought to a place where they can finally begin to fully comprehend the significance of their personal experiences in the context of the larger arc of salvation history. Our own journeys in faith and prayer function in the same way. Faith is not an entity to be captured and shelved. The revelation of God in our own lives and our personal ability to perceive Him at work is an ever-expanding marvel that we continue to grow into forever. This is the beauty and essence of the authentic Christian life.