SOCL, Lent2C
- Admin
- Mar 14
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 31
Sunday March 16, 2025
The vision of the summit
See
On the mountain, the boundaries between the ordinary and the divine momentarily dissolve. Peter, James, and John—three common fishermen—experience the transcendent breaking through the fabric of their everyday reality. Jesus's transformation is not so much a change as a revelation: the momentary visibility of what was always present but hidden from their limited eyes. We too carry this duality: the ordinary and the extraordinary coexisting in every moment.
Peter's instinctive response reveals our human tendency: when we experience the sacred, we try to contain it, build structures for it, turn it into something manageable. "Let us make three tents" is the cry of all who have felt the divine and then try to institutionalize it. But the enveloping cloud suggests another truth: the transcendent cannot be contained in our categories, only experienced with awe and trembling.
The command from the cloud—"This is my beloved Son; listen to him"—radically reorients. It's not about building monuments to past experiences but actively listening, moment by moment. The descent is inevitable: after every summit, we must return to the valley. The disciples keep silent about what they have seen, perhaps understanding that there are experiences that words can only diminish. The transfiguration wasn't meant for remaining on the mountain, but for transforming how they would walk through the valley.
Listen
Reflect
(Luke 9:28-36)
Where have you experienced moments of transcendent clarity in your life, and how have you tried to "build tents" to preserve them rather than allowing them to transform you?
The divine voice doesn't command to build, organize, or control, but simply to "listen"—how might you cultivate a more receptive posture toward the divine in your everyday life?
Jesus descends from the glory of the mountain toward the path that would lead him to Jerusalem and to suffering—how might your own moments of spiritual illumination sustain you during times of darkness and difficulty?
Pray
Lord, open our eyes to the glory hidden within the ordinary. Free us from our impulse to contain the sacred in structures of our own making. Sharpen our ears to listen to your beloved Son, not just in moments of dazzling clarity, but also in the dark valleys where his presence seems fainter. May glimpses of glory not lead us to escape the world, but to transform how we walk within it.
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