MAN’S DESTINY IS TO SHARE IN THE DIVINE GLORY OF GOD THROUGH LOVE AND SERVICE IN HUMAN LOWLINESS

20150806 MAN’S DESTINY IS TO SHARE IN THE DIVINE GLORY OF GOD THROUGH LOVE AND SERVICE IN HUMAN LOWLINESS

Readings at Mass

First reading

Daniel 7:9-10,13-14 ©

As I watched:

Thrones were set in place

and one of great age took his seat.

His robe was white as snow,

the hair of his head as pure as wool.

His throne was a blaze of flames,

its wheels were a burning fire.

A stream of fire poured out,

issuing from his presence.

A thousand thousand waited on him,

ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

A court was held

and the books were opened.

And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven,

one like a son of man.

He came to the one of great age

and was led into his presence.

On him was conferred sovereignty,

glory and kingship,

and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants.

His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty

which shall never pass away,

nor will his empire ever be destroyed.

Psalm

Psalm 96:1-2,5-6,9 ©

The Lord is king, most high above all the earth.

The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,

  let all the coastlands be glad.

Cloud and darkness are his raiment;

  his throne, justice and right.

The Lord is king, most high above all the earth.

The mountains melt like wax

  before the Lord of all the earth.

The skies proclaim his justice;

  all peoples see his glory.

The Lord is king, most high above all the earth.

For you indeed are the Lord

  most high above all the earth,

  exalted far above all spirits.

The Lord is king, most high above all the earth.

Second reading

2 Peter 1:16-19 ©

It was not any cleverly invented myths that we were repeating when we brought you the knowledge of the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; we had seen his majesty for ourselves. He was honoured and glorified by God the Father, when the Sublime Glory itself spoke to him and said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour.’ We heard this ourselves, spoken from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.

  So we have confirmation of what was said in prophecies; and you will be right to depend on prophecy and take it as a lamp for lighting a way through the dark until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds.

Gospel Acclamation

Mt17:5

Alleluia, alleluia!

This is my Son, the Beloved:

he enjoys my favour.

Listen to him.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 9:2-10 ©

Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured: his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter spoke to Jesus: ‘Rabbi,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say; they were so frightened. And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and there came a voice from the cloud, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’ Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.

  As they came down from the mountain he warned them to tell no one what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They observed the warning faithfully, though among themselves they discussed what ‘rising from the dead’ could mean.

MAN’S DESTINY IS TO SHARE IN THE DIVINE GLORY OF GOD THROUGH LOVE AND SERVICE IN HUMAN LOWLINESS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: DN 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 PT 1:16-19; MK 9:2-10

The Church today celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration.  The Transfiguration is important because for Jesus, it is the confirmation of His mission; and for the disciples, it was necessary so that they could understand the real identity and message of Jesus, especially after His death.  Jesus needed assurance that going to Jerusalem, which inevitably would bring Him into confrontation with the Jewish leaders, was what the Father wanted, so that the Kingdom would be realized in its fullness.  In view of Jesus’ mission then, the Father granted Jesus this experience so that He could undertake His mission with resolve in Jerusalem where the passion and death awaited Him and where the Kingdom will finally be fulfilled.

What is true for Jesus is also true for us.  To know our goal in life is certainly important if we were not to live our lives aimlessly.  Otherwise, we will find ourselves drifting through life without zeal, direction or meaning.  Because we are not clear as to the real purpose of our life’s journey, the transient things of life such as power, status, and wealth become the ends themselves in life. Without a clear orientation in life, we cannot live a focused and directed life.   However, if we understand our purpose and destiny, then we will implement those immediate goals of life; not as goals in themselves but rather as a means to attain the ultimate goal in our life.  In this way, everything we do find meaning only in the overall arching horizon of life, which is the ultimate destiny and purpose of God for each one of us.  Consequently, we must first and foremost be clear of God’s plan for us.

That being so, what is the fundamental revelation from the Transfiguration of Jesus?  Simply this: that Jesus is called to share in the glory and majesty of His Father, the glory that has always been His even before the creation of the world.  In the words of the Prophet Daniel, it is the glory of kingship and sovereignty.

To be established in glory and power in the Kingdom of God for Jesus simply means to be established in the love of the Father.  It is a love that transcends all discrimination, selfishness, barriers and divisions.  In this sense, the kingship and sovereignty of Jesus is His power to transcend the world, its evil and selfishness. This is the greatest power that one can have; the power of goodness in the midst of evil; the power of love in the midst of hatred; the power of equanimity in the face of discrimination.  To have that power is to live a life of total freedom, unhampered by anyone or anything.

From this perspective, we can say that like Jesus, we are all called to share in the reign of the love of the Father and His freedom.  For the Father’s glory is none other than the glory of unconditional and total love.  So in sharing the Father’s glory, we share with Jesus the power to transcend all evil, all enemies, all destructive competitions brought about by selfishness and hatred.

However, to be able to share in the being of God as freedom in love in the fullest sense of the word, we must share in the sonship of Jesus.  This is the only way to share in the being and life of God which is a life of love and self-emptying.  If Jesus is Son in the unique sense, it is because Jesus is truly and totally one in being with the Father both in essence, mind and spirit.  This reality receives confirmation from the voice that came from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved.”

Yes, the whole life of Jesus is to share in the life and love of the Father.  In affirming Jesus as the Son of the Father, God reinforced in Jesus that His mission is to express the love of the Father for us.  Indeed, the essential meaning of sonship means that the Father is the origin of life and being.  To be called the Beloved Son of the Father means that Jesus’ being comes from the Father and that He is called to be the expression of the Father concretely in the world, just as our children are the expression and the fruition of the love between husband and wife.

We too are called to share in the sonship of God.  This is our glorious destiny; to share in the life and love of God; and in His being which tantamounts to a sharing of God’s spirit.   Yes, our whole life on this earth is orientated towards this noble and glorious calling.  On this earth, we are given the opportunity to grow in love and in service so that God’s glory, which is His power over selfishness, evil and pride, can also be ours.  Thus, what God said to Jesus is also directed at us.  We too are called to be the beloved sons and daughters of the Father.  

But what does sharing in Christ’s sonship entail?  It means first and foremost to share in His life and in His death.  Now, what is the life of Jesus if not one of self-emptying, poverty and surrender to the Father’s will?  The beatitudes as taught by Jesus remain the blueprint of Christ’s strategy to become the true Son of God.  This explains why Jesus lived a life of forgiveness, celibacy, service and love in humility and obedience.  His whole vision of His vocation is to bring us back to God, to be with Him in love and unity so that all of us will become one in the big family of God.  But for this to be realized, we must first learn to empty ourselves like Him.  This self-emptying entails sufferings because we are selfish and self-centered.

Unfortunately, not many of us are ready to share in Christ’s suffering.  Many of us want to have the glory but without the cross.  We want to share the glory of God without the sacrifices.

At the cross, in that total self-emptying love, the Father’s love is irrevocably and definitively demonstrated.  It is truly on the cross that God the Father identified Jesus as His beloved Son.  For by giving Himself unto death on the cross, Jesus demonstrated His true sonship as the Son of the Father since He is the self-expression of the Father’s life, love and very being.

For us too, the way to share in the glory of God is through the ordinariness of human life.  We need not work big miracles to share God’s glory or see God’s glory.  The only thing that is required of us to share in the glory of God and in the divine sonship of Jesus is simply to live out our humanity according to the situation that we are in.  We only need to live our humanity to the fullest by being obedient to God’s will and our calling in life.  What we do in life and who we are in the world is not important.  As Mother Teresa never fails to remind us, “we are called to be faithful, not successful.”  To the extent that we are able to love totally and give ourselves in humility like Jesus, the suffering servant for others, then the glory of God is already in us.  Yes, the true glory of God is not found in wonders and miracles but in those who do the will of God and in those who live the life and love of God.  Love in obedience and humility is the real secret to true happiness and sharing in God’s glory.  The glory of God is found in ordinary things and in the ordinary life that we live.  We need not be somebody in the world.  We simply need to be someone for others.

Finally, how can we truly live out our humanity so that the glory of God can shine through us?  Firstly, we must listen to Jesus and not to the world.  This is the command from God Himself when He spoke through the clouds, “This is my Son, the Beloved.  Listen to him.”  The world seeks meaning through the glory of the world in terms of power, status and wealth.  But we must seek meaning by sharing in the glory of God in ordinary life, in love, service and in gratitude for whatever we have.

To be able to see the truth and reality of happiness through living such a simple life requires deep spiritual understanding and insight.  Of course, we also seek for God’s grace and love to live such a life which requires courage and strength.  This empowerment can only come from an intimate encounter and fellowship with God Himself.  We must realize that if some of us had the grace of a deep mystical or religious experience, it is not for us to continue to hanker after such experiences or to bathe ourselves in glory; rather it is meant for us to have the strength to suffer even more for the love of Christ and His Church.

Yes, if we want to accept the path of our Lord as our path to share in His final destiny, which is to be true sons and daughters of the Father, then we need to pray for enlightenment and strength.  We need to go to the mountain to be renewed and to be strengthened.  If not, we will be powerless in the face of the forces of evil in the world.  Without God’s grace and wisdom, we will be drowned and overcome by the world’s values and thinking.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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