Thursday, August 6, 2020
Bible Text: “Tell no one about the vision until the Son of man has been raised from the dead”. Matthew 17.1-9
We were raised in a period when instant things are not yet discovered. There were neither gas nor electric stove at that time so every Saturday; we have to go to the mountains to gather firewood. There was no electric miller at that time, so we have to pound rice grains so that we have it on the table. We don’t have electricity at that time, so we have to do our home work under the flickering light of the kerosene lamp. Automobiles were only for rich people at that time, so we have to walk to several kilometres just to go to school. There was no instant coffee at that time, so my parents would burn rich to make rice coffee. Life on those days is not easy at all. We have to be diligent, we have to be ready to take sacrifice, and we have to sweat it out. Those days made me tough that every time I gazed upon, I thank the Lord and my parents, I owed who am I right now to the kind of culture we survived. The value of sacrifice is very much evident at that time.
We are celebrating the feast of Transfiguration of the Lord. It is an opportunity for the disciples to take a glance about the forthcoming glory of Jesus Christ. He was transformed into a dazzling white person, an image that represents us in the life hereafter. Peter enjoyed it so much that he was able to exclaim, Lord, it is good for us to be here! But Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. He was teaching them the importance of His suffering and death. For Jesus, it is an essential part of His journey to the home of the Father where He will receive the crown of glory.
The dominant symbol of our faith is the cross. It reminds us about the value of suffering and sacrifice. They are ways of life. They are paths that lead us to life everlasting. Sacrifice is essential part of generosity. When we give, a part of us dies. Suffering is an opportunity to be one with Christ. If we are one with Christ in this world, we will surely be one with Him in glory. Let the feast of transfiguration teach us the value of painful process.