deacon's corner

The Gospel for the second Sunday of Lent speaks of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Jesus invites three of his closest friends to hike with him up a mountain where he is transfigured before their eyes. It is clear from the reading that the apostles didn’t have a clue what transfiguration meant. And I suspect many of us might fall into that same category.

Not long ago I was a participant in a conversation where the term apologetics was mentioned; several listeners were puzzled by the term and asked for an explanation. Apologetics is derived from the Greek word ἀπολογία or apologia which means to “speak in defense”; it is the discipline of systematically defending a position with reason and knowledge.

The Gospel of John begins “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God … And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, …”

Many years ago, long before YouTube and Twitter, almost before the dawn of television, Pope John XXIII opened the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. Commonly known as Vatican II it literally turned liturgy on its head by changing the language spoken to the vernacular (the native language or dialect of a place.) Almost overnight the Roman Missal was translated into a multitude of languages, including English.

I must confess that I love words. I love to learn what words mean, how they are spelled, and how to use them in everyday conversation or upon the written page. I suppose I developed my love affair with language from my mother, who was a writer and a journalist with a passion for the written word.

It is difficult if not impossible to understand what God has in mind for us, to comprehend why He calls someone to perform a specific task, to see why he chooses one person over another. God chose David over his seven older brothers to lead the nation of Israel. On the face of it we have to question why; His brothers were older, stronger, and obviously more experienced. But God said to Samuel “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.”

What if you woke up tomorrow and all you had was what you thanked God for today?

I have to admit that when I first read that question it made me feel quite uncomfortable. I had to stop and ask myself if I have given Him even a small portion of praise and thanksgiving for all that I have received and I realized that I have all too often fallen short in giving him thanks. I realized that far too often if I answered the question honestly, I would wake up tomorrow with very little indeed.

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I am always amazed at Mary’s reaction when told that she was to be the mother of God. As a young unwed Jewish girl, she should have been terrified, but instead of reacting with fear she calmly responded “Let it be done unto me according to your will.” Throughout her life she responded with a peaceful acceptance to God’s will. St. Luke wrote that “Mary kept all of these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” Throughout her life she was completely at peace because she trusted in God.

Throughout his public ministry Jesus taught that we must love our neighbors as ourselves and care for the poor and marginalized.  In the Gospel of Luke Jesus tells us of a rich man who lived sumptuously while ignoring a poor man, called Lazarus, who was starving to death at his doorstep. Lazarus died and went to heaven; the rich man died as well and was consigned to the netherworld where he was tormented by flames and suffered greatly from thirst. When the rich man pleaded for Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool his thirst he was told “My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.”