THE FINALS ARE COMING … TENSION AND DOUBT

Who does not hate tests and exams, at times, even interviews? Why is it that exam papers are always set from the one and only chapter I did not revise, and nothing from the other thirty nine chapters? Why are tests almost always prepared to show off the examiners’ knowledge, and not my intelligence and interest? Such is life. I envy Peter, James, John and the rest, they never sat for any exams.

But, they were ‘tested’, if not on books, or reading material, but on their life’s experiences. Once Christ asked them a simple question: “Who do the people say that I am?” They might have got full marks by answering the truth about what the people thought. But then, Christ did ask them the million-dollar question. It was a single, straight forward question: “… and who do YOU say, that I am?”

Copying in exams was, and still is common. Peter, the fisherman, the son of Jonah, never copied, I wonder if he could hold a stylus, a pen in his hand. Besides we don’t know anything about his IQ. From the way he talked and behaved I would rate him as a very poor achiever. Yet, he must have been ear-marked by the Lord. The Holy Spirit prompted the right answer: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” We know from the answer given by Christ Himself: full marks were given to the Spirit, but not to Peter. That was testing, but the Spirit of Christ willed that from Peter’s mouth came the right and only correct answer.

We now find Christ, accompanied by Peter, James and John, on the mountain of glory. Pope Emeritus, Benedict, rightly pointed out that what we usually term as ‘Transfiguration’ does not explicity mean a change of figure. The change in the way Christ looked, was full of light and glory, and even His clothes looked as white as a lightning’s flash. That was the way Christ always looked during His earthly Mission, and His three apostles were granted the benefit, the grace of seeing Him, for a short time, the way He always looked.
Had Christ permitted the people, the masses to see Him as He was actually seen by His three friends, the masses would have accepted Him right away. That is what Satan had wished for, a short cut, a deviation from the Cross. Now, His three followers were eye witnesses of who He really was.

One very interesting line in the version of Luke is this: “When they were fully awake, they saw His glory.” That means, that we, His followers, must be fully awake, especially during prayers, whilst meditating or studying the Holy Scriptures. We must always be conscious of the presence of God; in nature all around us; in every person we meet; in the sick and poor … and the rest. We must always be fully awake.

But going back to our three friends, Christ did tell them not to talk about their ‘experience’ on the Mount of Glory. Interesting is the remark by Luke when he said they did not speak to anyone about it … for a while. But I feel sure that His Blessed Mother was told by one of them. Later on, they must have talked about it because of the fact that it was included in the Gospel. Remember that Luke, in particular, never met Christ, he was a pagan. Later on he befriended Paul, who must have related to him what he already knew.

When they were wide awake, they realized that next to Christ there was Moses and Elijah. Moses was representing those Israelites who were faithful to the Law, whilst Elijah, the greatest of the Prophets must have been representing all those who believed in the prophecies, and were expecting the Messiah. They then experienced the ‘Shekinah’ the cloud, a symbol of God’s presence, and heard the Father’s message loud and clear declaring: “This is My Beloved Son, listen to Him.”

Are we conscious that the ‘message’ was intended for us too, in the year 2016? Are we wide awake, lest He will pass and we miss His presence? (S.Augustine) Do we see Christ around us in every person we meet? Do we take personal interest to help all those in need? If we do all these acts, and others, we shall, one day, see Christ face to face and HE will welcome us into Heaven. We would have passed the test with flying colours, just as Peter has done.