Today’s gospel of the Transfiguration is familiar to most of us since every year we hear this story on the Second Sunday of Lent. As I reflected on the text, the word, exodus, caught my attention. We usually associate that word with the journey of the Israelites across the Sinai so what did Luke mean here?
He doesn’t tell us what Moses, Elijah and Jesus discussed, other than that they “spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.” That is, Jesus’ pending death. Luke hints that they talked so long, the apostles fell asleep, but upon awaking, they saw the glory of God and soon heard a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son, listen to him.” Just as the notion of exodus speaks to us of the passage of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, it speaks here of the passage Jesus would soon experience: his passion, death, resurrection and ascension. Sooner or later, death will be our exodus from this life as well, but to where?
A United States senator dies and appears at the gates of heaven. St. Peter greets him, “Welcome, senator. Before we let you enter, we have a special procedure for all politicians. You will spend one day in heaven and one day in hell. Then you decide where you want to spend eternity.” The senator protests, “But, St. Peter, there’s really no need for that. I want to be in heaven.” St. Peter interrupts him, “I’m sorry, but we have our rules.”
St. Peter escorts the senator to an elevator and down he goes to hell. The doors open and he finds himself standing in the middle of a beautiful golf course. He recognizes all his friends and fellow politicos. They welcome him, pour drinks for him, and then dine on lobster and steaks. The senator and his cronies are having a wonderful time. The devil comes over and welcomes the senator to his domain. After a day of golf, delightful food, and recalling the good old days, the senator takes the elevator back to heaven.
St. Peter is waiting for him and escorts the politician to a group of contented souls who are moving from cloud to cloud, praising God. When that day is over, St. Peter asks, “Well, senator, you’ve seen both heaven and hell. Where do you wish to spend eternity?”
The politician replied, “Heaven is a wonderful place. I never would have thought of it, but I think I would prefer hell.” St. Peter says, “As you wish.” He then escorts the senator back to the elevator. Down, down, down he goes. The doors open but now the senator finds himself standing in the midst of a burning desert. His golf buddies are dressed in rags. It was miserably hot and the rancid odor was nauseating. Suddenly he felt the slimy arm of the devil around his shoulder.
“I don’t understand,” the senator stammers. “When I was here yesterday, this was a beautiful golf course. All my friends were happy and we had a great time. Now all I see is a burning wasteland and misery.” Smirking, the devil said, “Yesterday, we were campaigning. Today you voted.”
However you feel about the political campaigns that will last until November, keep in mind that life is an ongoing one between Jesus and the Devil. Who is winning your vote? Before you smugly reply, consider your attitude toward sin.
In his latest book, The Name of God is Mercy, Pope Francis cautions that we are either sinners or we are corrupt, that is, not being honest. The corrupt person, he observes, is one who sins but does not repent, yet pretends to be Christian. He said, “The corrupt man tires of asking for forgiveness and ends up believing that he doesn’t need to ask for it anymore. We don’t become corrupt people overnight, it is a long, slippery slope that cannot be identified simply as a series of sins. One may be a great sinner and never fall into corruption…Corruption is not an act, but a condition, a personal and social state in which we become accustomed to living…The corrupt man often doesn’t realize his own condition much as a person with bad breath does not know they have it.”
The sinner on the other hand experiences a transformation when he celebrates the sacrament of reconciliation, which Pope Francis calls a gift. “Confessing to a priest,” he said, “is a way of putting my life into the hands and heart of someone else, someone who in that moment acts in the name of Jesus…It is important that I go to confession, that I sit in front of a priest who embodies Jesus…It is an encounter with mercy… For every penitent, it is a source of true interior peace.”
Paul cautions us that many people “conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach. Their minds are preoccupied with earthly things.” Does that describe you or are you willing to let Jesus change you to conform with his glorified body?
Face it; we often become so taken up with the concerns of daily living that we lose sight of the destination to which we have been called. The Transfiguration speaks of our need to be transformed on the inside so that we can experience a lasting conversion to Christ and not go astray on our personal exodus. That will only happen if we truly “listen to him.” May all the opportunities that we have to encounter God in this Lenten season, through people, events, and the sacraments, transform us so that we may live more rightly today and be brought to eternal life tomorrow.