The Revelation of Christ's Divinity and its Implication

In our gospel for this second Sunday of Lent, we heard the account of Christ’s transfiguration. The transfiguration is a very significant moment in the salvific work of Christ. It was a source of motivation for Christ and a source of inspiration for future believers. It futures prominently during the second Sunday of Lent to remind believers that though Lent invites us to make sacrifices, it is very much a journey to grace and glory.

There are many reasons the event of the transfiguration took place. But chief amongst all the reasons proposed is the revelation of the divine nature of Christ. And this has some implications for our lives as believers. Today, I will like to reflect on two of those implications.

1. IT REMINDS US THAT WE ARE NOT THE SUM OF OUR WEAKNESSES: In the spiritual life, it is very good to be humble and acknowledge our sinfulness. But it is a different thing entirely to presume that everything about us is bad. It is true that to some extent, our human nature is corrupt but it is not damned. There is some goodness in human nature and that is why God deemed it necessary to redeem us. In our everyday conversation I hear people speak in a very negative way about human nature or use it as an excuse to indulge in sin or evil. Instead of working on getting rid of bad habits like anger, impatience, lust or judgmental attitude, we often say this to ourselves, “well I’m just human and there is nothing I can do about it.” That’s a lie. Being human doesn’t mean we are an embodiment of sin or evil. We over exaggerate human weakness to the point that we feel completely incapacitated to pursue a life of holiness. We are not the sum of our weaknesses. We are the sum of God’s image and likeness imprinted in our souls. This should challenge us to know that we have greater capacity for holiness than we have for sinfulness. Holiness is not something extra we add to our lives. Holiness is the unveiling of our true nature and dignity as beloved sons and daughters of God. What sin does is to cover our true nature and dignity. What grace does is to reveal that true nature and dignity. Holiness is the decision to let the glory of God in us shine. I think once in a while we need to remind ourselves that “I’m more than my weaknesses”, “I’m more than my faults”, “I’m more than my failures”, “I’m more than my past mistakes”. Friends, in Christian discipleship, it is important we know that our life is not about who we are but who we can become. Let this be our focus this Lent. So Keep loving, keep trying, keep trusting, keep believing, keep growing and down the road by God’s grace we will be transformed into the very likeness of Christ.
2. IT REMINDS US OF THE GLORIOUS HOPE THAT AWAITS ALL FAITHFUL BELIEVERS IN THE LIFE TO COME: St. Paul says in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” In Hebrews 12:2, the Word of God says, ‘For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Sometimes we feel very exhausted keeping the faith. Because of the temptations and trials in our lives we feel like we can’t make it to the end. It is even worse with the circumstance and time we are living in. There are so many reasons to be discouraged. And we struggle every day with the temptation to give up. But the revelation of Christ divinity and glory should be a source of motivation for us to keep pressing on. It’s honestly a very big challenge to be a Christian in the culture and age we live in. But the truth is our future glory is worth every sacrifice we can make. Nothing in this world is worth going to hell for. No sacrifice is too much to make to get to heaven. We will not regret it when we get there. In fact, the joy we will experience in heaven will make us to not remember all the sufferings we had to endure.

The time we spend here in this life may be like the 40 days of Lent. Some days are great, others are not. Some days we have great victories over temptations, other days we fall. And sometimes the journey to get to heaven like the 40 days of Lent may feel too long and exhausting. Sometimes the feelings of God’s absence may be too hard to bear. Other times, we may feel very tempted to quit or pursue our own dreams and desires even if the consequences are bad. But like St. Paul, we need to “keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus already won us to Himself…. Let us forget what is behind and do our best to reach what is ahead.” Lent does not end with Good Friday. Lent ends with the victory, the joy and the glory of Easter Sunday. We can run the race to the finish if we repent daily of our sins and are completely honest with God. Today, let us pray for the grace of final perseverance so that when our time on earth has come to its end, we will be welcomed into the glory and happiness of heaven.