Living with a contemplation of beauty gives great satisfaction. But living everyday in the presence of such beauty gives the greatest joy. We have been told that the greatest beauty one can ever contemplate is God. I have often wondered how this God is. But we are also taught that He is far greater than any beauty we can ever imagine. The foundation of our faith as Christians has to do with the hope of seeing God face to face. The promise of beatific vision. This divine presence is already with us here and now. Though many other distractions and limitations block our inner vision. The readings of today invite us to reflect on the splendor of living daily with the consciousness of God’s presence. The passing things around us often make us forget that a great mystery lies behind and within every life.
Lord, It is Good That We Are Here
I have often wondered what the three disciples, Peter, James, and John, really saw about the splendor of Jesus at the Transfiguration scene that made them run into such ecstasy. The Gospel text of today from Mark 9:2-10 tells the story as a unique experience of the three apostles. Peter himself was so overwhelmed with what he saw that he wanted to stay there forever beholding the dazzling glory of Jesus. This was the same Jesus that walked about with them all this while. They never knew who was with them.
Now Peter and his companions are made to see beyond the earthly appearances. For them that scene at the Transfiguration was heaven itself. That was really what it was. The fact is that with Jesus, one is already in heaven. The second reading from Rom 8:31b-34 makes it clear that when Jesus is with us, nothing can threaten us. Living everyday with eyes focused on Jesus and God is the best way to weather through every moment of our struggles and trials. Afterall, Jesus himself makes the invitation: “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28).
God’s Presence as the Greatest Good
The psalmist of today sings with joy: “I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psa 116:9). To walk in the presence of the Lord means to conduct one’s life in accordance with the will of God. It means to live every moment with the consciousness of following God and abiding in Him. For the writer of this psalm, living with the assurance of God’s accompanying presence is more to be desired than all the treasures in this world. That is why the greatest tragedy is the feeling of God’s absence. The feeling that God is near, and cares gives us the strength and joy to keep moving even when we have a thousand and one reasons to give up hope.
In fact, the happiest people are those who feel God’s presence always. And make all efforts to put Him first in all their dealings. This great spirituality of putting God first is the test that Abraham passes in the first reading today from Gen 22:1-2,9a,10-13,15-18. The story of Abraham agreeing to sacrifice his only son may sound bizarre to the modern mind. But, it was a way of proving that not even the very thing he desired most can come between him and his trust in God. At the end he was abundantly rewarded.
Relationship
Most of the time we choose the passing world rather than God, thinking that from there we derive our success and happiness. But the tragedies of life force us back to realize that at the end of everything, what matters is the nature of our relationship with God.
May God open the inner eyes of our being so that we may always live with the consciousness of His presence!
[Readings: Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Rom 8:31b-34; Mk 9:2-10]
