Author: Santuario de San Antonio Parish

The late Bishop Ian Ramsey of Durkham, who wrote extensively on the problem of religious language, Christian ethics, the relationship between science and religion, and Christian apologetics, often used the term “cosmic disclosure.”

A cosmic disclosure is when you encounter an incident or a person and this brings about infinite dimension and meaning, that without this incident or person, one’s whole life makes no more significance or is changed drastically. An example of this is when, for the first time in your life, you truly recognize how much you love your husband or wife and children, and without them, your life will have no more meaning or will already be completely different. If this happens to you and this incident changes you and your life, you are experiencing a cosmic disclosure.

The spiritual author Anthony Bloom, according Fr. Gil Guillimette, SJ, describes what Bishop Ian Ramsey is trying to say in the following words: “There are moments when things which surround us – people, situations – suddenly acquire depth, become transparent, as it were, and allow us to see them with a new significance… We see people apparently as they are, and someday we suddenly spot something else…. All of a sudden a face… appears to us completely new, lending us a depth of meaning, depth of significance. In such moments occurs what Ian Ramsey calls ‘cosmic disclosure.’”

The transfiguration incident in the life of Jesus can very well be described as a cosmic disclosure of who Jesus Christ really is. It is a moment of cosmic disclosure for the apostles Peter, James and John who accompany Jesus on Mt. tabor. Found in all the synoptic gospels, it basically deals with the issue concerning the divinity of Jesus and with the connection between Jesus’ appearance in glory and his passion and death.

Historically and chronologically, the transfiguration of Jesus took place after Peter’s confession of Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter’s confession, in turn, took place on the Jewish Feast of Yom ba-Kippurim, the great feast of atonement. On this Jewish feast, for the one time in the year, the high priest solemnly pronounced the name YHWH in the Temple’s Holy of Holies. It is significant that Jesus is pronounced by Peter as the Messiah and the Son of the living God on the day that the Jews can only mention the personal and direct name of God, Yahweh. And on the day of the transfiguration, it is the divine identity of Jesus that is revealed in glory.

It is also significant to note that the transfiguration of Jesus took place on the last day of the Jewish Feast of the Booths, a commemoration that lasted for a week. This feast commemorates the journey of the Israelite people in the desert. In Hebrew, the feast is called Sukkot, which means huts, in reference to the huts or booths in which the Israelites lived during their forty years of sojourn after the exodus from Egypt. In this desert journey, the Israelites were people on the go, unable to build permanent structures but only temporary huts. The Promised Land was their final destination; the desert, as a place of journey, was only transitional.

That the transfiguration event took place on the last day of the feast of the booths, which was considered its high point and the synthesis of its inner meaning, highlights for us the journey that Jesus is undertaking at this point in his life. The mountain top experience of the transfiguration on Mt. Tabor is only transitional, although a much needed boost before embracing his passion and death. His destiny is the Cross in Jerusalem. We can understand here Jesus’ refusal to allow Peter to build three tents on the mountain in his desire to stay put and to freeze the glorious moment and not to proceed to the destiny of the cross. Just like the Israelites on the desert, Jesus and the disciples with him cannot stay permanently on the mountain of glorification; they must proceed to Jerusalem and there face the cross of passion and death.

That the transfiguration incident is a manifestation of the divinity of Jesus is further shown by some theophanic elements in the passage. As in the case of the many mountain experiences of Jesus throughout his life, Mt. Tabor serves as a locus of God’s manifestation of presence, identity and closeness. On this day on Mt. Tabor, the three closest disciples encounter the Son of God in his glory. Matthew tells us that Jesus’ “face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light” (Mt. 17:2). According to Diane Bergant, the transformation of Jesus “before Peter, James and John is more than a vision of the future glorification of Jesus but an insight into his identity during his public life.” Jesus’ inner reality shines forth and his outer appearance is transfigured. Like Moses in the Book of Exodus (Ex. 34:35), Jesus’ face shines brightly, revealing his divine identity as the Son of God.

As in the other biblical instances, the cloud mentioned in the incident also symbolizes the presence of God. From the cloud God the Father identifies Jesus as the Son of God and lends authority to his teaching. The heavenly Father’s voice says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” The Father’s voce and words remind us of the baptism of Jesus, wherein the divine identity of Jesus is first revealed.

The presence of two of most important figures of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah, further adds to the significance of the transfiguration event of Jesus. While Matthew is silent about the matter of the discussion between Jesus and Moses and Elijah, the Lukan account of the transfiguration incident alludes to the Cross. In the gospel of Luke, we find that Moses and Elijah “appeared in glory and spoke of his departure which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem” (Lk 9:31). Pope Benedict XVI, commenting on this detail, says: “Their topic of conversation is the Cross, but understood in an inclusive sense as Jesus’ Exodus: a departure from his life, a passage through the ‘Red Sea’ of the Passion, and a transition into glory – a glory, however, that forever bears the mark of Jesus’ wounds.”

Thus, we find in the transfiguration incident that the divine identity of Jesus is not only revealed in glory but also in the Cross. Jesus’ appearance is intimately connected with his passion and death. Pope Benedict XVI writes: “Jesus’ divinity belongs with his Cross – only when we put the two together do we recognize Jesus correctly. John expressed this intrinsic connectedness of the Cross and glory when he said that the Cross is Jesus’ ‘exaltation,’ and his exaltation is accomplished in no other way than in the Cross.” What the Holy Father says is confirmed by the fact that the transfiguration of Jesus takes place just before his entry triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the beginning of his passion.

Moses and Elijah are themselves representatives and witnesses of the passion. This scene of Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah does not only show that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Law and the Prophets, of the entire Old Testament and, in fact, the entire biblical tradition and revelation, it also shows that “Jesus’ passion,” according to Pope Benedict, “brings salvation that is filled with the glory of God; that the Passion is transformed into light, into freedom and joy.”

At this point in the life journey of Jesus, he has been making predictions of his passion and death. Right after Peter’s confession, Jesus makes it clear that the Son of must undergo his passion and death. Peter and the disciples cannot understand and take this. They resist that the Messiah and the Son of God can and must suffer passion and death to bring salvation. The voice of the Father, addressing the disciples, appeals to them to listen to Jesus, to listen to what he has been telling them all along.

Peter, James and John are overwhelmed by the immensity of the transfiguration incident. They fall prostrate and are very afraid. But Jesus assures them, “Rise and do not be afraid.”

Jesus needs this cosmic disclosure of his divine identity as the beloved Son of God before he faces his passion and death in Jerusalem. It is just like a spiritual shot in the arm, so that assured of his grounding in the love of the Father, he can courageously and faithfully embrace the will of the Father for the salvation of the world.

The transfiguration is a prayer event and it shows to us what happens when Jesus is united with his Father. There is an interpenetration of his being with the Father, and, as a result, his being becomes pure light. His true identity is revealed and he is able to face and embrace the mission entrusted to him by the Father.

If the true divine identity of the Son of God is revealed on the cross, the true identity of a Christian, a follower of Jesus, is also seen in his or her faithful and loving carrying of his or her own cross and in participation in the Cross of Jesus. This feast reminds us that we too can only be truly transformed by encountering the Lord, in prayer and in the events of our lives marked by the Cross. It is only by denying ourselves and taking up our crosses that we become disciples or imitators of Christ, reflections of Jesus. Jesus can only shine in and through us when we ourselves become truly conformed to him and transformed into his likeness.

Dasmarinas Village, Santuario de San Antonio, Manila Polo Club
March 15/16/2014

About Fr. Robert and his reflections

March 8/9, 2014
Dasmarinas Village/Santuario de San Antonio/North Forbes

A story is told about a driver who parked his car in a no-parking area and attached the following message to the windshield: “I have circled this block twenty times. I cannot find an available parking space. I have an urgent appointment to keep. The Lord Jesus taught, ‘Forgive us our trespasses.’’

When the driver of the car returned, he saw this reply attached to his own note. “I am a police officer. I have circled this block twenty years. If I don’t give you a ticket, I will not be doing my job and I can lose it. The Lord Jesus also taught, ‘Lead us not into temptation.’”

The word temptation comes from the Latin word temptare, which means “to handle, test, or try.” Although temptation is an inducement to sin, to disobey God and his precepts and to betray our identity and dignity as God’s children, it is also a time of testing and trial. The Protestant evangelist Rick Warren says, “Temptation simply provides the choice… Every time you choose to do good instead of sin, you are growing in the character of Christ.” Jesus is tested in the desert by the Devil but he chooses to be on the side of God and his will and, in the process, he comes out victorious. He shows himself a real Son of God, truly obedient to the will and ways of the Father.

To better appreciate the import of the Temptation of Jesus, we need to take note of three important considerations:

First, the temptation of Jesus is preceded by his baptism in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. In the said baptism, the theme of Jesus as the “Son of God” is very prominent. The voice of he Father is heard, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Mt. 3:17). The heavenly Father reveals that Jesus is the Son of God and it is precisely this divine identity as God’s beloved Son that is under attack by Satan. Satan introduces two of his tests or temptations with the phrase “If you are the Son of God…”

Indeed, the fundamental temptation of Jesus, on which the three particular temptations are anchored, has something to do with his divine identity. The Devil is daring him to prove his divine identity as the Son of God. He wants him to compromise his filial trust in the Father. He is challenging his identity as beloved Son and inducing him to doubt it and to put his trust in other things such pleasure, power, and prestige instead of reaffirming his trust in his heavenly Father and his will for him. The Devil wants him to take a different route instead of keeping steady on the way of the cross that the Father has designed for him in bringing about the Kingdom of God and for the salvation of humanity.

Is this not also the fundamental temptation that we all experience in life? When we are tempted, it is a test of who God is really for us and who we are before God. In the face of temptations, do I continue to cling to God and to his ways? Do I remain faithful to his will and to his teachings? Will I try to be a true child of God and of the light or will I allow myself to be a child of Satan, of darkness and of this world? Will I continue to put my trust in God and in his providential care for me or do I change allegiance by putting my trust in pleasure, wealth, power, and prestige and in anything that is not of God or that leads me away from God and his will?

Second, about a hundred years before Jesus began his ministry of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, the Roman Empire had conquered Palestine and annexed it as a Roman colony. Understandably, the Jewish people, who considered themselves the God’s Chosen people, resented their subjugation to the foreign and pagan Roman Empire. Before the coming of Jesus, the environment became saturated with expectations for a Messiah from the line of David who would take on a politico-military role to liberate the people from the yoke of the Roman Empire. What the people had been expecting was a type of temporal, worldly and political messianism that would exhibit might and power.

The different temptations offered by Satan are a trap leading to this type of messanism. The Devil does not only challenge the identity of Jesus; he also induces him to accept the worldly concept of messianism and not the type of messianism that is according to the plan of the Father. He is challenging him to take things into his hands and do things according to the values of the world and according to his deceitful dictations. But the messianic way of the Father is not a temporal, worldly, political and even violent messianic way; the way of the Messiah, as designed by God, is the way of the cross, of love, peace, service and humility. We see this very clearly in Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem commemorated on Palm Sunday. Jesus comes on a humble donkey and not on a horse, a symbol of power, might, wealth and prestige. Jesus bluntly rejects the false enticements of the Devil and sticks to the way of the heavenly Father.

In this world, in order to reach whatever goals and aspirations that we have set for ourselves, for our families, inner circles and companies, we can be tempted to take things our way and according to the ways of the world at the expense of some fundamental spiritual, moral and gospel values. We can embrace immoral and illegal means in pursuit of power, riches and prestige and other things and values that can become mammons or idols. Our end goals, no matter how noble, do not justify illegal and immoral means. A true child of God, as the temptation incident reminds us, always seeks and pursues both God’s goals and ways in all things.

Finally, the Temptation of Jesus reminds us of the desert experience of Israel after their experience of slavery in Egypt and of the fall of Adam and Eve. On those 40 days in the desert, the Jewish people were also tested in many different ways. On one instance, for example, the people became hungry and were unwilling to trust in the providence of God (Ex 16 = Deut 8:2-3). While Israel of old succumbed to temptations, Jesus proves victorious in the face of temptations.

Much earlier in the Biblical account, Adam and Eve were also tempted. Like the Israel of old, they also succumbed to temptations and disobeyed God. But such is not the case with Jesus. Jesus is victorious over sin, temptations and death and has broken the cycle of sinfulness. Jesus as the New Adam and the New Israel is presented to us in the Temptation account as a model of fidelity to God and to his will.

The gospel incident also gives us some clues that enable Jesus to defeat the Devil and his machinations. Jesus is secure in his divine identity as the Son of God. He lives in close intimacy with and connection to his heavenly Father. It is only when we are truly grounded in God and in our identity as children of God that we are able to resist evil and temptations in this world. Our traditional theological terminology calls this a “state of grace.” When we are in a state of grace, when we are filled with God’s spirit and presence, we are stronger to say no to the evils and temptations of this world. Indeed, when our lives are directed more towards God, them we are able to turn more away from evil and temptations.

We can also see here the importance of prayer and fasting and other spiritual disciplines and of being grounded in the Word of God. Jesus has been praying hard and fasting in the desert when the Devil comes into the scene. Jesus is equipped with the necessary spiritual weapons to combat the enemy. Someone said, “Unless we have within us that which is above us, we shall soon yield to that which is about us.” Every Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, we are reminded of the spiritual weapons of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to help us grow in holiness and to combat the evil within and outside of us.

The Devil can also quote the Scriptures for evil designs and to make things appear to be good, noble and even holy and according to God’s will. Is this not the nature of evil and temptation? They usually appear to be good and enticing, hiding the destructions that they bring. But Jesus is truly steeped in the Word of God and can very well discern those that are from God from those that are not from God. In life, we also need this discerning spirit that is guided by the knowledge and the living out of the Word of God in order to see what is truly of God and embrace it and reject what is not of God.

Jesus is quick in resisting the Devil. Spiritual writers and saints tell us that we can never dilly-dally before Satan, his temptations and machinations. We can never negotiate with Satan and his ways. We must resist at once for we are stronger at the first moment of temptation. We need to be resolute in immediately dismissing the Evil One. Jesus is firm in his responses to the Devil and he dismisses him, “Get away, Satan.” And if we do not have the courage to dismiss Satan, we need to remove ourselves from the territory of the Devil, from evil and sinful occasions, and flee. The Desert Fathers have a simple but wise advice: “Pray and flee.”

In the Our Father we pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” As we pray to God to deliver us from evil and temptations, it is important that we also do not expose ourselves to temptations for we may fall. Arnold Glasow says, “Temptation usually comes in through a door that has been deliberately left open.” John Ruskin also says, “No one can be delivered from temptation unless he has finally determined to do the best he can to keep out of it.”

To end, someone said, “To pray against temptations, and yet rush into occasions, is to thrust your fingers into the fire, and then pray they may not be burned.”

May this Lenten Season be truly a desert experience for us, an experience of purification and transformation and of reaffirming our identity as beloved children of God whose sole allegiance is to God and to his will even in the midst of trials and temptations.

About Fr. Robert and his reflections