Smoothing the ways to God

Rising abruptly to a height of at once 1,600 feet above its surrounding plains, Mt. Thabor seems to touch the blue sky at its summit. The most picturesque and striking mountain in Galilee, the psalmist breaks forth in hymns of praise to the God Who has endowed the mountain with such strength and beauty. A sacred place, indeed, as it was chosen by Jesus to be the site of His Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36). Today, one can rise up the mountain by way of a zigzagging road. Not in the days when Jesus led Peter, James and John up that high rise mountain. It must have been a laborious climb so that the Gospel says, they "had fallen into a deep sleep" maybe of exhaustion. The sleep might have been the transition from stupor to an "awakening". And that "awakening" was seeing Jesus’ glory in all its divine bounty. "Master", they exclaimed, "how good it is for us to be here." But a cloud overshadowed them and the voice of the Father piercing through gave sense to all that they had seen: "This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to Him." Then suddenly they were alone with Jesus and they could then reflect.

We ourselves, during this Lenten season, have got to be alone with Jesus to be able to reflect, to converse with God in prayer, to experience the transcendent. This means being away from all sinful distractions in the way of psychedelic lights, disco-mania, wine, women, liquor, hot action on the campaign frontlines, briefly, the field of the flesh. The Church has got a couple of points in making us fast. The first point is that bodily fasting exercises a great influence upon the condition of the body and spirit. It renders the field of the flesh sterile and barren, but makes the field of soul fertile and fruitful. This much for purity of heart. There is a second point. We smooth the ways of God. There are two such ways, however. The soul that God desires to sanctify must not only live chastely (for impurity destroys holiness); but God also looks for justice and truth in our actions. Speaking through Isaiah (58:6-7) God says, "This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: Releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke, sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear-guard . . ." In fulfillment of this prophecy, Christ now says: I shall lead you to holiness and transfiguration like that in which I Myself stand before you. But Christ will also say it has to be stiff laborious climb to where He stands at the peak of Mt. Thabor.

If ever there are those of us who have lost all hope that corruption, filth, sin, violence, crime have become hopelessly some cancerous terminal disease in our land, then let us get to join the Lenten pilgrimage up that mountain, believe that Christ makes the stiff rugged climb with us, hoping He is leading the way, and lovingly blazing the trail with Him to peaks of holiness and transfiguration.

Lent Week 2 Gospel Lk. 9:28-36