We are now in the first week of Lent and we approach the readings of the Transfiguration. This is the encounter with Jesus that demonstrates that he is the fulfillment of the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah). This revelation to Peter, James, and John notice the two movements in the spiritual life. The first is the overwhelming sense of the immanence of God which confounds the disciples expressed in their perception of who Jesus is. The second is the overshadowing of God which removes all reference points and plunges them into a cloud of unknowing where they are called to listen to the voice of God. These two movements recognize that we are called to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
The difficulty in commencing Lent is that we realize the perceived distance that can seem to exist between God and our neighbor. Two images that I have been pondering during the week have been the response of those who have been affected by the floods in NSW and Queensland and the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. As I have listened to the reports we can experience being overwhelmed by the enormity of the tragedies which are unfolding and plunged into spiritual darkness where we seem unable to respond adequately. Like Peter, we can pray that God is present in guiding us to an appropriate response to what breaks our hearts and clouds our thinking. We can seek to provide a response that makes the best use of our time, our talent, and our treasure.
Yet the danger is that as I read through the paper or listen to the news the current tragedies can fade into the background and we can focus on more immediate needs. This spotlighting of tragedy rather than empowering us can lead us to privatize our faith into the immediate moment. We can seem to bounce from one thing to another rather than being focused on how our faith is called to engage us in a creative response to the needs of our times. This does not mean that we become deaf to those in need but we develop a deeper sense that our faith is not our own private possession. The searching for the common good seeks to move into an engagement that sees God at the heart of all creation.
This seeking of a corporate response acknowledges that our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is not private pious action but rather a commitment to allow God to guide us in our daily life. Our solidarity and common purpose allow us to know God in the way we witness to the person of Jesus. We seek to reflect and act which develops a prayerfulness that allows God to build good foundations for the whole of society by incarnating the Gospel. This transformation conforms our hearts and minds to God.
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