THE HIDDENNESS OF GOD

Gen 15:5-12.17-18; Ps 27; Phil 3:20-4:1; Lk 9:28-36

Today we hear about the Transfiguration, the Transformation, the Revealing that Jesus is the Son of God. That must have been an awesome and life changing experience for Peter, James and John. And yet, at the end of the Gospel it says, “they fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.”

I wonder if they thought they were seeing things. If someone told you, “you are seeing things” they would be implying “I think you are out of touch with reality” and wouldn’t believe what you are saying. Maybe the apostles felt the same way. They had just seen Jesus transfigured and in conversation with Moses and Elijah. Or had they? After all, they had just woken up from a deep sleep.And sometimes you don’t quite know where you are or if something is a dream or reality. So they kept quiet about for a time

So Why Does God Remain Hidden To Us And Did Not Stay Fully Revealed To His Apostles? Why does he keep us in the dark? Maybe one answer is that God is pure Spirit and the spirit cannot be perceived through our normal human senses. But if God is God, then he can do anything he wants. And if he wanted to, God would be fully revealed to us all the time.

But God gave us free will and we have to chose whether to believe or not to believe. So instead we have to rely on our faith. The faith that God has given us and the faith that we have to nurture in ourselves through prayer to our heavenly father, just as Jesus prayed to his heavenly father.

But I Propose That We Do Experience The Presence Of God Every Day In Our Lives. Sometimes it is significant and we know in our hearts, in our whole being, that the Holy Spirit was present in our lives. I think of a few times in my life, like at our wedding when I was nervous about the commitment I was going to make. At the point where I said “I do” I could feel the Holy Spirit come down on us and bless our marriage.

There were other times too but most of the times it is the small incidents in our lives that God reveals himself to us. In Cursillo we always ended our group reflections with the question “when was Christ most present in our lives this past week.” It caused us to go back and think about the times that Christ was with us and guiding us on our journey. Often times it is only in looking back that we notice where Christ was present. It reminds me of the poem that I read yesterday at a funeral service “Footprints in the Sand” where at our most difficult times in our lives, Jesus was not only with us, he carried us.

Jesus Reveals Himself In Glimpses Throughout Our Lives. It is sort like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel but only in small doses. We know the light is there and we keep striving for it but we don’t know exactly when we will fully reach that light.

I Think Of The Analogy Of A Baby In Its Mother’s Womb. The baby is so totally enveloped and surrounded by the mother’s womb that it cannot see the mother or what’s on the other side. And yet he or she gets glimpses of what it is like in the outside world. The baby may hear her father talking to her but not fully understand what he is saying. But she can recognize her father’s voice and may leap for joy when she hears him. The baby may feel pain if his mother has an mishap. He may withdraw a limb if something hurts it and yet it feels safe in the protection of the womb. Although the baby cannot see clearly, he or she can distinguish light from darkness. Once the baby is born she sees and feels and hears more clearly all that was hidden in the womb.

Today’s Liturgy Is About Restoring Our Sight So That We Can “See The Bounty Of The Lord In The Land Of The Living.” God gives us glimpses of what it will be like to be with him forever in paradise, but like the apostles, we may not be ready to fully understand what this truly means. The full glory of God was hidden from apostles and it was only at the resurrection that they fully understood what this heavenly vision was all about. May we prepare ourselves for Christ’s resurrection at Easter.

Deacon Greg Beckel