2nd Sunday of Lent, The Transfiguration & the Face of God

 

Six days after predicting His death and resurrection, when Peter, James, and John climbed a high mountain, Jesus revealed His glory to them on Mount Tabor.

When they arrived at the top, the three were tired and thirsty and decided to take a short nap. But they were suddenly awakened by a bright light that emanated from Jesus. Our Lord stood transfigured before them glowing brightly and with Him was Moses and Elijah. It wasn’t during the night, but during the day, when His face shone like the sun and His clothes became dazzling white.

One of the priests of our diocese, Fr. Larry Carney, wrote a book on the Holy Face of Jesus. Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus has a long history; it seems as long as that of the Church, if not longer because there is a recurrent theme in the Old Testament to seek the Holy Face of God. Already in Genesis 3:8 at the sin of Adam and Eve, we read that they “hid from the face of God.” It seems that a longing to see the Divine Face remained in them and was passed on to their descendants.

The Hebrew scriptures make reference to the holy face of God, especially in the psalms. Desire to see the Face of God is frequent. In Psalm 27: “Thou hast said, ‘Seek ye my face.’ My heart says to thee, ‘Thy face, Lord, do I seek.’ Hide not your face from me.’” In 2 Chronicles 7 a national blessing is assured by God to Solomon, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” The priestly blessing of Aaron over the people emphasizes its importance: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you his peace” (Numbers 6.22-27).

In 2 Corinthians 4:6, St. Paul directs our attention to the face of Jesus: “For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” Revelations 22:3-4 proclaims the eternal joyful contemplation in heaven “… the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; they shall see His face…”

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, said “Moses says (to the Lord), ‘Show me your glory’ . You see that the prophets in those times saw the Christ, that is, as much as each was able. ‘Show me your glory … that I may see you with understanding.’ But (God) says, ‘You cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live’ (Exodus 33:20).

For this reason, because no man could see the face of God and live, Jesus took upon Himself the face of human nature, that we might see it and live.

When Our Lord was born in Bethlehem, the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph were the first to see the face of Jesus.

And yet when Jesus wished to show a little of His majesty at the Transfiguration, when His face shined as the sun, the disciples fell down afraid. His bodily face shining with less than the full power of him who made it, but according to the capacity of the disciples still frightened them, so that they could not bear it. How, then, could any man gaze upon the majesty of God?

After Jesus rose from the dead, most did not immediately recognize the face of Jesus. Perhaps, His new resurrected body made His appearance look different.

The face of any person reveals who we are and often times what we think. There are some who naturally have a happy face and are always smiling. Others their face looks grumpy. Some you can look at their face and tell what they are thinking.

With Bishop Jackals, our former bishop, you could always tell what he was thinking by looking at his face. One time we had a speaker at the clergy conference who said some inaccurate things. All we had to do was look at face of Bishop Jackals and we knew what he was thinking. And then, sure enough, the bishop stood up and gently corrected the speaker.

Some have what’s called a “poker face”, meaning they are able to hide what they are thinking when playing cards. They can be angry or maybe shocked by something, but you can’t tell by looking at their face.

Most of the time, we can tell by looking at someone’s face if they are happy, or if they are sad, if they are anxious, if they are worried, if they concerned, if they are angry.

Crying causes the face to appear sad and it draws empathy from others. A joyful face will cause others to be happy and can inspire laughter.

One of the beatitudes states, “Blessed are the pure of heart, they shall see God.” A pure heart will overlook the faults of others, look beyond their roughness and see God within the person.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “Seeking the face of God in everything, everyone, all the time, and his hand in every happening; This is what it means to be contemplative in the heart of the world. Seeing and adoring the presence of Jesus, especially in the lowly appearance of bread (in the Holy Eucharist, and in the distressing disguise of the poor.”

She also said, “Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” She said, “We can never know the simple smile can do.” “Every time you smile at someone, it is action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”

When I prepare couples for marriage, I always tell them, its up to them how they will discipline their children. Whether or not they will spank them, but if they choose to spank, they should only spank the bottom and never slap the face of the child. Why? Because to do so is a serious way of shaming the person. It’s an insult to their human dignity. In some countries, to slap someone in the face is as though, it was a slap against God Himself. In countries, like Iceland, to slap a child is considered abuse. In the United States to slap someone is a misdemeanor, punishable up to a year in jail.

God gives each of us our own face. It is uniquely ours. Every face is beautiful. Every face is precious. Every face has the ability to show love.

Let us use our face to help others, by smiling and let us seek the face of God most especially in the Eucharist, but also in the poor, and in each other.

In our mind’s eye when we look at the Sacred Host, during Adoration and at Mass, we can gaze upon the glory of the face of Christ on earth, for by doing so, we look forward to see God face to face in all His glory in heaven.