“It is good for us to be here”. This was Peter’s spontaneous response on Mount Tabor as he witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus. Peter, the most spontaneous of them all. Peter, the one who always spoke what came out of his heart, before processing it through his mind. It is good, it is beautiful, it is wonderful. He could not help express his desire to keep enjoying the experience, as Jesus reveals Himself for who He really is.

This is faith. This is faith, at least, as it is supposed to be. How often have we thought that faith is a matter of do’s and don’ts? How often have we been made to believe that faith is a burden, rather than joy? In Jesus’ presence, Peter discovers that it is good, faith is beautiful.

A very short time before this experience, Jesus had told his friends that he was going to suffer passion, death, and then experience resurrection. Surely the disciples could not understand the meaning of all that. And yet, the little they could have understood – the passion and death bit; resurrection was something unheard of for them – they found very hard to accept. More than anyone else, Peter strongly protested against such horrendous possibility, for which he earned the title of “Satan” by Jesus!

Through this experience, Jesus wanted to equip Peter, James and John for the passion-experience which was soon to come. In his foretelling, Jesus could not speak of death without making reference to the resurrection. And his oncoming death would not have made any sense without the resurrection. It is one whole event, and in the moment of darkness the disciple of Christ has to remember that there is always light and life waiting. And yet, talk of resurrection does not in any way deny the reality of suffering.

There are always moments of darkness to be lived in our lives, moments that challenge our faith which is very often taken for granted. As I write these reflections, I share the pain of many people who, in different ways, are going through darkness and suffering, in particular during this time of pandemic. I constantly witness stories of people who are going through darkness in their own lives: violence, failed marriages, death in the family, unexpected illnesses, etc. It is very easy to get disheartened in moments like this. It is very normal to start asking questions and, where faith had previously seemed so solid, now it might feel very fragile and shaky.

Today’s story of Jesus’ transfiguration, like the story of the resurrection which we are about to celebrate at the end of this Lenten season, helps us keep things in perspective. These stories tell us that evil does not have the last word. The voice of evil is never the loudest voice.

As we journey through our own desert during this lent, let us really listen to that voice saying: “This is my Son ... listen to him!” Let us set aside some time in our day to reflect on God’s word, perhaps the daily reading given that we cannot attend church yet. And as we listen, we start experiencing what Peter did in that short moment: it is good to be here. Let us really enjoy the beauty of his presence, of his word.
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Because without beauty, our soul dies.

The first reading of today’s liturgy is taken from the Book of Wisdom and starts with these words: “It is your providence, O Father, that steers its course, because you have given it a path in the sea, and a safe way through the waves.” These words resonate loudly in our ears as our parish celebrates the Feast of the shipwreck of St Paul on the island of Malta. St Paul had no intention of going to Malta. Probably he did not even know that Malta existed! All he wanted to do was go to be tried in Rome, thus using his privilege as a Roman citizen. Had he not filed his appeal to go to Caesar, he would have been a free man. As King Agrippa himself said during Paul’s trial, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar”, because he “is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.” However, since Paul had lodged that appeal, his wish had to be respected.

Yet, God had other plans. As soon as they set sail, they started encountering difficulties. The trip was taking longer than expected due to the bad weather. When they took shelter in Crete, Paul insisted they should not keep going. The centurion, and the owner and captain of the ship decided otherwise. This decision was almost fatal. The storm kept growing. For days on end the expert mariners could not control the ship. Those on board started losing hope. Luke tells us that at one point “we finally gave up all hope of being saved”.

In desperation, some tried to escape. Paul stopped this, assuring everybody that all were going to be saved. By now, thanks to a vision he had, he had become in tune with God’s plan in this story. Paul would, eventually, face Caesar, but first, they had to “run aground on some island.” This was, therefore, the real purpose of this whole adventure.

Paul’s coming to Malta was no human endeavor. It was purely God’s providence in action. There is no doubt that the people of Malta had always been a religious people. The thousands-of-years old temples scattered throughout our islands are ample testimony to this. This religiosity of our ancestors shines forth in today’s story. When Paul was bitten by a snake, the people immediately saw this as a divine punishment for some huge wrongdoing. “This man must be a murderer,” they said. One may manage to escape a storm, but there is no way one can run away from divine justice! Then, upon seeing that no ill befell him, they concluded he must be a god!

By now Paul must have understood how God was constructing this story. And Paul the evangelizer did what he knew best. The above-mentioned phenomenon, together with the healing of the island’s chief official, must have earned Paul the people’s trust. He shared with them that wonderful gift he had received on that fateful day on the road to Damascus. And the people listened to his message.

This is what real faith is all about. It is not merely something for me to keep. Rather, it is something to live and to share. The gift of faith our ancestors had received form Paul has been handed on to us through many generations. It is up to us, now, to live it and share it. This would be the best way to thank and honor this great Apostle for what he gave us. 

Last week we saw Jesus beginning his ministry (according to the gospel of Mark) in the Synagogue, his house of prayer. There he taught those who cared to listen, and they were truly touched by his teaching. And then he freed a man who had an unclean spirit. Today we see Jesus move out of that place and go to Peter’s house. This is very significant, because Jesus and, therefore, his followers did not come to stay in the Synagogue. He started from there, and then moved to the place where people normally are, with their sicknesses and everything. The first thing he did there, in fact, was to meet and heal Peter’s mother-in-law, who was sick.

This is a great message of good news for us. We can probably all identify with the man who was in the Synagogue. We try to obey God’s laws, we pray, and we go to church (at least in non-Covid times!) However, that does not necessarily make us perfect. Jesus came to help us see what can be made better in our lives, to free us from any uncleanliness. Then we move out to meet people where they are, because that’s what he did. How comforting is the thought that Jesus does not shy away from my simple and poor abode, or from my infirmities. As soon as Peter’s mother-in-law is healed, she began to serve them. In its simplicity, this is one of the most beautiful images of what being a Christian is all about. We are people who need Jesus in our lives to heal us from our infirmities, from our sinfulness, and from the wounds caused by our mistakes or by those of others. Because in one way or another we are all broken, we all need healing.  The result of being touched by Jesus is, then that we automatically start to live to serve others. This is precisely what Jesus was all about. He himself told us, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Word of these two healings – the one in the Synagogue and that of Peter’s mother-in-law – must have spread quickly among the people, because at sunset (when the Sabbath restrictions were lifted) people who needed his healing came from everywhere. And he did not disappoint!

After such a full day, a normal person would go to have a good sleep in the evening, feeling pleased with himself for what he had accomplished during that day. Not Jesus. He got up very early in the morning, “when it was very still dark,” to go to a deserted place and pray. Jesus needed this time with his Father. This has to be the source and strength of the life of any follower of Jesus. I cannot do it on my own. I need God’s help. Time spent with God is not time wasted. Pope Francis gives us a beautiful example in his life by rising up very early every morning for two whole hours of prayer before he begins his day.
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The message for us today is twofold. Let us allow Jesus in our lives, giving him ample time, so that we can experience his loving presence and healing touch. Then let us look around us. There we will sure find people whom we can help and serve. Through us his disciples, they can come to experience that same love of Jesus that we received.