LORD, IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE…

HOMILY FOR THE 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

There’s no doubt that God is very concerned about us when we experience difficulties, worries, troubles and travails. And when we call upon Him, He responds in His own good time. In the First Reading (Ezek. 37:12-14), we are comforted with the great promises of God for the well-being of his people: I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, Oh my people… I will bring you home into the land of Israel...I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live...I will place you in your own land… When God says I will, it goes way beyond any physical time. The ‘I Will’ of God is in His eternal will, and should not be understood in terms of any material future or any defined physical time. As the Eternal Presence whom He is, God’s I will does not mean that His plan is yet to come. It simply means that this is what he does, has done, and will keep doing. 

But how should these promises speak to our current situation and concern? Historically, this is certainly a promise made to the Israelites who were in exile; but we can clearly adapt this same message in our world today as we live above our present worries in order to live in the joy of this great promise of God. It then consoles us today when we reflect upon this promise by God of a new spirit to be put within us. Recalling that initial breath of life - the breath of God that made the first man, Adam come alive - in the second account of creation (Gen. 2:7) helps to inform us that the new spirit that God promises to put within us is the spirit of recreation, revival, and of renewal; thus, a re-enactment of creation. Secondly, recalling the Garden of Eden - that initial home (the first paradise) where our first parents were placed (Gen. 2:8) - helps to inform us also that the land/home that God promises to resettle us in is another paradise like the initial one, which would be a home of tranquillity, joy, love and purity. 

The Gospel (John 11:1-45) serves to help us understand the message of the First Reading, how God accomplishes His good plans for us in His own good time. In our limitation as human beings, we make mistakes when we design a particular formula for God to follow in executing His good plans for us. Let’s consider that lovely story of the raising of Lazarus from death. Lazarus (the brother of Mary and Martha) was sick, and his friend, Jesus was informed and called. While Jesus delayed, Lazarus died. It was then after two days of Lazarus’ burial that Jesus started going to Bethany to see his friends. Now, we must understand that this is peculiar to St. John the Evangelist; he designs his stories of Jesus to lead the readers to a discovery of the supreme power of God. 

After two days… By his arrival time, Lazarus would have already been in the tomb for four days. Oh! What a poor expression of loyalty, any one of us might think. Couldn’t Jesus have responded as soon as He was informed about the ill health of His friend; that’s if he claimed to be a good friend? And somehow, the two sisters could have thought like many of us would. On hearing about the physical presence of Jesus, both sisters expressed their feelings by weeping and by running quickly towards Jesus with those words: Lord, if you had been here… They didn’t quite see the bigger picture of the highest wonder that was about to happen: the raising of their brother. Sometimes, like Mary and Martha, while we cry in difficult times, we ask God questions that express great disappointments with Him for not coming when we think we need Him. Don’t we? In our impatience, we fail to see a bigger picture that lies beyond our present sorrow. Let’s not forget that God’s omnipotence is manifested in difficult times.

The arrival of Jesus only reminded the two sisters of a person who would have averted death from the life of their brother. If only Jesus had come in time, Lazarus wouldn’t have died. While promising Martha that Lazarus would rise again, Jesus then led her into a deeper faith in the resurrection, such resurrection and life that only the Christ would bring. She would then confess her belief in Jesus who is the Christ, the son of God. Again, this is peculiar to St. John. Miracles are signs which lead us to an absolute faith in the Christ. The Evangelist writes his stories so as to convince the readers to go beyond the miraculous story to a discovery that Jesus is the Christ who was to come. So, the raising of Lazarus from the dead was a preparation for the resurrection faith that would be born at Easter. 

On seeing how troubled His friends were, Jesus burst into tears. Oh! See how much he loves them; see how much he loves us when he sees us in agony and pain. Jesus wept. It was a sympathetic sorrow, tears of compassion; one that comes as a result of grief over the effects of sin and death. Two reasons can be offered to why Jesus wept. The first is this: Jesus wept because he faced the reality of the pains and misery of his friends. Isn’t it how he feels when He is faced with our miseries? The second is this: Jesus could have also wept for the sheer hypocrisy of mourners who were wailing and weeping. Now, the Jewish house of mourning had set customs after each funeral. Deep mourning lasted for seven days, of which three days were days of weeping. During these seven days, it was prohibited to anoint oneself, to put on shoes, or to engage in any form of trading, or even to wash. It was called the week of deep mourning. It was a sacred duty to visit the family and to express sympathy during this week. The Jewish world view was that the more unrestrained the weeping was, the more honour it paid to the dead. On his arrival then, Jesus saw people wailing and shrieking, and crying aloud, not because they were sympathetic enough, but because they were merely fulfilling a custom. Our Lord saw how such burial ritual could render people hypocritical; and this must have troubled Him greatly. He wept.

At the grave of Lazarus, Jesus prayed and called forth Lazarus to come forth alive. This is a fulfilment of the promise of God in the First reading: I will ‘open your grave, and put a new spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you back into your home.’?  With that Eternal Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, and who is able to give life to our mortal bodies, (Second Reading: Rom. 8:8-11), Lazarus was raised. He was raised from the dead after four days - the period before which, according to Jewish custom, the spirit of the dead hovered around the body of the dead in search of reconnecting with it. After this period also, the spirit would have left since it could no longer recognize the decayed face. This sends a message to us! God is never late. It is God’s way, not yours or mine. And so, when he is four days late in human calculation, he is still on time in His divine will. His appointed time remains the best!  So, instead of finding reasons to worry, we are encouraged to find reasons to worship God. 

Let go and Let God! There are two days in every week when we should not worry. Both days should be kept free from fear, worry, anxiety, cries, feelings of disappointments, and apprehension. The first is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. Nothing is able to bring it back; it’s gone. The second is tomorrow, with its possible adversities, burdens, promises and prospects. It is beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow’s sun will rise irrespective of our awareness of it. But until it does, we have no stake in it, for it is yet unborn. The only battle that we are faced with is that of today. When we allow the worries of yesterday and the cares of tomorrow to overcome us, we surely face a breakdown. It is the remorse for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring that drives people crazy. Do not bother yourself with what you are unable to control. Why? Because, God is in control. May these words help to calm us in times of distress. Amen. God bless you!

AND I WASHED AND I CAN SEE

HOMILY FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A

1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13        Ephesians 5:8-14        John 9:1-41

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Today we celebrate Laetare Sunday. Laetare means ‘rejoice!’. Laetare Sunday is so-called from the incipit “Rejoice, O Jerusalem” of the Introit of the Mass (cf. Is 66:10). The 4^th Sunday of Lent is traditionally a day of celebration within the austere period of Lent - a bright day of hope that Easter is at last within sight. It is also a day dedicated to mothers. There was a long-standing tradition that people in domestic service could go home on this particular Sunday to visit their mothers. That’s why we call it ‘Mothering Sunday’ (or “Mothers’ Day” if you’re in the States). Servants were given light relief from their duties in order to go and see their mothers.

Now we are in a position to understand why today’s readings are based around the prophetic challenge drawn from the symbolism of light - the light that shines, the light that facilitates visibility, hope and joy. In the Second Reading (Ephesians 5:8-14) St. Paul gives us guidance about how to be liberated from darkness. Living as children of light produces every kind of goodness and virtue within us. The First Reading (1 Samuel 16:1, 6-6, 10-13) tells of the anointing of David, of his formal anointing as king of Israel, which initiated his mission to restore the light of hope to the people of God. In the Gospel (John 9:1-41), Jesus declares Himself to be the Light of the world and restores the sight of a man born blind. In so doing, Jesus liberated the man from physical and spiritual blindness and brought him deep joy, a joy which is only to be found in life in Christ, the Light.

The man born blind is presented as a well-known local figure. The belief at the time was that illness was a punishment for sin. In affirming that the man’s blindness was not due to sin, either his own or his parents’ sin, Jesus gave the people to understand that this man was suffering from his affliction in order to give an opportunity to show the power of God. The blind man was ‘anointed’ with the paste and was ordered to wash himself clean in a specific place. He obeyed the instruction in full, and his sight was restored. The man’s perceptions of Jesus developed in three stages; he perceived Jesus initially as just a man, secondly as a prophet, and thirdly as the Son of Man, the Christ. In standing his ground regarding his evidence of his experience of Jesus, despite aggressive interrogation by local people, neighbours and Pharisees, his eyes were opened to who Jesus actually was. His reward was the gift of faith and the grace of eternal life. From Jesus he received new hope and strength in God. We too can receive these gifts when we remain steadfast and courageous in defence of the faith.

The gift of faith – having our eyes opened to who Jesus really is, instead of being spiritually blind like the unbelievers in the Gospel passage - is what St John the Evangelist wants to convey to us. In St. John’s Gospel, miracles are called ‘signs’. These ‘signs’ are the signs of the glory and power of God. Instances of suffering, sorrow, misery and pain are explained not as misfortunes but as opportunities for the demonstration of God’s grace and power. Our own fidelity to God and our trust in Him undergo severe testing when we encounter painful or difficult times in life. As people of faith, when we find ourselves blinded by worrying, even life-threatening situations such as we are going through now with the coronavirus, we should be comforted in the sense that such situations open our eyes to the omnipotence of God. Bad or challenging situations should not instil unhealthy fear of God in us but, rather, remind us of the comforting words of the Psalmist that ‘the Lord is our shepherd’ (cf. Ps 23:1).

The restoration of the sight of the blind man prompted split reactions from the people, the neighbours and the Pharisees. People took sides. Either they believed what the man said, or they didn’t. The man stuck to his story and didn’t waver in his evidence about what happened to him. He was passed from one group to another in an attempt to disprove the power of God in Christ. Those who did not accept the teaching of Christ (that the man’s physical blindness was not a result of being born in sin) became the blind ones. They remained in darkness, blind to Christ the Light of the world. They remained blind to the sign of who Jesus was, blind to the goodness of God’s miracle, and blind to the presence of the Messiah, the Christ. Entrenched in their positions, those who saw only with their physical eyes turned blind spiritually, and the one who was blind physically was given the gift to see both physically and spiritually. 

We need so much to come away today with our own ‘eyes’ opened and our sight restored by allowing the light of Christ to shine on us. The light of Christ will enable us to grow in our understanding of Him and to have our values in life made pure. Once our ‘eyesight’ has been restored, our perception of Jesus will change radically. This perception will heighten when we believe Jesus to be who He really is: The Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. It’s sadly true that, in human relationships, the more we come to know about someone, the more we become aware of their shortcomings. In our relationship with Jesus, however, the more we learn about Him, the more we become aware of how great He really is; the more we grow in our knowledge of Him, the more we become aware of how glorious He is; and the more intimately we get to know Him, the more we become aware of our own unworthiness and our weaknesses, and we become even more determined to overcome them. We surrender our entire selves to Him with a view to having our eyes opened and having His light suffuse our lives with dazzling brilliance. During this Lent, may our fasting, prayers and almsgiving help to open our eyes wide so that our values may be aligned with His. Amen. God bless you.

'GIVE ME SOME OF THAT WATER'

HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A.

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Did you know that the average adult can survive for seven weeks without food, but cannot live for more than five days without water? Amazing but true! Water has lots of therapeutic uses. Perhaps you are familiar with the phrase ‘water therapy’ to describe the effects of water intake on the human biological and psychological make-up. Experts say that drinking at least a litre of water a day has an astonishing effect on your health. Drinking enough water makes you feel energetic. If you have a drink of water first thing in the morning, the water flushes out the body and makes it much more able to absorb nutrients from food. Drinking safe, purified water prevents the spread of a lot of diseases. It is claimed that water therapies may be helpful in alleviating arthritis, epilepsy, bronchitis, tuberculosis, throat problems, constipation, diabetes and hypertension. Whether that’s true or not, water is needed for the production of new blood cells and muscle, helps with weight loss, increases the efficiency of the immune system, and revs up the metabolism. Water, whether it’s tap water or bottled water, is not only good for us, it’s essential for life and health! Today Jesus, our Lord, introduces us to another type of water, just as essential, if not more so: the spiritual water, the ultimate water, which He calls ‘the spring of water that assures us of eternal life’.

The First Reading (Exod. 17:3-7) underlines the importance of drinking water, and how the lack of it can lead both to individual misery and to communal unrest. In the Reading, the people of Israel murmured and grumbled about Moses because they were so thirsty. Due to their longing - their desperation - to slake their thirst, they became aggressive at Massah and Meribah. They wanted to stone Moses. They even proposed to turn back to the land of Egypt, the land of their captivity from which they escaped. If only the Israelites had been willing to thirst for the spring of life, which is God Himself, then they would not have murmured, grumbled and rebelled. The same is true for us today: if only we could continually thirst for God in the same way as we thirst for the physical necessities of life, then we would continually experience the presence of God among us. Despite the Israelites’ rebellion, the Lord provided them with the water for which they begged. The Gospel serves to remind us, however, that there is a supernatural – or rather, a ‘supra-natural’ - spring of water that never runs dry, supra-natural water that can satisfy that craving of our souls and spirits for God.

The scene of the Gospel (John 4:5-42) shows Jesus, a Jew, tired and having to sit down beside the historic Jacob’s well. A Samaritan woman comes to draw water from the well at Sychar, and a discussion ensues. The setting is unusual in several ways because several boundaries are crossed. A man and a woman who are strangers to each other, speak to each other; a Jew and a Samaritan speak to each other; the God-Man and His beloved creature speak to each other. Jesus ask her to get him a drink, even though He has been sitting beside the well in advance of the woman’s arrival. The woman reminds Him of His cultural origin and of the longstanding rift (cf. 2Kings 17:1ff) that has existed between Jews and Samaritans. Jesus, who did not draw water from the well even though he was sitting beside it, promises her LIVING WATER. The woman reminds him of the historical importance of the well. Jesus expands on what He means by LIVING WATER. Then the woman asks for that water, both so that she won’t be thirsty again and also that she won’t have to keep coming to the well to draw water. So, Jesus helps her to understand what he actually means by the expression LIVING WATER by engaging her in deep spiritual discussion rather than in personable chit-chat. Having discovered to her joy that Jesus is indeed the long-awaited Messiah, the woman runs to tell her fellow people and encourages them to come and listen to Jesus for themselves. The Samaritans allow Him, a Jew, to be with them for two days, and the result is that some of them come to believe that Jesus is indeed the Saviour.

What is the significance of living water? For the Jews, living water was the oxygenated water of a running stream over against the murky, undrinkable, unmoving water of a stagnant pool. Think for a moment about the water in the well of Jacob: that water wouldn’t be classed as ‘living water’ since it didn’t come from a spring. Rainwater percolated into it through the ground. This Jewish notion of ‘living water’ in a physical sense acts as a springboard for us to understand what ‘living water’ is in a spiritual sense. It’s the water of life in its absolute fullness. The Living Water that Christ offers us has the following features:

The LIVING WATER of God is barrier-breaking and universal. It tears down every form of aggression between people and groups. The Israelites drank the water at Massah and Meribah, yet they were riven by unrest and kept on quarrelling (which is what ‘Meribah’ means). By contrast, what effect did the living water of Christ have on the Samaritan community? It did away with the aggression that the Samaritans felt towards Jews. Jesus’ offer disposed them towards a spirit of peace and acceptance. The boundary between dissenting people was breached. Remember too that the water at Massah and Meribah was given only to the Jews. The living water of Christ, however, is freely available to each and every person who is thirsting for God. ‘To anybody that is thirsty, I will give water without price from the fountain of the water of life’ (Rev. 21:6). From this, we learn how the demarcations of our boundary-ridden world can be eliminated simply by drinking the living water of Christ. During this season of Lent, our prayers ought to be for all people as well as for ourselves, our abstinence ought to be for the sake of others as well as for ourselves, and our almsgiving ought to be to benefit the wider community as well as our own.

The LIVING WATER is spiritual and quenches the thirst to sin. Our Lord created a new spirit in the Samaritan woman when He exposed her sinful lifestyle to her so that she had to face up to it and change the way she was living. She listened, and the more she listened, the more she desired the teaching of our Lord. Her whole life was changed. The living water of Christ calls us to repentance and offers us the beautiful taste of new life in Christ. This is yet another important message for us during this season of Lent: the message of repentance and of a fresh beginning in Christ. True worshippers of Our Lord, the Son of God, must worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Temple in Jerusalem is no longer the focus and centre of Jewish worship of God; similarly, the Samaritans of this Gospel passage no longer needed to go to Mount Gerizim to encounter the Saviour. The Lord was present to them! The Lord can be sought and found everywhere in spirit and in truth. Only those souls that thirst for the Lord (cf. Psalm 42:1) can encounter Christ, the Living Water. This Living Water has been given to each one of us, just as the love of God which has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Second Reading; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8). God loves us so much, that those of us who love Him and do His will to the utmost of our ability are rewarded even this side of eternity with justification and peace. Just as natural water brings health and strength and is essential for our earthly existence, the Living Water of Jesus heals our brokenness, supernaturally strengthens us and assures our eternal life. With the Lord is the fountain of life (Psalm 36:9). In this season of Lent, let us ask the Lord to re-energize us physically, mentally and spiritually with His Living Water in our earthly struggles. Amen. God bless you.

LET US MAKE THREE TENTS

HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A.

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The Transfigurationof the Lord involved life-changing, positive, spirit-filled experiences which impacted on the witnesses to that event. The initial impact was transformative, a transformation that only God is capable of effecting. The beauty of such a transformation is heavenly; it is a beauty that is not only visible on the outside but shines from within. When Jesus was transfigured, the whole point was that the light came from Him, not from outside Him. The light did not shine upon Him or around Him, it shone from within Him. He is the Light, and the light comes from Him. For us, the miracle of the Transfiguration of the Lord gives us the divine assurance of the constant and enduring presence of God.

When we reflect carefully upon the Transfiguration, and upon the impact it had on Peter, James and John and their mission thereafter, we too are assured that Jesus is indeed The Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Word of God. He is God! Jesus was transfigured in His humanity, so when we in our humanity encounter divinity in the story of the Transfiguration, the way is opened for our own personal transformation. The Transfiguration of Our Lord involved a direct encounter of humanity with the divine presence. It showed Peter, James and John who Jesus was and is, beyond all shadow of a doubt, and changed their perception of Him. This is true for each one of us, when our eyes are opened and we see who Jesus really is! Our lives and our attitudes are changed, transformed … and we go on and on being transformed for the rest of our lives. St. Paul reminds us of this phenomenon: And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor 3:18).

In the Gospel (Mt 17:1-8), Our Lord sets out for Mount Tabor, the Mount of Transfiguration, which for Him was a physically high point away from earthly life to communicate with the Father who is above all and in all. Jesus ascended a mountain peak in a spiritual as well as in a physical sense, a peak where he went to reflect upon His salvific mission that was to culminate with the Cross. On that mountain, at the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah were seen to be present with Our Lord. Moses, you will remember, was the Lawgiver, and Elijah the great Prophet. Moses and Elijah represent the two aspects of the Jewish Bible which we Christians know as the Old Testament: Moses stands for the Law of the Old Testament, and Elijah stands for the Prophets of the Old Testament. Jesus, Moses and Elijah are seen together at the Transfiguration to underline in visible terms Jesus’ declaration that He has come to fulfil both the Law and the Prophets (Mt 5:17). The voice of God the Father (experienced aurally by Peter, James and John) confirms His abiding presence with Jesus the beloved Son of God. This experience served to energize the Apostles in their mission following the Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord. It was not there to energize Jesus on His mission to the Cross, because the Transfiguration demonstrated that He already knew who He was. During the season of Lent, we too are climbing the Mount of Transfiguration metaphorically in order to reflect upon our lives and the challenges that we face, and to allow ourselves to be re-energized by an encounter with the Divine. 

Six days after Peter had affirmed God the Father’s revelation of Jesus as the Christ (cf. Mt 16:13-28) at Caesarea Philippi, Our Lord took His three trusted followers up the Mount of Transfiguration. It could be argued that it was on the seventh day that the Transfiguration took place. If so, the timing of the event mirrors Moses’ transfiguration on Mount Sinai. It was on the seventh day after the six days that Moses had spent on the Mount of Covenant (Ex 24:16) that the Lord spoke to Moses and transfigured him. This six-day period can also be understood in spiritual terms. The six days can signify a period of preparation for the seventh day. In the first of the Genesis Creation stories, God rested after six days, having seen how His Word effected the whole of creation. And who is the Word of God? Our Lord Jesus!

When Our Lord was transfigured His face shone like the sun (cf. Rev 1:16b, 10:1b), and His clothes became as white as the light. This is a parallel with the face of Moses shining following his encounter with God after receiving the Decalogue (cf. Ex 34:29.35). From the First Reading (Gen 12:1-4a) we gather that Abram’s life was transformed and blessed because of his obedience to God. Abram set out, trusting  that God would lead him to his destination. When we too are obedient, the Lord blesses and transforms us. From the Second Reading (2 Tim 1:8-10).we understand that it was the Lord Jesus who transfigured the course of humanity: He abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News.

Overwhelmed by his experience of the Transfiguration (cf. Mark 9:6), Peter burbled: Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. He didn’t know what to say under the circumstances, did he? Who would? Would you? A tent (or a ‘booth’) was a makeshift shelter traditionally constructed out of branches and leaves for the celebration of the feast of tabernacles (or the feast of ‘booths’). A tent for short-term use could also be made by driving posts into the ground and securing a cloth over them with guy ropes. 

In offering to make three tents, Peter failed to make the connection that the Christ he had confessed at Caesarea Philippi seven days previously was the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets. The fulfilment of the Jewish belief that the Messiah would come only after Elijah had reappeared had occurred before his very eyes. Only the erection of the tent of Jesus the Christ, the Messiah,  was appropriate from that moment on; and that protective ‘tent’ would be a spiritual one in the heart of each one of Jesus’ disciples throughout the ages. 

Peter also failed to remember the Sacrifice of which Jesus had spoken: that the Christ must undergo suffering and death in order to liberate humanity from sin and restore the relationship with God that Man had broken by sin. With hindsight, after the triumph of the Resurrection, Peter finally discerned what the revelation of Jesus at the Transfiguration was really all about: that Jesus was simultaneously fully Man and fully God. In addressing Jesus reverently as ‘Lord’, Peter conveys to us the proper title of Jesus and, by extension, the manner in which Almighty God should be addressed. 

It was no wonder that Peter’s mind was churning and he was reduced to talking scribble at the Transfiguration, overwhelmed as he was at finding himself in the presence of God. The appearance of the sudden bright cloud was a shekinah, a manifestation of the presence of God, whose voice urged Peter, James and John to shut up and listen to His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Perhaps we can understand the outburst of St. Peter as one that emanated from a selfless heart. His sole concern at that moment in time was for others. We can appreciate the human reaction of a man setting his own needs and comfort aside. He set aside his family responsibilities and business worries to offer tents to others, while not making a tent for himself. His desire was to live and to serve in the divine presence. The world today desperately needs similarly selfless outbursts from those who love God, outbursts that go beyond the self, outbursts that put other people first, outbursts stemming from perpetual consciousness of the presence of God, outbursts that flow from joyful hearts that adore the goodness of God. Let each one of us offer to make three tents today: one for adoring and serving God Himself, one for bringing about divine peace & order in society, and one for permeating the world with divine love and justice. 

A precedent for Peter’s impulse to make tents or booths is seen in  the reaction of the people of Jerusalem when Nehemiah exhorted them to be happy and to have the joy of the Lord as their strength (Neh 8:10). Having been assured of the divine presence, the people joyfully started constructing booths. In His presence, there is fullness of joy (Ps 16:11); our worries are dispersed, our hope is restored, and our fears are eliminated. God stands us on our own two feet. Peter wanted to remain on that mountain of glory after his experience of the Divine on the Mount of Transfiguration. Like him, we long to prolong our time in the divine presence, in contrast to the time we have to spend in the turbulent world, among the throngs and multitudes of needy people, where misery, disorder and distress run rampant. The Mount of Transfiguration is where the Lord Jesus speaks gently to our soul: take heart, it is I, do not be afraid (cf. Mt 14:27). After the shekinah, when the Apostles were engulfed in fear, Jesus touched them and said: stand up [and] do not be afraid. His touch dispelled their fear. We pray that His presence and His gentle touch may prompt within us an outburst of desire to make three tents, one each for the three things that last: one for Faith, one for Hope, and one for Love. Amen. God bless you.