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.