Transfiguration Moments and Perseverance
I have heard about perseverance in two different contexts this week.
A dear priest whose Mass we were able to attend this weekend, spoke of perseverance in his homily. Life, he said, is full of ups and downs. Sometimes life is "fun." Other times it seems to be a drag and full of misery. We would love to stay in those fun and carefree moments and spend our lives there, but like Peter, James, and John who wanted to stay at the sight of the Transfiguration, we must also leave the mountain and return to life and usual and will also need to face pain and trials again. But it is those moments that need to carry us through the difficult times. We need to remember the times of joy and the times in which we feel we can reach out and touch God when we are facing despair.
A reflection I read about the healing of Jairus' young daughter (Luke 8:40-56) in The Better Part(John Bartunek, LC) states "...faith perseveres when confronted with obstacles. When Jairus' servants come to tell him that his daughter is already dead, his hope vanishes. What can be done? Jesus tells him to believe. At that point, the only reason to believe is Jesus' own command. Rationally speaking, the story is over. But Jairus, seeing the look in Christ's eyes when the Lord tells him, 'Do not fear...' decides to bank on Jesus. Imagine the long walk back to his house, walking side by side with Jesus. What was he thinking? How he must have had to battle a rush of doubts and sadness, putting his trust in the word and presence of Christ alone. And his faith in the Lord, in the end, is rewarded."
So what can I conclude by these two reflections? Perseverance in times of distress is difficult. At times, we just want to stop or to escape our situation. While we must step aside to pray at times and take care of ourselves, we cannot escape. Jesus did not promise us a life free from hardships but did promise that He would be there with us through our hardships. But we must have faith, relying on Him and trusting in His promises. And we must remember those times in which He was faithful to His promises. As Sister Marie told us moms on our last moms' retreat, faith is experiential; it grows as we experience God's goodness in our lives. By remembering Jesus' faithfulness in other times in our lives, we will have faith that He continues to be with us and will again show His faithfulness and love to us.
A dear priest whose Mass we were able to attend this weekend, spoke of perseverance in his homily. Life, he said, is full of ups and downs. Sometimes life is "fun." Other times it seems to be a drag and full of misery. We would love to stay in those fun and carefree moments and spend our lives there, but like Peter, James, and John who wanted to stay at the sight of the Transfiguration, we must also leave the mountain and return to life and usual and will also need to face pain and trials again. But it is those moments that need to carry us through the difficult times. We need to remember the times of joy and the times in which we feel we can reach out and touch God when we are facing despair.
A reflection I read about the healing of Jairus' young daughter (Luke 8:40-56) in The Better Part(John Bartunek, LC) states "...faith perseveres when confronted with obstacles. When Jairus' servants come to tell him that his daughter is already dead, his hope vanishes. What can be done? Jesus tells him to believe. At that point, the only reason to believe is Jesus' own command. Rationally speaking, the story is over. But Jairus, seeing the look in Christ's eyes when the Lord tells him, 'Do not fear...' decides to bank on Jesus. Imagine the long walk back to his house, walking side by side with Jesus. What was he thinking? How he must have had to battle a rush of doubts and sadness, putting his trust in the word and presence of Christ alone. And his faith in the Lord, in the end, is rewarded."
So what can I conclude by these two reflections? Perseverance in times of distress is difficult. At times, we just want to stop or to escape our situation. While we must step aside to pray at times and take care of ourselves, we cannot escape. Jesus did not promise us a life free from hardships but did promise that He would be there with us through our hardships. But we must have faith, relying on Him and trusting in His promises. And we must remember those times in which He was faithful to His promises. As Sister Marie told us moms on our last moms' retreat, faith is experiential; it grows as we experience God's goodness in our lives. By remembering Jesus' faithfulness in other times in our lives, we will have faith that He continues to be with us and will again show His faithfulness and love to us.
