Awe and Wonder
Ever since I was a little kid I have always enjoyed magic shows. I remember going to some shows with my dad and getting hooked on the idea of something happening right before your eyes that you can’t really see. My obsession turned into a hobby of learning magic tricks and performing shows for area Catholic schools. I always let people know right off the bat that what they are about to see are tricks. I do not claim to have any sort of supernatural power. I think this makes the shows even more powerful because people know they rely on skills that have been acquired over many years of study and practice. But at the end of the day, they are just tricks and each one has a fairly easy explanation.
I think Peter was quite aware of this phenomenon when speaking in the second reading from today. He makes it quite clear that when the Apostles spoke of Jesus, they did not use cleverly devised myths to speak about his power. In other words, the power of Jesus was not just a cheap trick with a simple explanation, but rather, the supernatural power of God working in a very real and tangible way. One of these miracles, which had eyewitnesses, was that of the transfiguration.
All throughout The Old Testament, the Jewish people are anticipating and searching for the Messiah who was promised in the writings of the prophets. The first reading today from Daniel is one such prophesy where Daniel exclaims that he saw the Son of Man coming like on a cloud from heaven. Fast forward to the Gospel today and we see just that, he is being raised up as if on a cloud with a bright light surrounding him and the voice of the Father saying, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” Now this illusion would be difficult even for David Copperfield to perform. The best part about it is that it was not some grand illusion, but a reality of the heavens opening up and showing us that Jesus is truly God become man.
As amazing as a magic show might be, eventually the curtain falls and the show ends and we leave knowing that we have been tricked in the best possible way. But the Gospel is not a trick. Do we have more awe for the real power God is working in our lives than we have when we see someone perform a sleight of hand? One is real and meant for our salvation, the other is fake and meant to give us a momentary pleasure. So, I guess the question we can all ask today is, where have you seen the power of God working in your lives and has it brought you to your knees in awe and wonder of our Creator?
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
— Tommy Shultz
Reflection provided by diocesan.com. Reprinted with permission.