Could Anything Be More Clear?

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,                                  

the Holy One of Israel:
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
(Isiah 48:17-19) 

I do not know how much clearer God could have made it for the Israelites in the days of Isiah. The Lord says, "I will teach you what you need to know and if you listen, things will be great"  They had the commandments, they had prophets, they had their history of showing what God could do and yet they strayed from the path and disaster followed.  What more could God do or say to these stiff-necked people? 

The words of Isiah echo down to us through history.  What more could God do for us than he already has?  We have the commandments, we have had prophets and our history of seeing first hand what God can do and yet we strayed from the path that God showed us, even after He sent His only Son to die for our sins.  What more could God do to this stiff-necked people?

Why do we turn away so often and run from the arms of our loving God?  I do not understand why we do it.  The United States was founded by men who knew their place in the cosmos. Most of the founding fathers honored and worshipped God.  Our motto is, "In God We Trust" but we have legislated Him out of our public life. Our former president, Obama, did what he could to chip away at our religious rights and made it a rule of law that we had to violate our consciences and provide abortion and birth control as a matter of inalienable right in spite of religious convictions to the contrary. 

In this season of Advent, as we close in on the feast of God coming to earth, let us pray for one another.  Let us pray for our country that the United States returns to the realization that God has indeed blessed America.  Let us remember that it is His blessing to give or withhold.  Pray that God continues to bless us and that His grace returns us to His family.

Poor Souls - Pray for them today. 

The Transfiguration

Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, 
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them; 
his face shone like the sun 
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.

Today is the Transfiguration of the Lord, one of the most significant feasts of the year on the Church calendar.  Here is a bit of trivia for you. This is the only time Jesus performed a miracle that included Himself as one of the beneficiaries.  Here are a few things that I have harvested from this reading. 

Jesus led the party up a high mountain.  Can you name another personage that went up a high mountain to be with God?  I'll give you a hint, his name was Moses.  Every time when Moses went up the mountain he encountered God. In our case today, God is leading the three selected apostles up the mountain where they will encounter God in a very special way. 

Not all of the apostles were invited to witness the Transfiguration. Only three were selected, Peter, James, and John were selected to the exclusion of the others.  Notice that Peter is named first in deference to his rank as chief of the apostles and the prime minister of Jesus's kingdom on earth.  Also, we know Peter is not going to get himself in trouble this time because he is called only by the name Jesus gave him, Peter and not Simon or Simon Peter. 

Jesus, for a few moments, lifted the veil that covered the divine portion of his persona and He was revealed in all His glory as God the Son.  This gift he bestowed on his friends in order to strengthen them for the tough times that were to come later.  This I learned yesterday at Mass in the homily given by Bishop Peter Paul who was visiting us from Africa. I had always wondered what the point of this display was and his eminence explained it well. 

Elija and Moses appear on the scene and Jesus speaks with them. Elija is there to fulfill the prophecy of his return and Moses is there representing the rest of the prophets of the Old Testament. Peter, who must have been dazzled and almost in shock wanted to keep the prophets of old there with them and offered to put up three tents one for Moses, one for Elija and one for Jesus.  But, so there was no mistake that the age of the old testament prophets was over, God from heaven endorsed Jesus by saying, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.  Listen to Him." Jesus and His teachings were to supplant the teachings of old and were endorsed by God the Father Himself.  

Finally, at least for my comments, we see proof of the fact that God does not reign over a dead kingdom but over a living kingdom. Elija was taken to heaven in a "fiery chariot" and Moses had died and was buried.  Both of them appear in lively good health and prove that there is an afterlife and God rules.