Weekly HOMILY for February 28, 2010: Transfiguration Versus Transformation

2nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle C
Parish Mission at St. Ann’s, Hagerstown
February 28, 2010

Transfiguration Versus Transformation
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


Dulcinea

Many of us are familiar with the popular musical The Man of La Mancha.

This musical is about an elderly Spanish gentleman named Don Quixote. Quixote is caught up in romance novels and flights of fantasy.

And so, he sets out as a knight to forge a life of romance and chivalry for himself. He meets a woman named Aldonza.

Aldonza is a woman of the street, an object of scorn, but Don Quixote loves and cares for her and the result is that Aldonza is transformed.

Quixote re-names her Dulcinea, which means “The Sweet One.” What happens is that the lowly Aldonza responds and lives up to her new name.

She is faithful and remains with Quixote until his death. In the final scene of the play, as Quixote is dying, Dulcinea sings that song that has become so famous, “The Impossible Dream.”

Don Quixote has made the impossible possible for her. He has enabled what was only a dream to become a reality in the respect and love that Aldonza-turned-Dulcinea now feels.

And, as she concludes her song, someone calls to her “Aldonza!” And with dignity and pride, she responds, “My name is Dulcinea!”


Transfiguration

This story of Aldonza becoming Dulcinea helps us to appreciate what Jesus’ transfiguration can mean for us today.

The gospel tells us that Jesus is “transfigured” before these three apostles. This word – transfigured – is not one that we often use.

The root of it is the word “figure” or “appearance.” So, Jesus takes on a new appearance or appears differently to them.

Of course it is the same Jesus. He himself is not changed or different, but his appearance is different – transfigured.

What happens is that these three Apostles now see Jesus differently; they see him clearly for who he really is, that is, as God’s “beloved Son,” as the voice from heaven says.

So, the Transfiguration of Jesus is about his change of figure or appearance so that the Apostles can experience him for who he really is.


Transformation

Now I suggest that Jesus’ trans-figure-ation calls us to trans-form-ation. These are very different words with very different meanings.

Trans-form-ation means a change in our being, in who we are, and this is much more than a change in appearance.

Jesus did not need to be transformed. He always was God’s beloved Son and he only needed to be transfigured for the sake of the Apostles.

We, on the other hand, do not need to be transfigured or be concerned about our appearance. Instead, we need to be transformed or changed in our very being, in who we are, something like Aldonza being transformed into Dulcinea in the musical.

The question then is: How can this happen? What can we do to bring it about?


“Listen to Him”

Today’s Gospel tells us.

The voice from the heavens that the Apostles and we hear says, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” The point being made is that Jesus is now our guide, the guide to salvation.

Pure and simply, we need to “listen to him.”

(1) For example, listening means trying to hear what God is saying to me when I pray and not just praying by my speaking to God. Remember two ears one mouth; listen twice as much as you speak.

(2) Listening means no longer sifting through the gospels, taking what comforts and avoiding what discomforts, like Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness and not seeking revenge, but turning the other cheek. It means working to accept the entire message.

(3) Listening means being attentive to the voice of Jesus in the poor and powerless. It means doing this even though it may put us at odds with popular opinion or with the powers that be.


Conclusion

The point is that this listening will transform us. It will change not just how we appear, but more profoundly who we are.

It will change us in much the same way that Don Quixote’s love changed Aldonza into Dulcinea.

Jesus’ transfiguration calls us to this transformation.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week (tomorrow and Tuesday) I will be offering a Parish Retreat here at St. Ann’s with Mass at 7:00 and the retreat at 7:30pm.

The focus of the two days will be how to experience Jesus directly, how to come into his presence and once there, how to have that presence make a difference in your life.

That Presence is a personal experience. It’s not about reciting prayers. It’s not about being lectured to. It’s not about have great information.

It is about direct experience that can transform situations in your life that once were boring or mundane into now seeming graced and alive. It is about strivings and graspings that once carried a life-or-death importance can now be calmed and eased with deep reassurance. It is about concerns and attachments that previously muddied awareness and kidnapped attention can now dissolve into amazing clarity.