Transfigured

Feast of the Transfiguration (A): Matthew 17:1-9

You know something’s happening here
but you don’t know what it is
do you, Mr. Jones? – Bob Dylan

Old Mr. Webster could never define
what’s bein’ said between your heart and mine
– from the song “When You Say Nothing At All”
recorded by Alison Krauss & Union Station

 

All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
as from the Lord who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:18

Who are we, really? Or, what are we intended to be? Since each one of us has our personal vocation, a part of our response to this will also be personal and unique. However, as human beings, we share a common nature and, in a general sense, a common vocation. What might that be? Continue reading “Transfigured”

Look Down

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent: Luke 16:19-31

I’ve done no wrong!
Sweet Jesus hear my prayer!
Look down, look down,
Sweet Jesus doesn’t care.

– from Work Song, Les Misérables

The musical Les Misérables, like the novel that inspired it, offers us an unfiltered picture of the life of the poor in nineteenth century France. The line “Look down” appears again in Les Miz as the title of a later, similar song sung by the poor of Paris. That line can have different meanings, depending on its context. It provides us with a good way to begin to explore the parable which Jesus tells the Pharisees in today’s Gospel reading. Continue reading “Look Down”