SIDE A SIDE B: Uneasy Hearts and Enlightened Minds

Notes and reflections on the second talk of the “Side A Side B” preaching series at the Feast Valle Verde May 30, 2021

Our one big message for today’s talk recap might sound a little too ordinary but that’s okay, because ordinary doesn’t mean that it’s not special.

One Big Message: God is in the ordinary 😊

Guide Question:

What “ordinary things” in your life do you need to see God in? What will you do to make them extraordinary?

Too often, we look forward to those special days that will take us away from our dreary and boring lives. We look forward to those remarkable days, so that we could somehow convince ourselves into thinking that our life can also be as exciting as those people that we see in our social media feed, who seem to be living the most thrilling lives ever. We were so tired of the ordinary days. However, notice that the more we look forward to those extraordinary days, the more we stop appreciating the ordinary days.

Matthew 17:2

2 And Jesus was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light.

This experience of transfiguration by his disciples served as an enlightenment from their uneasy hearts. Just like them, an internal transfiguration of miracles may also happen in our hearts. How does this talk become ordinary when the topic is all about transfiguration?

A related insight is the story of Indiana Jones and the Search of the Holy Grail, wherein they were looking for the Holy Grail that was used by Jesus in The Last Supper. A flight of army has been sent by the kingdom for the said quest. When Indiana Jones already landed in the place where the holy grail can possibly be found, they had seen many grails on the table but had to choose the holy and authentic one. Of all the grails found, the most ordinary of them all was the genuine Holy Grail they were looking for! Because Jesus was just an ordinary person at that time, how could he use an extravagant vessel? An ordinary vessel was all they needed. That vessel is you and me! God will always pour out his holy grail to ordinary people like you and me!

We think He is only in the extraordinary and supernatural.

We only want to see God in the dancing Sun, in the parting of the Red Sea, and all the seemingly happened miracles. The truth is…

God is present in your ordinary life.

God is there as we breathe. We can feel God’s presence in the ordinary by centering prayer, a prayer method that encompasses all about thinking God while focusing on breathing. Our breath is the most significant proof that we are alive!

Find God in the ordinary.

We must find the gem of Jesus anywhere and everywhere we are. – St. Pope John Paul, the Great

This quote was from St. Pope John Paul, the Great in his book “Crossing the Threshold of Hope.” We must find Jesus wherever we go. We will see the hand of God become obvious even in the most ordinary of days. If we can look for God in everything, it is in Him that makes each day special!

Considered as the fourth luminous mysteries included in the Holy Rosary, we will use the outline of Transfiguration story from Matthew 17:1-8 to derive these four powerful lessons to remember.

Matthew 17:1

1 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

Lesson #1: Work on your inner circle.

Jesus had already recruited his band of 12 brothers. He was spending more time with them. But as He went up the mountain, He did not take all 12 with Him. Instead, He only took three: Peter, James and John. Is there a favoritism? None! But Jesus considered them as His inner core.

In the transfiguration, something miraculous happened! But why didn't Jesus show it to everyone? According to some theologians, these three people had the glimpse of the transfiguration because they were the ones tasked to proclaim the extraordinariness of God. Why it wasn’t shown to Pontius Pilate or even in the Pharisees? Enemies will never listen to our explanation, and friends will never need our explanation!

Our inner circle can be our family, light group, friends closest to us, and people who will never judge us. Are we working on our inner circle?

Your greatest impact happens not when you’re with the many but when you’re with the few.

That sounds a little counterproductive but truth be told, if we want to impact the world for the Lord, we need to work on our inner circle. We don’t need to target a big crowd. Jesus left the nine in order to spend time with the three.

Sirach 6:6

6 Let acquaintances be many, but your advisers, one in a thousand.

One of our psychological needs as a human is a safe place! It’s not really a place but a group of friends who will not judge us and instead, accept us the way we are. They will correct us lovingly and defend us when we’re not in the picture. They’ll always be there to bless and help us improve. A saying before, “Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are.” can now be reformed to, “Tell me who your mentors are, and I can predict your future.”

There’s something wrong if those who praise you are those who barely know you, and those who curse you are those closest to you.

If we’re trying so hard to think of which ministry to serve in for an instance, maybe we can start with what we already have. Serve our first ministry, our family! Disciple and introduce them to the Lord. Won’t heaven be such a lonely place if we knew that our family and friends would not be there? Disciple our first ministry, our family and loved ones, who are closest to us. Teach them about God. Share the gospel of Jesus to them.

Is your image in social media the real you? Our inner and private lives must be more beautifully inspiring than our public lives. Also, we are encouraged to give the good a fighting chance. We are invigorated to post positive feeds on our social media. Let that be a channel of positivity on how beautiful life is!

No other success can compensate for your failure at home.

Keep working on our families. Continue saying sorry, thank you, and I love you! Even if we are not appreciated, still do it! Our inner circle must be full of love. If they’re not cooperating, it’s okay! Incorporate more patience and effort but don’t argue with them. Let us keep doing what is humanly possible and let God do the rest.

Lesson #2: God wants to be close to you.

God revealed himself on the mountain.

God loved meeting people up on mountains. Think about the mountains in the Bible: Mt. Sinai, Mt. Carmel, Mt. Zion, and particularly, Mt. Eden. Did you know that the Garden of Eden was also a mountain?

“Mt. Eden. God and man talked together while walking in the garden.”

Mountains are generally symbolized as a meeting point between God and humans. God will meet us halfway. God wants to walk where we are.

God and man were close!

Romans 8 says, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God!” But, by our own free will, it is us who distance ourselves from God. The message of transfiguration conveys that God wants to be close with us again!

Matthew 17:1

1 After six days…

Matthew was indirectly pointing out that if this happened six days later, then naturally, this event was now happening on the 7th day! Remember that the 7th day also happens to be the Sabbath day.

Sabbath: Eternal Fellowship of God.

It is our favorite day, Sunday! This is the day that commemorates our eternal fellowship with God. Have a Sabbath pause!

God is inviting you: Walk with me in my garden!

God wants and longs to be close to us. This is why God created us.

Lesson# 3: God calls you to be a “priest.”

When you’re baptized as a Catholic, the Catechism tells us that we are called to be a priest, a prophet and a king.

Matthew 17:2

2 And Jesus was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light.

We can’t be transfigured physically like Jesus, but transformation in us can happen as long as we allow Jesus to enter the deepest corners of our hearts.

This transfiguration can also be compared to Moses in the Old Testament.

Exodus 34: 29-30

29 As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he spoke with the Lord. 30 When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him.

We have a God who lends His glory and shines His light in us. An inner transfiguration is also possible within us. Our inner radiance is what matters most to God.

1 Peter 2:9

9 But you are a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of His own, so that you may announce the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Through our baptism in the Holy Spirit, we are called to be a priest. The “priest” in this verse does not necessarily mean a religious or consecrated man to be ordained, but rather as a priest that serves as a midway channel of God.

2 Corinthians 5: 20

We are called to be ambassadors of God.

Religious leaders, spiritual parents, spiritual directors, light group heads or someone who leads us closer to God are His ambassadors. We, too, can be ambassadors of God in our own little ways. We can start with our inner circle.

Your imperfect love can radiate God’s perfect love to others.

From the cracks of our brokenness and imperfection, His light will definitely reach out and heal us. We are not called to be perfect. We are called to be wounded healers! Let the light of God shine through us!

God calls you to be a priest – to represent Him in this world.

The world needs to see God! As simple as on our own social media, we can represent Jesus to the world.

Matthew 17:3

3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with Him.

Jesus could not have gotten higher referrals than these two legends – Moses and Elijah. He attracted two heavy weights of the Jewish belief.

Torah (The Law) and the Prophets

Moses and Elijah were the twin peaks of Judaism: Moses being the greatest law giver and Elijah as the greatest prophet. They were huge confirmations that Peter was right when he confessed just a few days ago in Matthew 16:16 “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Lesson #4: Behind the mundane is the miraculous.

Matthew 17:4

4 Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, ‘Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Peter had temptations to capture the moment. This is undoubtedly an extraordinary phenomenon! Usually, we are excited and eager to serve during these marvelous wonders of our lives. But how about in our typical everyday lives? The value of commitment shows up in whatever season we are in, even in the mundane.

Matthew 17:5

5 While he was speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a Voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

The Father had already spoken and confirmed who Jesus was. In the Old Testament, clouds were a symbol of God’s presence. While God’s people were escaping in Egypt as slaves from the book of Exodus, God’s presence was symbolized by a pillar of cloud. These supernatural experiences of the three disciples - the radiance, Moses, Elijah, the Father’s voice, the cloud – were all but a glimpse of the supernatural!

Matthew 17: 6-8

6 When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” 8 And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

After all that star-studded transfiguration, all that was left was the ordinary Jewish carpenter from the dusty town of Galilee – the carpenter that made farm tools, no glowing face, no heavenly legends beside Him, no bellowing voice from a magical cloud - just ordinary Jesus! This is exactly God’s message for us:

Behind the ordinary is the extraordinary.

God is present in the mundane.

In our ordinary mundane life, God is there! Believe that we are in the presence of the extraordinary, that we’re in the presence of the Almighty God!

“What makes us special is the signature of God in our lives.” – Max Lucado

These four lessons can easily be remembered by four “T” as follows:

1) Team - Work on your inner circle.

2) Togetherness - God wants to be close to you.

3) Transformative - God calls you to be a “priest.”

4) Triumph - Behind the mundane is the miraculous.