OK, so that is one of the most vivid and memorable stories from the Gospels, right? Peter, James, and John hiking up a mountain with Jesus and suddenly, right before their eyes, Jesus is transfigured. It says: “And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.” In a moment, Jesus goes from the man they have been following to suddenly the Savior they should be worshipping. The divinity of Jesus comes shining through and gives Peter, James, and John a glimpse of divinity. That must have been amazing to see!

The part of the story that makes me smile though is the disciple’s reaction. And make no mistake about it, if I was standing there, I probably would have been nodding my head in agreement with Peter! Let’s put up three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah so that everyone can see this spectacle. Well, we know what happens next. A cloud came over them and the voice of God says: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Right, no tents, got it. God is saying that it is not the spectacle or the miracles he performed, it is his message to us that is important. We need to listen.

God said the same thing at the Baptism of Jesus, so this is a message that God felt was important enough that he said it twice in different passages of scripture. When you look at the exact wording he uses though, it gets a little interesting. The Greek word for listen used in the original text is akouo which recalls God’s message to hear, not just listen. Listening can be passive, but really hearing and internalizing what we hear is important to God. When we listen and really hear what Jesus is saying to us, we perceive his unique message for each of us more deeply. 

Is the message this Lent that God wants us to change something in our lives?

We all, and myself included, sometimes approach Lent as just a time in the Church calendar where we make some resolutions that we try to stick to for 40 days. And then when Easter hits, we celebrate and start eating all the stuff we gave up for Lent. Or we promptly stop doing the volunteer work we did during Lent. Or we stop saying that extra Rosary. We just stop and all that fades into the rearview mirror. 

But is that what God is asking us from the cloud when he said, “Listen to him”? He didn’t say to listen to him during Lent or listen to him on Sundays. He said to listen to him. Period. Jesus Christ came to this world with a message of repentance and calling us to make lasting change in our lives, not temporary change. Change that takes root.

So, I have found myself thinking about making lasting change in my life versus just Lenten change. What change can I make in my life that lasts well past Lent and Easter? Because that is what we are really called to do to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

A good place to start to figure out what that change should be in our lives is to ask. Think about our lives and ask Jesus if there is one thing I should change in my life, what would it be. He has an answer for us, we just have to have the courage to ask. Chances are though, we may already know the answer… and it may be uncomfortable. 

But ask anyway and focus on one thing to change. We can all handle one thing, right? Maybe we need to stop with the same sin we keep stumbling over week after week. Maybe it’s a relationship in our lives that needs mending. Maybe it is letting go of the guilt and burden we carry because it carries over into the rest of our lives. Maybe we need to stop feeling like we are not truly worthy of His love. Or maybe we need to stop feeling like we can’t be forgiven.

He does not want us to hold this in, he wants us to let it go. As Jesus was transfigured before the eyes of the disciples and His divinity came shining through, so too does our own God given gifts of beauty and virtue need to come shining through. He wants us to be in his love. He wants us to listen to his Son and make lasting change, not just Lenten change.