Weekly Homilies

The Voice that Says "Go Forth" (Matthew 17: 1-9)

March 05, 2023 Fr. Mark Suslenko Season 6 Episode 13
Weekly Homilies
The Voice that Says "Go Forth" (Matthew 17: 1-9)
Transcript

Hi everyone, and welcome to Weekly Homilies with Father Mark Suslenko, Pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. We are part of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford. I'm Carol Vassar, parish director of communications, and this is Episode 13 of Season 6 for Second Sunday of Lent: March 5, 2023. Our Gospel reading is from Matthew Chapter 17, verses 1-9. 

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, 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.

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."

While he was still 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."

When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying,

"Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

The Gospel of the Lord

“The Voice That Says ‘Go Forth,’” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Sometimes the more profound spiritual lessons or even human lessons that we can learn are discovered when we look at the very obvious and ordinary of things, such as why we get up in the morning or why and how we go about the business of our day. We very much take for granted that there are certain things that we're supposed to do and certain ways that we're supposed to do them, but we don't often give much thought to why or how we do them. 

There is deep within every human heart a voice that echoes that says, "Go forth. Don't stay where you are, but go out into the world, learn about what is around you, find your way through, establish a life for yourself, be successful, and live."

As we go about the business of our life, and as we listen to that voice propelling us to do something with this person, we find ourselves to be, where does that voice come from? To whom do we listen? 

You see, if we listen just to our secular world and what secular society is saying to us, then those voices are going to tell us to go out, to be successful, to think of yourself before others, secure your own livelihood, pile up as much security and wealth as you can, concern yourself with who you are and those you choose to have around you, worry about what's going on your side of the street and less about what's happening on the other, try to protect yourself and insulate yourself as much as possible, keeping the problems of the world at a distance, and dealing only with what concerns you.

And so we go out listening to the secular voices, which causes us to look more within rather than without. The secular voices have a value system that is based not necessarily on truth but on what is popularly and socially good or at least perceived to be so. 

The disciples were very much a part of that same secular culture. They were immersed in a tradition of the "haves" versus the "have nots; those with power and those who did not have power, those who were a part of the structure of the day, and those who were marginally set aside. And working in and through this system, Jesus comes along and leads them up to a mountain where he's transfigured and transformed before their very sight in such dazzling and such dramatic fashion that when God's voice comes through the cloud, they curl in fear because they don't know what's going on. And crippled in fear, they face the choice: do we stay or do we run away? Usually, fear does that to us. But Jesus came and laid his hand on them, and with that gentle touch, Jesus imparts to them the gift of faith, and their eyes and their hearts are opened to see this wonder and awe with a different perspective. And their vision is changed. Their perspective is changed, and they see not with human eyes but with divine radiant eyes. And they see the truth, not only of who Jesus is but of who they are. And when we meet something that is true and real and right, we wanna stay in that moment. We don't want to leave that which makes sense, that which captivates us, and that which claims us within. And so it was with them. They heard loud and clear that not only is Jesus God's beloved son, but they too are God's beloved sons, just as you and I are God's beloved sons and daughters. It's built into who we are.

And so, as we go out into the world as those disciples were sent back down to the mountain, God says to us, "Go out and go forth, not as an ambassador of yourself, but as my ambassador. Not as a vision, just of what you need and want, but what I would like to see. You live and act in my image, in my likeness. You are a son and daughter of mine, listen to me," God says to each one of us. 

And so that voice and deep within that says, "Go forth," is a voice that doesn't just come with being human. It's a voice that comes from our God, who beckons us to live in his image and likeness. 

And so we go into a world of many voices, many conflicting voices that tell us to live and to act in certain ways. And it's easy to give in to the temptation of those voices, to leave the truth of who we are in God, and to succumb to the vision of the world. But we will never find happiness until we embrace our truth, and we will always struggle with isolation, with loneliness, with despair, with confusion, and doubt, until we stumble upon what was revealed on that mountain, the truth of our identity in God.

You know, we can think about, in our minds, how we would respond as a Christian, as a son or daughter of God. You know, when that person hurts us, we can say, "Oh yes, of course, I'm going to forgive them. Yes, loving my enemies, that makes good sense. I like how that sounds. Yes, I know I'm going to one day go to heaven and that my eternal destiny is that same radiance that was revealed in Christ. God desires that same promise for all of us. Yes, I know that justice is important to achieve in our world, that everyone has a place, that everyone has a right to the goods that God places before us." 

But, when the rubber meets the road, and we are eye-to-eye with a situation that requires a response or action, which voice do we listen to? Do we listen to the voice of the secular world, or do we listen to God's voice calling us to be his daughter and his son to listen to him? And so are we all that ready to forgive our enemies? Are we all that ready to really love someone who's difficult to love? If someone walked through the doors of this church this morning who looked much differently than we did, who acted much differently than we did, that came and acted and walked and positioned himself differently than we do, how would we react, and what would we think? How do we embrace those who are different than ourselves? Because our secular world wants to tell us to form a bubble, to keep that out of our backyard, and protect and insulate ourselves. But God says, "Go out. Go forth. Go forth."

And so, facing temptation and facing weakness, we struggle with the voices, and we wonder how to find our way in the midst of all of the confusion at times. But we're called back to be obedient. Obedient to who we are in God. See cuz, one of the greatest spiritual lessons, human lessons we can learn is this: do not run away from yourself. Do not run away from yourself. 

You see, the disciples could have run away. They could have walked away from their truth, and that profound experience of transformation would never have touched their hearts in such a profound way. But Jesus touched them and gave them the gift of faith. He opened their eyes. 

Allow Jesus to touch you, to open your eyes, and to bring you back to your truth, to bring you back to who you are in God. And the task really is to be obedient to who we are in God, and obedience is difficult because we never know where it's going to bring us. If we greet each moment of each day being obedient to our inner self, being obedient to who we are in God, then, as each situation presents ourself to us, we are going to respond in proper fashion. And that response may be different than what we see in the world, what is acceptable to the world, what the world prefers. 

So are we obedient to who we are in God? Well, we all encounter situations where we're up against the wall, where we're facing limitations, where we're facing our mortality, where we're facing difficulty, when we've been hurt., When we've been wounded. And the question we can all ask ourselves is this: do we ever find ourselves lacking in hope? Do we ever find ourselves lacking in hope? Because if we're lacking in hope, then somehow, in some way, we've lost touch with our identity in God, with the fact that we are children of God, sons and daughters of God. And if we've lost touch with hope, then we better check two of hope's friends as well, faith and love, because there's a good chance that those have diminished along with hope. 

You see, when we're focused on who we are in God, then we will know that what God promises will come true. That this life is not where we store up our treasures, but it's to be stored for treasures in heaven. That ours is a journey of transformation, not to end here, but eternally and what we see here is just a glimpse of the more beautiful reality yet to come. And so we're asked to go out into the world in the image and likeness of God as one of his sons and daughters, bringing light to the darkness, hope to despair, love to the loveless, and faith to those who do not have it.

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Learn more about our parish community at www.isidoreandmaria.org. And follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Our music comes free of charge from Blue Dot Sessions in Fall River, Massachusetts. I’m Carol Vassar. Thanks for joining us.