There are many ways that God could have chosen to save us. But He chose to send His Son to take on a human nature, die and then rise from the dead. Why did He choose such a difficult means? Saint Paul gives us a hint in last Sunday’s second reading: “He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else…” The Father sent the Son to suffer and die to demonstrate the extent of His love for us. The Son of God became man so that we could see and experience for ourselves the love of God.
Not only is God’s love shown through Jesus Christ, but, by becoming man, He transforms our human nature. All who accept this love of God into their hearts are permanently changed. We no longer live for ourselves but for the One who died and rose for us.
We see this awesome reality on display in last Sunday’s gospel. Jesus is “transfigured” in front of Peter, James and John. The glory He has as the eternal Son of God shines through His human body. From now on, human beings can reveal the glory of God through His love at work within us. This is the profoundest meaning of salvation- not just that we can get into heaven after we die but that even now we can experience God’s presence bringing about real transformation leading us from self-centeredness to generosity, from indifference to charity, and from resentment to joy. All this takes place in those who welcome God’s love into their hearts through faith in Jesus Christ.
When Peter, James and John came down from the mountain, Jesus instructed them to keep what they had witnessed to themselves until after “the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” Well, friends, Jesus has been raised from the dead. It is now time for us to bear witness to Him.
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