Fr Ben Garren

Dear Siblings in Christ,

Today marks the high feast of the Transfiguration. Jesus takes a few of his disciples up on the mountaintop to pray and there he is seen robed in dazzling cloth talking to Moses, giver of the law, and Elijah, Prophet of God’s Justice and Mercy.

Too often in our conversations as Christians we request that there be some separation between the Hebrew Scriptures and the Greek Testaments of Christianity. On this day we are called to remember that the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospel come together in a great radiance. Jesus guides us to understand that the Summary of the Law is that we Love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and that we love our neighbor as ourselves.

When we look at the Law of Moses what we have is a system whose goal is to bring about that space of Loving God, Loving Self, and Loving Neighbor.

When we look at how the Law has been used to do something other than that—has brought people to reject God, fail to love themselves, and fail to love others—we are looking at a misinterpretation of the Law. When we look at points where the words of the prophets are not used to prioritize Justice for the oppressed, the poor, the orphan, the bereft, we are looking at a misuse of the words of the prophets against the very persons they are meant to help at all times.

Today we are called to be with Jesus, up on the mountain, and to see the work of God becoming manifest so that all of us can walk away from that mountain into the world to spread the Gospel, spread the Law, spread the Prophets that guide us to Love of self, Love of Other, and Love of God in the name of Jesus Christ.

Pax,

—Ben