Holy Spirit Catholic Church
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Second Sunday of
Lent
February 17, 2008
I recently read a Reader's Digest article called "The Night the Stars Fell." The writer was a man named Arthur Gordon. Gordon began by saying that when he was a small boy his family lived on the Atlantic seacoast.
One night, he was awakened from sleep by his father lifting him gently out of his bed. Still half asleep, he felt his father carrying him outside, down the porch steps, and onto the beach. It was a beautiful night and the sky was ablaze with millions of stars. Arthur's father pointed up to the sky and said, "Watch carefully!"
Suddenly one of the stars dropped from the sky, leaving a trail of light behind it. Hardly had it faded out when another star dropped from the sky. Then another and another! "What's happening, Daddy?" whispered Arthur. "Shooting stars," his father said. "Every once in a while, the stars put on a special show for us. Tonight is one of those nights. I thought you'd like to watch for a little while."
For the next 15 minutes father and son watched in silence. As they did, they were transported into another world. It was a world of beauty and mystery far beyond that of this world.
That experience changed Arthur forever. He was never the same after it. Years later, as an old man, he wrote, "I still remember the night the stars fell." Arthur concluded the Reader's Digest article saying that after his father put him back in bed and left his room, he lay there awake for a long time. He just stared into the darkness, filled with awe and wonder at what he had just experienced on the beach with his father.
What Arthur experienced gives us just a faint insight into what the three disciples experienced in today's Gospel, Jesus' Transfiguration! It was a moment they, too, would never forget. When he was an old man, Peter wrote, "With our own eyes we saw his greatness. We were there...when the voice came to Jesus...We ourselves heard this voice...when we were with him on the holy mountain." (2 Pt 1:16-18)
What Arthur experienced and what the disciples experienced is what theologians call a "Moment of Grace." It's a moment when the border between heaven and earth fades and, for a brief second, the glory of God shines through into our world. It is a moment when, for a brief second, God's presence is felt in our lives in an unmistakable way.
All of us have had such moments at some point in our lives. They are moments when some unseen door opens slightly and we are blessed with a brief glimpse of the world of faith.
Such a moment may occur right after receiving Holy Communion. All of a sudden we are struck with a realization of who it is we are receiving. Or it may occur at night when, after turning off the TV set, we sot alone in quiet prayer for a moment.
Unfortunately, when such moments occur, we don't always do what little Arthur did. We don't rest in the presence of God, in awe and wonder, letting the experience sink into our soul. As a result, the moment fades and is lost in the caverns of our memory. In other words, we soon forget the great gift with which God blessed us. These special moments should be savored, just as little Arthur savored his experience with his father on the beach.
Moments of Grace are gifts from God. They can't be merited. They can't be won. They can't be manufactured. All we can do is dispose ourselves to receive them, should God choose to give them to us.
And how do we do this? How do we dispose ourselves to receive them? One way is to set aside a little time each day for prayer, when we open our hearts to God and invite God to enter them.
If we persevere in this spiritual adventure, especially during our Lenten journey, and listen carefully with ears of faith, a day will come, either here or in heaven, when we, too, will hear a voice. It will say to us what the voice on the mountain said of Jesus: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."