There is something hidden inside of us that eludes us. God has created each of us with special gifts and purpose in life but we have yet to discover this hidden gift. Isaiah speaks to us of this special gift: “The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory.” (Is 49,1-3) Jesus has been sent by the Father to reveal to us the hidden glory that will one day be revealed in the lives of all those who believe. “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only son, full of grace and truth…From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (Jn 1,14;16f) As the children of God we are all meant to reveal the glory of God present in the world: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God;…that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Rom 8,18f) Our sufferings in this world obscure our glory but through suffering we can discover a hidden grace within us that is waiting to be revealed. Suffering in this life is transitory, it places a yearning in our hearts for “something more” as we pass through suffering and get a glimpse of the glory that lies beyond our sufferings and the glory to be revealed is eternal. All of us have our faults and our failures in life, “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” (Rom 3,23) But Jesus reveals to us that we can overcome our faults. Through the grace of God’s great love and mercy revealed in Jesus we can be forgiven and our lives can be raised up and restored to glory. Our failures are not the end we were created for: “But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good…There is no partiality with God.” (Rom 2,10)
The event of the Transfiguration of Jesus reveals to us this glory that has been hidden inside of all of God’s creation. On Mt. Tabor, Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James and John and is revealed to them in the fullness of his glory. “And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.” (Mk 9,2f) The glory that is revealed in Jesus is no illusion. Nothing on earth could have created that effect. It is the glory of the only begotten Son as the voice of the Father reveals, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” (Mk 9,7) The glory revealed on Mt. Tabor is shown to the apostles to prepare them for the suffering of Jesus on the cross. The suffering of Jesus on Calvary will cover him in shame and conceal his glory but the cross is the way that leads all people to eternal glory in the resurrection.
In taking up the cross in love, each of us are meant to discover our true glory. Crucified in the flesh we are raised up to a newness of life in the Spirit. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2Cor 3,17f) All of us will suffer in this life but our sufferings can reveal to us something that is hidden within us - the Spirit of love and truth and grace. The Father reveals to us the way beyond our fears and into a new life of faith: “Listen to him.” Listening more attentively to Jesus is the goal of all of our spiritual disciplines in Lent. We listen to Jesus in prayer, we listen to Jesus in serving one another in love, we listen to Jesus in contemplating his word in sacred scripture, we listen to Jesus in the Holy Mass as he says, “Take and eat, this is my body. Take and drink, this is my blood. Do this in memory of me.” Above all we listen with a new heart and a new spirit, freed from sin and disordered attachments. Our spiritual disciplines in Lent help us to discover something great within us. We are capable of great things and we can rise above the sufferings in this world and be a sign of great love. We are not ordinary, we are glorious. Each of us must discover this hidden glory that dwells within us through the grace of our baptism into Christ Jesus.