Goodmorning Disciples of Jesus Christ. Today, we are going to reflect on the Gospel of Luke, all of Chapter 9 in God’s Holy Word. When we reflect on the Transfiguration of Our Lord, we know that it is about His fuller understanding of His Exodus and fulfillment of His mission for our salvation. So, let’s take a look at what God is showing us that is important for us to know as His Disciples. Here is Luke, Chapter 9 in its entirety. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%209&version=NIV.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
9 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere. 7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. 12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” 13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14 (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” 19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” 20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
Jesus Predicts His Death
21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” 23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure,[a] which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.” 41 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time
While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44 “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it. 46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” 49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.” 50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
Samaritan Opposition
51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them[b]?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village.
The Cost of Following Jesus
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
This whole chapter in the Gospel of Luke is great because as it is revealed to the Apostles very gently and slowly about why Jesus came from Heaven for our eternal salvation, it was also revealed to them what their mission was to be for Our Lord and as a Christ follower (Disciple). The miracles that Our Lord performed were to build up the Apostle’s Faith, but there was also a gentle reminder that there will be huge sacrifices for everyone that truly follow Him. Our Lord always exemplified the perfect role model of what it means to serve God, but do we have a full understanding of what that really means or are we similar to the Apostles in verses 44 through 50 in not fully understanding the Humility we must obtain in following Our Lord and leaving everything behind, and this may even mean giving up our lives for Him.
As Moses and Elijah prepared our Lord for His Exodus from Earth and completing the fulfillment of His full sacrifice on the cross, death and resurrection in verses 29 -36, Our Lord was Transfigured in a glowing light that God allowed both Peter, John, and James to witness. Then they all heard God Our Father speak of Our Lord as “His Son being “chosen” to fulfill this sacrifice and we must listen to Him”. We know this to mean that Jesus was “chosen” by God as the only one who was worthy enough as the spotless Lamb to make reparation for our sins against God. God Our Father is also telling us in this verse that not only is Jesus “chosen”, but that we must LISTEN TO HIM.
Because God Our Father allowed Peter, James and John to witness this Transfiguration, we must ask ourselves if we are fully awake in hearing God’s voice and allowing Him to transfigure our hearts to prepare for Our Lord’s Second Coming? Just as the Apostles were being prepared for the suffering, death, and resurrection of Our Lord in fulfillment of the Scriptures for His First Coming. Are we preparing ourselves for the possibility of Our Lord’s Second Coming and the final harvest? Even if as Christ’s followers, we aren’t fully sure that this is the time of the fulfillment of the Book of Revelations, shouldn’t we still be prepared like Our Lord asked us to be as the five wise virgins? Always prepared for Him Spiritually and not asleep or lukewarm?
So, this Lent should be the most special Lenten period we have ever put forth in an effort to get closer to Our Lord. Because we must be fully awake to the possibility that He is coming back soon, after the Warning/Illumination of Conscience has occurred. We also must acknowledge that both Moses and Elijah were present with Our Lord during His Transfiguration. So, again, it will be in our time, that both God’s Laws that must be obeyed and His Prophets preparing us for another Transfiguration period in our time.
If the Warning/Illumination of Conscience is viewed as another form of Transfiguration for us and our hearts by God and is similar to a Second Pentecost, then we best prepare ourselves as much as possible now, so that we may be witnesses again for God’s Glory, like the First Apostles. We must also be prepared to follow Him all the way to the end in Humility and Sacrifice, even if our own lives are at stake, because this is what it means to be a Disciple.
When Our Lord does decide to have the Warning/Illumination of Conscience, we must LISTEN TO HIM again and know that we will have little time left after the Warning to make our hearts fully transfigured through conversion in CONFESSION and REPENTANCE. This is the time now during this Lent to get as much sin off our souls as possible to be ready for Our Lord. Please don’t miss this last-minute opportunity to do so, while we still can.
Let us Pray – Lord, we come to You with a full contrite and sorrowful heart not only for our sins, but all the sins and offenses being committed against You by the whole world. If we still need conviction by Your Holy Spirit as Your Disciples to confess our sins, please allow us this Grace before You come to us in the Warning. We are preparing our hearts now and we are seeking You in the Holy Eucharist when we receive Your Holy Body in Communion with You, and we are also seeking Your presence in Adoration to be guided in Your Divine Will. We pray for all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and we continue to pray for all of those that are not prepared for the Warning. Amen.
Here are the most relevant Scripture verses on Transfiguration. https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Transfiguration.
Here are the latest messages from After the Warning website. This first one is from Giselle Cardia. https://afterthewarning.com/messages-from-heaven/giselle-cardia/2022/march/14/there-will-be-no-more-peace/.
Here is the latest to Luz De Maria from Saint Michael the Archangel. https://afterthewarning.com/messages-from-heaven/luz-de-maria/2022/march/14/you-will-face-trials-in-all-aspects/.
Here are the latest messages to Shelley Anna, on March 12, 2022, with a message from Our Blessed Mother. She is telling Shelley Anna to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for Our Lord’s Divine Mercy to fall upon the whole world. We must continue to pray this prayer as often as possible for the salvation of souls, but especially at 3:00 p.m. https://afterthewarning.com/messages-from-heaven/shelley-anna/2022/march/14/latest-messages/.
Here is a message to Valerie Copponi from Our Blessed Mother. https://afterthewarning.com/messages-from-heaven/valeria-copponi/2022/march/14/playing-with-fire/.
Here is the latest video to Mother and Refuge of the End Times with a message to Valerie Copponi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUeUYbL1lVY,
Here is a video with a message to Jennifer from February 22, 2022, from Our Lord about His Divine Mercy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_DVMgObUJA.
Here is the End Times with a video of a message to Luz De Maria from Saint Michael the Archangel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV24ytGRcoA.
Here is a message from Servants of Christ from Father Michel Rodrigue speaking about having approximately 6 weeks after the Warning/Illumination of Conscience occurs to REPENT and get to CONFESSION before the Great Tribulation begins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjdL05WoXzA.
Here is the latest from Shelley Anna and Holy Trinity Messages from Heaven. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCBWGv4tepg.
Here is a message from Servants of Christ reminding us of the prophetic messages from Our Blessed Mother in Our Lady of Akita. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6POOKe3CNgk.
Here is an important message from Mystic Post TV reminding us of a prophetic message given to Mirjana about the significance of March 18th. March 18, 2022, will be this Friday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4uW7mZP7qc.
Here is Michael Matt with Remnant TV on “What is really going on in the Ukraine?” Michael Matt can be very sarcastic, and he is bad about showing his frustration with our Church. However, this episode of Remnant TV does an excellent job reflecting how we are all like pawns in a giant game of chess that the Elites are playing with the entire world. We have to remember that God is in control of everything, even though we are being manipulated by the Elites, and Satan is using the Elites to push the whole world into a New World Order. https://www.remnant-tv.com/video/555/crisis-in-ukraine-what-s-really-going-on?channelName=RemnantTV.
Here is the latest Jason A you tube video on the “New World Order is Here”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT8JX5udpNg.
Here is the latest report from Global News on Russia asking for China’s support. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGcBP7XumNA.
Here are today’s prayers from Kristin’s Crosses in the Second week of Lent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1VE5qg3If4.
Emmanuel – “God is with Us.” “O Blood and Water that gushed forth from the heart of Jesus, as a font of Mercy for us, I Trust in You.” Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, save us and the whole world, have Mercy on us sinners. Abba, Father, Thy Will Be Done.
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