Christ is our Joy and Fulfilment
“This is my beloved Son, listen to him”! These are the words the disciples heard at Mount Tabor as Jesus was transfigured in their presence. He is “heaven come down” in our midst. His glory shone so dazzlingly that the disciples asked him if they all could stay there permanently. But that glory is the glory of heaven and not of this earth. He still must go through this earthly life’s trials, pains, sufferings, and persecutions. But so are all of us. As Jesus Christ focused on the glory of heaven that he shared with the Father and the Holy Spirit, especially as he went through his passion (Heb. 12:2), we must remember, during our trials and sufferings, that we are citizens of heaven, too. As Jesus himself promised directly tells us his disciples: “In the world you will have trouble but be brave: I have conquered the world” (John 16:33). He conquered the world because His eyes were on that glory of heaven, the union he has with the Father and the Holy Spirit. As long as we all focus on the glory of that union with the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, we shall confidently pass through all the travails of this earthly life. We are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) but also of this earth. On this earth, we are training to look up to God in Jesus Christ and hold onto him, come rain, come sunshine. Christ is our joy and fulfilment in this life and the life after. May this Lenten season be a time to remember who we are in Jesus Christ and where all this shall end, namely in the glory of Heaven. Amen
Fr Cornelius Okeke