Encounter with Jesus

The Transfiguration is one of my favorite Gospel readings. Peter, James, and John were used to the very human Jesus who had called them, eaten with them, walked the dusty paths with them, etc. Now Jesus invites them to climb the mountain with him. They follow Jesus up the mountain and witness his transfiguration. It is an encounter with Jesus who is divine as well as human.

We are all invited to a personal encounter with Jesus. The Pope began his "Evangelii Gaudium"
saying:
"I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not for him or her” (EG, nr. 3).

This means that the ultimate purpose of evangelization is not the transmission of a doctrine, but an encounter with a person, Jesus Christ. The possibility of such a face to face encounter depends on the fact that Jesus, risen, is alive and desires to walk next to every believer, as he really walked with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus; more than that, as he was in their very heart, when they returned to Jerusalem, after having received him in the broken bread."

During Lent we encounter Jesus and, when we take time to be aware of the Presence of Jesus, we realize that Jesus is with us and walks with us even when we feel discouraged.