The very first line of today’s first reading summons us to seek the Lord and to call upon God. This sentiment is echoed in the refrain for today’s responsorial psalm: “The Lord is near to all who call upon him” (Psalm 145:18a). Saint Paul is the embodiment of someone who constantly sought the Lord. In the excerpt we read today from his letter to the Philippians, we find Saint Paul toward the end of his life, a life he describes as completely consonant with Christ. He writes, “For to me life is Christ” (Philippians 1:21). To find out what it means to live life completely in accord with Christ we need look no further than today’s Gospel. There we find that God’s love and mercy are immeasurable for all those who seek and call upon the Lord.

In the ancient world watchmen were extremely important people. They kept communities safe and were there to alert them to any impending danger or attack. Before locks, alarms, and security systems, watchmen were the protectors, the safety measure. So when the Lord charges Ezekiel as a watchman today, it is a weighty charge. So weighty, we learn, that if Ezekiel fails to sound the alarm for those around him and they perish in a state of wickedness, Ezekiel will be held responsible! This profound connection between God’s will on earth and in heaven is repeated in today’s Gospel, where Jesus instructs us that we are to be the security force, the watchers placed on alert that nowhere in the Body of Christ, the church, will there be any two members of the one Body who are not reconciled.

If you’ve ever had an unpleasant but somewhat amusing practical joke played on you, then you have some understanding of how Jeremiah feels today when he tells God “good one, you duped me.” We can almost see him shaking his head with a bit of a rueful smile, but an angry undertone in his voice. In similar fashion, Peter thinks Jesus is “duping” him when Jesus starts to explain that being Messiah means suffering and dying, and being a follower of the Messiah means taking up a cross and doing the same. Jeremiah tries to deny God’s will for him by trying to shut up; Peter, who has just been made the foundation of the church out and out denies the teaching of Jesus, for which he is named “Satan” today.

Peter’s history as a follower or friend of Jesus is a bit spotty. It might be natural to wonder if Jesus, in giving him the keys to the kingdom, didn’t feel a bit like a parent giving a teenager the keys to the family car. But it was at the moment when God’s power and presence broke through everything else to raise up Peter’s great profession of faith in Christ as Messiah that Jesus chose to establish the bond between the loving, forgiving mercy of heaven and our vocation to be witnesses of that love, mercy, and forgiveness on earth.

“Let all the nations praise you!” (Psalm 67:4) today’s psalm response exclaims. In the psalms and other Hebrew scriptures, this kind of invocation is actually an invitation to God to act, to intervene in human lives in a manner that will cause everyone— not just the Chosen People—to give praise. Stated a bit more strongly, it is something of a “put up or shut up” challenge to God, the sort of strong statement the psalmists of Israel, trusting in their intimate and loving relationship with God, were not afraid to make.

A rabbi was asked why God sends trials and troubles into human lives. “Because God gets lonely for his people” was the reply. There is some resonance with this wisdom in today’s Gospel, as Jesus makes his disciples get into a boat without him and goes off alone while they venture into stormy waters. Of course, neither Jews nor Christians believe that the Almighty plays this sort of whimsical game with them, but there is some truth in the statement that we don’t turn to God for saving help until we’re in a bind.

Today, the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, is a day of eyewitness accounts. The first, a vision reported by the prophet Daniel, was well known to Jesus and his apostles. The vision account was written in quite mystical and figurative language. It is a vision of heaven, powerful and memorable. There are flames of fire, burning wheels, the Ancient One, and a Son of Man. Clearly, Daniel saw something. But was it a dream? Was it real? Was it merely a clever myth?

God visits Solomon in a dream, and the scripture story nowhere tells us that Solomon awoke to have this conversation with God! So, still in his dream, Solomon answers God’s question about what he desires most, and God grants his request for wisdom in abundance.

In our waking hours, we are much distracted by work, home, family, traffic, entertainment, and many worries. When we try to think about what we really want out of life, we have trouble even imagining what that might be. But deep inside, our real longings dwell, known to God and to the Holy Spirit. Our dreams, unencumbered by defenses, may hold clues to what our deepest needs are, or what bothers us most. They could be God speaking.

The first reading today, from the book of Wisdom, makes its point over and over, at least five times in five verses! God is mighty, but lenient to all. God’s power is shown in kindness and clemency, not in harshness and condemnation, and those who govern God’s people must govern in the same way, with kindness. This loving kindness and gentleness are not contrary to God’s might, but is a direct result of God’s primacy over all. Who are we, then, to judge what is in the hearts of our fellow Christians and all people, when God commands justice with love and clemency?

Likewise, the Holy Spirit makes up for our ignorance of what we need, speaking in a language we do not yet understand. But God knows our needs before we do, understands the intercessions of the Spirit, and helps us in our weakness. This is our hope: God’s mercy, power, and love.

The seed is the word of God. The agricultural metaphors in all of today’s readings give richness to the message that the word of God, cultivated in our hearts, bears much fruit in our lives. Creation itself awaits the redemption of all, even as our bodies await the resurrection. Just as we will rejoice in the fulfillment of God’s word, so will all of creation sing for joy in the Reign of God. The word of God is effective and holy; it brings about exactly what it says. It is not futile or empty, but rich in meaning for those who hear and are healed. Those who hear the word of God and keep it will, with all creation, bear much fruit and sing for joy.

Like a tonal center in music, the note to which we keep returning in today’s readings is humility. We wait in joyful expectation for the coming of our Lord as King. But what we are told to expect and rejoice over is a meek and humble king, riding on an ass. Not horses or chariots of the great and mighty, but a humble beast carries the Ruler whose dominion stretches “from the River to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:10). This King comes to banish the tools of the warrior and bring peace. No wonder that a weary world rejoices and gives thanks to God!

Today we have the beautiful story of the woman promised a child, the wonderful exhortation about life in Christ, and a powerful instruction from Jesus. An embarrassment of riches? Not if we take Jesus' words about "welcome" to heart. The many challenges and blessings offered to us today by Elisha, Paul, and Jesus should be cause for rejoicing and welcomed heartily into our lives. And, like the great treat that they are, they should be enjoyed and shared generously with others.

Today's reading from Romans was chosen very early in the liturgical life of the Church to be the sole apostolic instruction received by candidates for baptism at the Easter Vigil. This illustrates its importance as a core belief, and as a means of comprehending the story of the Resurrection. Christ's resurrection is not merely a story about something that he underwent once upon a time, but it is our story, the story of how we joined the other members of the one Body of Christ, the church. We were not only dead, but we were buried; not ultimately buried, but raised to eternal life with Christ.