Migrating Back to God

Migration of the Gods, by Harmonia Rosales

During this Lent, we are carried on a journey through salvation history – particularly in our First Readings. Last Sunday, we heard of the disaster of the fall of our first parents and their exile from the Garden of Eden. That original sin destroyed the perfect communion that humanity enjoyed: communion with God Himself, communion with one another, and communion with creation. Because of their pride and disobedience, they lost that communion and were cast out.

People deteriorate when they separate themselves from God. The first chapters of human history are about aversio a Deo, when people distance themselves more and more from God. Recall those chapters about the universal flood; recall the firestorm on Sodom and Gomorrah; recall Cain’s crime against his brother Abel. That is what human beings are like without God.

Today, we hear about the true beginning of salvation history. In the person of Abram, the Jews, Christians, and Muslims claim their origin. And the story of Abram is the story of an immigrant. Salvation history begins with a migrant. This journey that Abram obediently undertakes is the beginning of the reversal of our turning away from God – theologically, this is called the conversio ad Deum. It is at the heart of our Lenten mission, as we “return to God” with all our hearts.

Salvation history is a journey, whether communal or personal – we are immigrants, and the story begins with that of an immigrant, Abram, who journeys from his home in Chaldea to Canaan, as God commands. His trust in God carries him to the promised land, where he will continue to wander. It isn’t until the establishment of Israel after the Exodus that the Promised Land truly becomes “home” to the descendants of Abraham. We will hear more about this journey in the coming weeks.

For us who make this journey of Lent, the journey to our home with God, it is the journey from the chaos, brokenness, and sin that we experienced as a result of Adam & Eve’s sin, which destroyed the communion that God wills, toward the order, healing, and forgiveness that God wills in Christ, who restores us to communion. Lent is about being renewed in the communion that God wills and which Christ came to establish. Jesus fundamentally restores what we lost in Adam and Eve.  He is the fulfillment of the promise that God made to Abram.

And we catch a glimpse of that fulfilled promise in the Gospel today.  In the Transfiguration, we see the glory for which we are all created – a glory that comes from union with God, with communion. That wholeness, that satisfaction that we seek, is the longing of the human heart. As St. Augustine famously asserted, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” When we celebrate and receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we experience the gift of communion that Christ left us.

In the Transfiguration, as Jesus’ full glory is revealed, we see the destiny not only of Christ but also our destiny. We are all created for that same glory – a glory lost by our first parents, but also a glory that God wants to renew for us. This was the heart of God’s invitation to Abram, and he was to become a sign of the Lord’s promise. “I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.” We are the heirs of that same promise, except it is even more glorious now because it is sealed with the Blood of Christ.

So, we continue on our way – our pilgrimage through life. As I said, we are all migrants here – invited by God to journey from the land of brokenness and chaos to a promised land of wholeness and order, a land of communion with God and one another. We can only experience this by following God – nothing else. The voice of the Father is clear today: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” We do not reach communion by following a political agenda or some philosophical system. We get there by following a person: Jesus Christ. Jesus does not merely rest in this glory; He continues on His own sojourn with the Apostles, on the way to Jerusalem and His Passion. That is the way of salvation.

If salvation history begins like this, with the immigrant Abram, then we need to recognize our own status as migrants journeying in a foreign land. May those who do so in our world today remind us of God’s generous invitation to follow Him and discover the blessing that we can be to one another. And in journeying with Jesus, may be discover the gift of communion that we share here and hereafter.