It is better late than never, they say. Permit me to pick out a lesson from last Sunday's Gospel reading. One could only imagine the great and amazing awe that happened at that Transfiguration on the Mount. Something tremendous did happen. The heroes of the people of Israel appear? Jesus had gone there to seek the approval of God for the decisive step he was about to take. There Moses and Elijah appeared to him. Moses was the great lawgiver of the people of Israel; Elijah was the greatest of the prophets. It was as if the Princes of Israel's life and thought and religion told Jesus to go on. Moses and Elijah, as two witnesses (Deut 19:15), represent the law and the prophets testifying to Jesus (see Luke 16:16; 24:27, 44), indicating that his life and mission are the fulfillment of God’s plan in the Scriptures. Jesus could set out to Jerusalem now, certain that at least one little group of men knew who he was, certain that what he was doing was the consummation of all the life and thought and work of his nation, and certain that God approved of the step that he was taking.

The narration shifts now to the other three: Peter and his companions. Despite being chosen witnesses of the event, they are overcome by sleep! It was when they regained their consciousness that they witnessed the glorious event. Permit me to imagine they slept off, and only after the appearance of Moses and Elijah, perhaps they opened their eyes to see Jesus going down the mountain; it would have been regrettably unfortunate for them. But thanks to God they were fully awake, and they saw his glory.

The point I want to make out of this is that, in life, we miss so much because our minds are asleep. According to Williams Barclay, there are certain things that are liable to keep our minds asleep. There is prejudice. We may be so set in our ideas that our minds are shut. A new idea knocks at the door, but we are like sleepers who will not awake.

I challenge many young people of my age and indeed people who are asleep in mind. When the mind is asleep, it risks opportunities passing it by. There is mental lethargy. There are so many who refuse the strenuous struggle of thought. How many of us have really thought things out and thought them through? Sometimes we are so lethargic that we will not even face our questions and our doubts.

One of the tragedies of our time is the love of ease. There is a kind of defense mechanism in us that makes us automatically shut the door against any disturbing thought. We can drug ourselves mentally until our minds are sound asleep.

Fellow Christians and beloved Catholics, are we guilty of sleepy minds at worship? When we lock our minds to the teachings and mystery of the word, when we are distracted by side talks, telephone chats, etc., at sacred worship moments. At every Mass celebrated, Christ gives Himself to us and gives grace. We should attend Eucharistic assembly with minds made active.

Complaints of insufficiency and regret are usually the end of sleepy minds. Many regret outcomes that could have been changed in the past but can no longer be changed and for which people experience low psychological closure. Peter and the other two disciples would have regretted their lives if they hadn't seen the glorious event.

Dear friends in Christ, if our minds are asleep, we are at the losing end. There are people who don't take things seriously in life. They don't read between the lines; no lesson is learnt from experience or history; they are satisfied with the little growth; people who don't relearn and unlearn abound to have a sleepy mind. Take it or leave it, days of doomed regret are close at hand.

SHALOM.