There are only two parts in the four gospels where we have a record of God speaking, one is at the Baptism of Our Lord and the other is the transfiguration, our gospel story today. On both occasions the same words are used: ‘This is my beloved son, listen to him’. What’s so important about listening to Jesus?  We have so many attention seeking voices in the world today. Especially now that we have much more time on our hands the amount of people using social media is increasing, we are even using social media – webcams, facebook, youtube, etc., for our religious services, and sometimes we quote something that we read or heard on social media as absolutely true. That’s why these words in the gospel today are important. There is a difference between hearing and listening. Counsellors study for many years on how to listen. Listening has been described as really wanting to hear what someone else wants to say. Do I really want to listen to what Jesus wants to tell me?  Do we really listen to the Word of God? There are four different ways of listening: First we have those who listen to what the Word of God is saying but their minds are far away from here. It goes in through one ear and goes out through the other. They hear but they do not listen. Second of all we have selective hearers; they hear what they want to. We love to hear the Word of God talking to us about joy, celebration, but when it talks about the cross and sacrifice and discipline, that we don’t want to hear. Third of all we have those who say this is great for someone else. I’d love that person to hear that. They do not make it relevant for their lives. Fourth of all, we have those people who will hear the word of God and listen to it. We can receive hope and new life when listening to Jesus and we as Christians should encourage people who are going thorough these difficult times to listen to Jesus, there is hope, there is no need to be afraid.  The apostles in the gospel today were on a high, they wanted to stay there. There are some beautiful detalis in the gospel today. On the top of the mountain, you see the broader perspective, the bigger picture. On the mountain top we can see all reality from God’s point of view. Another detail was light; it says his cloths became dazzlingly white, whiter than snow. You can imagine when you are trying to read something, and someone turns a light on and there is relief. When the Blessed Virgin appeared to Bernadette at the foot of the Pyrenees in Southern France; Bernadette spoke about the brightness and beauty of the Lady who appeared. On our journey through life we all need certain moments that will fire us up invigorate us assure us that the end is in site. This is a message we all need to hear during these difficlut times. During these these challenging times we are being bombarded with depressing news lockdown, new variants, problems with the roll out of the vaccine, the toll its taking on the mental health of so many people. Like the apostles in the gospel, today we can find a lot of hope and meaning listening to Jesus. In our human nature there are deep needs that only Jesus can fulfill. Let us open our hearts and minds and listen to what Jesus saying to me today.