A Preview of Coming Attractions.

Do you remember the rich fare you could get for very little at the movie theater years ago? Main features, additional short films, cartoons, and previews of coming attractions. Often, there would be “cliff hangers”—a stop in the action at a critical point, you wouldn’t know how it ended unless you came back the next week.

 

Well previews of coming attractions, or trailers, are pretty sophisticated now, but the idea is pretty much the same: to give us enough of a taste of what the film is about to get us to watch the movie. Of course, previews of coming attractions are now shown, not just at the theaters, but also on television and other forms of media.

 

The reason I bring this topic up is that what we have in today’s Gospel reading is basically a preview of coming attractions. You have quite a cast of characters, including Jesus, Moses (who, by the way, had died some 1,200 years earlier), Elijah (who died or was taken up to heaven some 800 years earlier). And those who get to see the preview: Peter, James and John.

 

In this preview of coming attractions, God displays Jesus’ divinity, a kind of fore-taste of the Resurrection, and gives his seal of approval: “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” Scripture scholars say that the purpose of this preview was to strengthen the disciples for the tough days ahead, including the crucifixion. And through today’s proclamation of this gospel, this preview of coming attractions is given to us.

 

Now, of course, we are able to make choices. And I believe that our minds are playing previews of coming attractions all the time. In conversations during the past few weeks, I’ve heard about some of these previews. Let me share a few…

 

Some have been watching the preview that asks the question: What if they take away my Social Security? How am I supposed to live?

 

Others have been watching the preview: What if they take away Medicaid? Is grandma going to be evicted from the nursing home?

 

Of course, still others are rewinding and watching previews that were instilled in them when they were quite young: You’re no good! You’ll never amount to anything! Or…You’re not smart, you’re not pretty, you’re not popular. You’re a loser, and you always will be.

 

Why do you suppose that God gave this biblical preview of coming attractions? It was to teach that the story doesn’t end with the crucifixion. You see, that’s really a kind of cliff hanger, and if you don’t come back to get the rest of the story, you may think it all ends right there. The preview, in which Jesus’ glory is shown, and in which he’s talking to two people long considered dead, is meant to get our attention and convince us to stick around and get the full version of the story: Easter, not crucifixion. Life, not death. Hope, not failure. God in control, not us.

 

Now, there’s no denying that plenty of bad things happen in life. People are not always respected or affirmed. Some people do terrible things to others. For many, there’s a life of drudgery and poverty. And in the days ahead, we will do all in our power to support, encourage, and take care of the needs of all who are treated unjustly.

 

But the question is, which preview of coming attractions is playing in your mind? Do you believe you’re a nobody? That all there is waiting for you are pain and death? That they might make life difficult, especially for the poor who are struggling already? Pretty depressing stuff. And the threats are, indeed, very real.

 

But today we are offered God’s preview. He’s introducing someone very special: This is Jesus, my chosen Son. Listen to him. In the midst of all the fears and rumors, in the midst of people obsessed by power, listen to him. He’s with you. He’s going to see you through. He struggled through Good Friday and knows what’s on the other side. Whenever you feel overwhelmed or afraid, God says, play my preview. Don’t forget why you come to Church in the first place, to hear my side of things. You get enough of the world’s message out there, and it can be pretty depressing. So, listen to my message. Don’t lose your courage. Have faith. Trust me on this. You’ll love what I have in store for you.

You might also like

Father's Homilies

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent November 30, 2025

By Charlene Currie • December 4, 2025
How Far Do You Want to Go?

Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe November 23, 2025

By Charlene Currie • November 28, 2025
Prairie Chickens and Eagles Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe November 23, 2025 An American Indian tells about a brave who found an eagle’s egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All its life the changeling eagle, thinking it was a prairie chicken, did what the other prairie chickens did. It scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. It clucked and cackled. And it flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that’s how prairie chickens were supposed to fly. Years passed, and the changeling grew very old. One day it saw a magnificent bird soaring far above in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. “What a beautiful bird!” said the changeling eagle to its neighbor. “What is it?” “That’s an eagle—the chief of the birds,” the neighbor clucked. “But don’t give it a second thought. You could never be like him.” So, the changeling eagle never gave it another thought. And it died thinking it was a prairie chicken. Today, we are celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ is the King of all God’s creation. And yet, it is strange that the gospel passage chosen for this feast is the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion. Notice how weak he is. Consider how he is laughed at and made fun of. “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God….If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” So, the problem is one of expectations. The bystanders were looking for an eagle, and all they saw before them was a prairie chicken! And yet, at the end of the gospel, this prairie chicken seems to have some power that prairie chickens don’t normally have. When Jesus is asked by the thief being crucified with him, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” Jesus replies, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Hardly a promise that could be made by a prairie chicken! What’s going on here? I’d like to refer us to a passage we find in the writings of St. Paul, a section of his letter to the Philippians that is the second reading on Palm Sunday, when we reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus. Here it is: “Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus taught the way of humility and service. He came to raise others up, especially those who were bowed down by poverty or prejudice. He taught that there was no greater love than to lay down one’s life for the love of others. Greatness is found not in building oneself up at the expense of others, but in building up others, especially those who need it the most. So, Jesus emptied himself, to the point of looking like a prairie chicken, and in doing so he showed us the way to the eternal kingdom by means of humble service, that we might become who we truly are, eagles destined to soar beyond the clouds.

Homily for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time November 16, 2025

By Charlene Currie • November 28, 2025
Too Stubborn to Quit. Homily for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time November 16, 2025 The California coast was blanketed in fog July 4, 1952. Twenty-one miles to the west, on Catalina Island, Florence Chadwick, a 34-year-old-long-distance-swimmer, waded in to the water and began swimming toward the California coast. She had already conquered the English Channel, swimming in both directions. Now she was determined to be the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. As the hours ticked off, Chadwick fought bone-chilling cold, dense fog, and sharks. Several times, sharks had to be driven off by rifles. Fatigue never set in, but the icy water numbed her to the point of exhaustion. Straining to make out the shore through her swimmer’s goggles, she could see only a dense fog. She knew she could not go any farther. Although not a quitter, Chadwick shouted to her trainer and her mother in the boat and asked to be taken out of the water. They urged her not to give up, but when she looked toward the California coast, all she could see was thick fog. So after fifteen hours and fifty-five minutes of fighting the elements, she was hauled from the channel into the boat. Frozen to the bone and her spirit defeated, Chadwick was devastated when she discovered she was only a half-mile from the coast! She felt the shock of failure…. Two months later, Chadwick swam that same channel, and again fog clouded her vision, but this time she swam with her faith intact—that somewhere behind that fog was land. This time she succeeded. Not only was she the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, but she beat the men’s record by two hours. A line from this story that struck me was: “this time she swam with her faith intact.” Florence Chadwick was able to persevere to her goal because she believed she could do it. In today’s gospel passage, Jesus speaks about the challenges and threats that will be faced by the first disciples when they go out into the world and start proclaiming the message. He doesn’t mince words or paint a rosy picture. Tough times of suffering will come. But then he adds, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” In reflecting on this teaching, I was reminded of another Bible story. The disciples are in a boat crossing a lake. Jesus had stayed behind to spend some time in prayer. Then, late at night, he comes toward them, walking on the water. The disciples are frightened, thinking they’re seeing a ghost. Jesus tries to reassure them, when Simon Peter yells, “Lord, if it is really you, command that I walk on the water toward you.” Jesus invites him to do so, and Peter steps out of the boat and actually walks on the water toward Jesus. But then, he looks down and notices the threatening situation he is in. And he begins to sink. Jesus has to fish him out of the water and get him back into the boat (Cf. Matthew 14:22-33). What makes the difference? As long as Peter keeps his eyes on Jesus, he can do the seemingly impossible. When he focuses on the threat, he sinks. We find something similar in the writings of St. Paul. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he writes, “You know that while all the runners in the stadium take part in the race, the award goes to one man. In that case, run so as to win! Athletes deny themselves all sorts of things. They do this to win a crown of leaves that withers, but we a crown that is imperishable. I do not run like a man who loses sight of the finish line…” (1 Cor 9:24-26). So, when we have to face difficulties, when we live in hard times, when we feel left out or let down, how are we supposed to keep going? Florence Chadwick failed when she couldn’t see the finish line. When she found faith withing herself again, she was able to go back and reach her goal. Peter was even able to walk on water, but only as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. And Paul writes that he has been able to keep going, even while facing all sorts of hardships, because he has never lost sight of the goal. When facing challenges, a stubborn faith is required; perseverance is needed. It’s very easy to give up, to call it quits, to feel that there’s no way to face all the problems that pile up. We don’t have to face life’s challenges alone. Jesus is with us. And he asks us to be there for each other. He asks us to persevere, to have faith, to be too stubborn to quit.