Holy Wisdom Church
One of my favorite places to visit is the Clark
Museum over in Williamstown. I usually get there a couple of times a year and
each time I go I’m struck by the
magic of painting: how the most ordinary of objects, events, and
situations turn into portraits of
intense beauty. Often the magic is created by the play of light — say in
“Sunrise in the Woods” by George Inness, or “Apples in a Dish” by Renoir. What
is ordinary glows from within in
the simplest of settings.
Reality is like
that as well. What is most common
shimmers when we see it in God’s
light. In this morning’s Gospel Jesus takes Peter, James and John up the
mountain… probably just a normal walk
that he initiates. But in their presence, something unexpected happens: Jesus is transfigured. His face shown like the
sun and his clothes were as dazzling as light. Jesus speaks to Moses and
Elijah, who symbolize the Law and the Prophets. Their presence affirms Jesus’
identity and path. What is crucial
for us to remember is the context
for this passage. In the previous pericope, Jesus has just finished rebuking Peter for trying to dissuade him from following
his path, a path Jesus knows will lead to his death. The rebuke is uncompromisingly
strong: “Get behind me Satan, for you are not thinking as God thinks, but as
human beings do.” (Mt 16:23) The transfiguration follows up on this, allowing us to “see” Jesus as he truly
is and the implications of this
for all creation.
All of us know that life is not black and
white. Just as we know that there is an abundance of grace and beauty in life, so also
there is an abundance of darkness and
tragedy. How can we not take note of the images of war, violence, exploitation, death, and sin
that we see every day on our televisions, as well as in our personal lives? The
temptation for us in the face of
this is to lose perspective and
grow depressed and dispirited. We miss the forest through
the trees. What the transfiguration reveals for us is that God’s light penetrates, yes redeems,
even the most profound darkness.
Jesus can accept, even embrace his destiny because he sees it in the context of
the whole, the fact that this is how God’s unconditional love will be manifest:
through the way of the cross. Thus he can press on resolutely
towards Jerusalem.
Jesus
makes clear that we share in
this path. Immediately prior to the transfiguration it was Jesus who told his
disciples, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let them renounce themselves, take up their cross and follow me.” (Mt 16:24) Now he touches
them and says, “Rise, be not afraid.”
(Mt 17:7) This is not bad news, a call that ultimately leads to alienation and
despair. Rather, just as the transfiguration reveals the light
emanating from Jesus, a glow
that now permeates the whole of creation, so does that glow become
perceptible in our own journeys. The backdrop
to our everyday is the fact that
it is shot through, irradiated
with the energy of divine light, even in the most
challenging of circumstances. We have only to see with the eyes of our heart,
and hope in what that reveals. “This is my beloved Son, Listen to him.”(Mt
17:5)
