Luminous
A Catholic Woman and Her Thoughts on Life, the Universe, and Everything
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Thoughts on the Transfiguration
Anastasius of Sinai (700 AD), Monk -
Homily on the Transfiguration

The mystery of the crucifixion and the beauty of God's reign

The mountain of the Transfiguration is the place of mysteries, the place of ineffable realities, the rock of hidden secrets, the summit of the heavens. Here the symbols of the future kingdom were revealed: the mystery of the crucifixion, the beauty of God's reign, Christ's descent at his second coming in glory. On this mountain, the luminous cloud covered the splendor of the righteous; the future good was already realized. The cloud enveloping this mountain prefigures the carrying away of the righteous on the clouds; it shows us already today what we will look like in the future, our configuration with Christ.

While he walked with his disciples, Jesus told them about his reign and his second coming in glory. But perhaps because they were not sure enough about what he had told them concerning his reign, he wanted them to end up being very firmly convinced in the depth of their heart, and he wanted present events to help them to believe in the future events. That is why he let them see that marvelous divine manifestation on Mount Tabor as a prefigurative image of the kingdom of heaven.

It was as if he were telling them: "So that your gaze might not bring forth incredulity in you, soon, even now 'I assure you, among those standing here' and listening to me 'there are some who will not experience death before they see the Son of Man come in his kingship.'" (Mt 16:28) "Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. He was transfigured before their eyes." .

"How awesome is this place! This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!" (Gen 28:17)

We must hasten to this gateway.

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Today's Gospel reading - Mk 9:2-13 brings us up Mt. Tabor with the apostles, walking beside Christ, they don't know why he is bringing them to this place. They know that the Lord tends to go to quiet places away from the crowds to pray, and perhaps this is what they expected. Perhaps they even felt privileged to be chosen to come along with him on that day. It's probably the middle of the afternoon, on an average day. It's been a bit of a long hike, they're probably tired and thirsty. They may be wondering why Jesus has to hike up the whole mountain as they pass any number of nice quiet places to pray. They are like any of us, living in the moment, feeling their aches and pains, looking down at the ground as they climb up the mountainside, scrambling over the rocks, trying to keep the Lord in sight as he walks on ahead. Little do they realize what they are about to encounter!

Isn't that always the way with Christ? We think we know what we're doing? We figure we've seen it all before, we know what's going on, we know what to expect - and then WAM! Right between the eyes! Our whole grip on what we thought was real is shaken.

Maybe we thought that a particular job was exactly right for us - but the Lord has other plans. That job disappears - and we are devastated. And what happens? The Lord provides, and the new job is not only good, if you look at it without your own willfulness getting in the way, you suddenly realize that it's where God wants you to be.

Same can happen with relationships. We think we are so in love with someone, and then it doesn't work out. Down the road, what happens? We find that 20 years later we are on our knees giving thanks that we didn't marry that person we had a "crush" on, because when we lost that relationship, it opened up the possibility for others. Sometimes this means we married the person God meant us to be joined to, soul to soul, one body, one spirit in Christ. Or maybe we didn't get married, but through accepting a "vocation" to the single life, in Christ, we were able to more fully live God's will, and go where he needed us to go, and do what he needed us to do.

God's funny that way. They say that if you want to make God laugh, go ahead and make plans for yourself. I truly believe that. Every time I think I've finally gotten a clue - God surprises me. Every time I get down, and can't see how there will possibly be any "light on the horizon" - God surprises me.

So, I can understand Peter's astonishment, and his blundering attempt to do Jesus honor, when faced with the unexpected glory of the Transfiguration. God hits me that way too, sometimes. Usually it's only later on that I get some glimmer of understanding of what was really going on. I guess that's why Jesus told them not to talk about it right away. Right then, they were still pretty clueless - after the Crucifixion, and after Pentecost - their eyes were opened.

We are taught to walk by faith, not by sight. The world can't show us what we need to attain salvation. "We must hasten to this gateway", Anastasius writes. If all we can see are the "doors" of the world - the chances and opportunities of the world - then we are truly lost. We are wandering the mountainside, headed for a cliff. We need to keep our eyes on the Lord, not on the ground, and then we will be lifted up on high, we will be shown the gateway - probably when we least expect it.
Written at 5:00 AM by Luminaria2112.
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