So, what exactly happened on the mountain? The blinding Light, the dazzling white clothes, the overwhelming fear, a voice saying this is my Beloved – listen to him. Whatever else might be said, the disciples came face to face with the profound mystery of God in Jesus, the Christ.
Jesus is always more than meets the eye. In the Transfiguration, something more is let out of the Divine bag. Jesus offered them a glimpse of divine intimacy that terrified the disciples. It must have been a spectacular sight, though, seeing Jesus radiating like the sun in divine spender while the disciples sat back in a sacred gaze to contemplate the divine presence in front of their faces. It even caused Peter to start babbling about building housing for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.
Cistercian Monk Thomas Merton had an extraordinary moment of transfiguration. Writing in his diary, he said,
“In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness…As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.”
We, too, have mountain-top moments of transfiguration in our lives. There are times when looking into the face of somebody who loves us so profoundly that words fail, and their face takes on more than meets the eye. There, too, are transfiguration moments in all creation: eagles swooping, roses in full bloom, spectacular sunsets, and the night’s sky glistening with stars beyond number. Intimate and powerful moments that are difficult to comprehend. They can only be received, believed, lived, and gazed upon. Moments that take our breath away. But it’s not easy to recognize the divine presence on Fourth and Walnut in Louisville or Fourth and Brown in north Milwaukee.
The story of the Transfiguration can be overwhelming and astounding in so many ways, but it might be easy for us to miss that it’s about the holiness that is right in front of us. It seems that Jesus is trying to get the boys to look in the mirror and see what they have failed to see and thus not understood. Despite all the healings, the miracles, the teachings, and even the voice of God calling Jesus his Beloved, they still are missing the divine right in front of their face: The Holy in the Ordinary.
Wouldn’t you think that if you or I witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration the way the disciples did, it would be a life-changing event that would forever transform our vision and understanding of Jesus’ presence in and around us? Maybe not. Not long after this, Peter would deny he knew Jesus, and the rest of the disciples would run away in fear. Perhaps Jesus instructed them not to say anything to anyone because he knew they did not get it; they did not get him. They did not understand that this extraordinary experience of the divine is the same holiness found in the ordinary. They couldn’t see their reflection in the divinity of Christ. The Transfiguration didn’t fix that for them.
In creating us as human beings, God has given us our five senses as unique and beautiful gifts. However, often, we think that reality is nothing more than what our senses perceive it to be. Thankfully, God gives us occasional mountaintop experiences, glimpses into realities our senses can’t usually detect. When we take the time to recognize God’s presence in everyone and everything around us, we really can encounter God, who can transform our lives.
St. Clare of Assisi tells us that seeing ourselves without a mirror is impossible. But if we look at ourselves through the mirror of Christ, we begin to see a radically different self than the one we thought we were. Witnessing our transfiguration and hearing ourselves called Beloved is a powerful and life-changing experience.
Visitor Reflections