Thursday, February 11, 2010

Today’s text

Luke 9:28-32

Now about eight days after this had been said, he took with him Peter, John and James and went up the mountain to pray. And it happened that, as he was praying, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became sparkling white. And suddenly there were two men talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they woke up and saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

Reflection

They woke up… and saw. How many times do we experience this, Jesus?

They woke and saw your glory, a glory of oneness with the Mystery to whom you prayed and called, “Father,” in utter love and trust. They saw the glory of a life transparent to utter mystery and love, to the Infinite Source of their being and all that is.

They saw, awaking to a truth they had begun to grasp in the valleys and plains, but here on the mountain, in an instant, all was clear, so, too, was the answer to the question of every human heart: To whom shall I listen? Who will tell me truth? Who can I trust in all things and places?

This one. You, Jesus.

This certainty, this clarity would not last for them. On the mountain, things are clear. In the muddy day-to-day, the mind forgets, and hearts fail to cling to the truth of unveiled moments. Fear uproots our certainties, as joy and confidence fade.

Always, we must return from the mountain to valleys and plains where hard work awaits, where disappointments occur, where people are difficult and the things we most fear come true.

We return to the daily and mundane, where average joys and common frustrations tempt us to think that this is all there is; this is reality; this is good as it gets.

But the mountain top tells us we are made for something more, for the truth of the love that shines through you, Jesus. We are made to known, to bask in it, to live it.

We are made for constant remembrance of the glory we see in you, wherever and how ever we see that glory. For it is this and these moments that tell us the truth of our lives, a truth that must be reclaimed many, many times.

Until face-to-face, we dwell fully in the glory you are.

Pr. David L. Miller