It is one of the few events of Jesus’ life that I have never seen depicted on the big (or small) screen. It is an incident that juxtaposes His humanity and divinity, bends all of the known rules of the universe and offers concrete evidence that He is the Word made flesh. It is also the one mystery that perplexes me more than I care to admit. It is the transfiguration.
Whenever I think about the things that Jesus said and did during His time on Earth, I tend to put them in to two categories. There are the ones that defy all scientific explanation and point to the fact that He was God incarnate and then there are those that I assume are more symbolic or allegorical in nature, even if they look pretty miraculous on the surface.
But the Transfiguration is different and as I was contemplating this week’s reflection, I couldn’t help wondering aloud what it was about this one event that bothered me so much. Why do director’s shy away from it? They will make a crucifixion as bloody as humanly possible and blow their entire special effects budget to roll a stone away from a tomb…but they don’t touch the Transfiguration.
“What’s up with that?” I commented to my youngest son.
In his typical, no nonsense, and slightly offbeat way, he gave me an answer that, if I am being honest, just might be a little too close for comfort. “I don’t know but when you stop to think about it, Mom…some people just aren’t that comfortable with ghost stories.”
Is that what the Transfiguration is, a ghost story? A mass hallucination? A bizarre dream that was confused for reality? I don’t think so, but I also don’t know what to think. I have so many questions about this event I can’t hope to list them all here, but some of my favorites include: Why were only a few people invited to go on this field trip up the mountain? What did Peter, John and James think when Jesus started his group chat with Moses and Elijah? How did they know it was Moses and Elijah in the first place? Were they wearing nametags? I don’t think the Bible offers a physical description of either man so how did they know what these gentlemen looked like? How was Peter able to talk to Jesus in his “Force Ghost” form? (That’s my analogy for it, but feel free to use your own.) Why was Peter’s first instinct to embark on a construction project to commemorate the event instead of saying, “How are you doing that?” And why would Jesus give anyone concrete proof that he was the Son of God and then forbid them from telling anyone about it – especially if that was a major point of His ministry? Seriously, am I the only person who has sat around thinking about this?
As much as I would really like for there to be some kind of M. Night Shyamalan twist to this tale that will suddenly give me a “sixth sense” into it, I guess there isn’t one. It is a mystery in which the walls between the worlds were erased and three men experienced 2/3 of the Holy Trinity with their human senses. They saw Jesus for what He was and what He always has been and they learned how he is distinct from the “dead people” beside Him who were called to greatness. He exists in greatness because he is God’s son. One and the same. Separate AND Equal. It’s some pretty heavy stuff and maybe it just wouldn’t translate well if they tried to explain it at the time. Maybe it still doesn’t and that’s why directors avoid it. I don’t know the answer to that one either. What I do know is that despite having been given this incredible insight, one that was not magic, a freak of nature or some kind of special effect…the apostles’ faith wasn’t perfect. Mine isn’t either. I will always question the things I cannot understand. I will always look for the loopholes and sometimes even when the truth is staring right at me…I won’t know what to think and maybe that will keep me from tackling the subject until I have a better grasp on the material.
Today’s readings for Mass: HEB 11:1-7; PS 145:2-3, 4-5, 10-11; MK 9:2-13
