The Gospel of the Day – 2016.02.21 (Sunday)
The Transfiguration of Christ
Jesus
took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray. As he
prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as
lightning. Suddenly there were two men there 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 kept awake and saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As
these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to
be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for
Elijah.’ – He did not know what he was saying. As he spoke, a cloud came and
covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were
afraid. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen
One. Listen to him.’ And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The
disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen. (NJB)
Myth and Reason
Theology; the words we use to speak about
God. These words are only good and useful, if they are grounded and rational.
Mythology; the words we use to contextualize
our experience, when we wish to speak in metaphors, and analogies, so that we
may link our experiences to the world beyond ourselves.
These two modes of narrative are not necessarily
at odds with each other, but they can be. Myth can be grounded and rational,
when the motif of the metaphor, or the allegory are understood and properly balanced,
when you engage this narrative with your eyes wide open. By the same token
theology can be irrational, when the assumptions we make about the nature of
reality, the nature of humanity, the nature of the divine, and the divine
economy are not rooted in truth. Or worse, if they are rooted in fear, hate and
greed.
The mythology behind the transfiguration
is easily, and often misinterpreted. It is likely, that this is so because the
root of the narrative in itself has its origins in a fundamental misunderstanding
of who Jesus was.
It may be the case that those who first
gave voice to the narrative, and those who first penned it, only intended the
message to be that Jesus stood in the same tradition as Moses; the lawgiver,
and Elijah; the prophet.
The motif of the cloud descending on Jesus
may have only been meant to suggest that Jesus’ authority, his understanding of
the divine will, came from a place of mystery.
The voice from the cloud naming Jesus as “son,”
may have only been meant to convey the message that Jesus is the “heir” to the
Abrahamic tradition, and not merely a “teacher” in that tradition.
This is the grounded and rational
interpretation of this myth.
However, as happens most often, the
interpreters of this myth point to the more sensational images in the narrative;
the bright lights, and the shining garments, the presence of Moses, and Elijah (as
if they were actually there), their journey into the cloud with Jesus (as if they
went there bodily), the voice from that cloud naming Jesus as God’s son, as an
actual declaration of paternity.
This fantasy-based in interpretation has
led to great confusion through the centuries. Incredible conflict has ensued
based on these fantastic beliefs; conflict and bloody warfare among Christians,
and with non-Christians. All because they felt the need to take sides on the
question of who Jesus was, and defend
their side with violence.
It is a tragedy.
Jesus was a human being, like any other. Like
all creatures he carried a seed of the divine within him, and where the divine
is, the divine is present fully. The fullness of God dwelt within Jesus, just
as the fullness of God dwells within each of us. We are connected and in
relationship to God, and Jesus, just as we are connected and in relationship to
every creature who ever was, is, or yet will be.
What differentiated Jesus from his followers was his
understanding of these truths and his ability to apply that understanding in a
way that points the way for us; to live in a moral and just society to, for our
own understanding of that truth to flow from it.
2nd Sunday of Lent
