The Transfiguration
When Peter saw the transfigured Jesus revealed in his glory on the mountain that day his mind races with the possibilities. “I always knew Jesus was special but now I can see him for the rock star he is. His career is going to take off. And I want to be with him when it happens.”
So, he says, “Hey Jesus, why not build a church right here on this mountain Say a crystal cathedral. That’ll put us on the map. Peter hadn’t seen the movie but for him it’s like Field of Dreams all over again, bult it and they will come.
But Jesus brings Peter back to reality. “Sorry Peter, it’s not going to be that easy. If you and your disciple buddies are going to stick with me, it’s going to be a different path to glory.” And with that Peter and the other two others with him head down the mountain following gthe one who would teach them everything they need to know if they’re going to stay on the journey with Jesus.
The disciples saw the transfigured Christ on the mountain. Now down below they would learn to look for the hidden Christ they hadn’t notice before. They’d find him in the little people of the world, the beggar on the street, the shunned leper, and in everyone else they would encounter, saints, and sinners alike.
The presence of the divine dwells in everyone. In the Mother Theresas of the world we can’t miss it. Christ’s light shines brightly in them. But in others it’s more subtle. The light is there. We just need to look a little harder to see it.
Like the half stoned guy Fr. Greg Boyle talks about who wanders in off the street into a halfway house for recovering drug addicts and former gang members. The guy is clearly agitated and starts yelling. It looks like trouble. But just then one of the staff calmly walks over to the guy. He’s the size of an NFL linebacker.
With an arm on the guy’s shoulder he walks him outside. “Hey man, how about you and I go out for some tacos.” The guy whirls around. He’s got a handgun. “How about if I blow your head off!” He uses an expletive to make his point?” The staffer is unfazed. “Did you say you want two tacos or three?” The guy just stares at the staffer.
The two walk to the Taco shop just down the street. “Three tacos for my friend and the same for me.”. Their order comes. The guy takes a bite out of the taco and then throws it on the floor in disgust.
Again, the staffer is unfazed. “What’s a matter? Not enough hot sauce?” The guy stares at the staffer. He knows he can’t get to him. In frustration he devours the two remaining tacos.
It would seem that in the world out there, there are some people who are just plain mean and nasty. Orr is it that there are wounded people like the guy who wanders into the half way housewho do mean and nasty things?
Like the staffer in those tense situations we all find ourselves in it’s easy to react out of fear or lash out in anger. Or, maybe it’s just labeling people as one of “them”. What if like the staffer at the halfway house we were to first take a deep breath before we say or do anything? It takes both courage and compassion to respond that way. But if we work at it we can get there.
So, there’s the transfigured Jesus on the mountain revealed in his glory. And then there’s the well disguised Jesus hidden in the ordinary of everyday life. Learn to look for the well disguised Jesus hidden in the ordinary of everyday life and you’ll start seeing Jesus in the most unlikely of people and places.
As we learn to do this gradually there’s a change in us. It’s not from the outside, it’s from the inside. That’s when we start seeing in people what we hadn’t noticed before but was there all along, the hidden Christ in all of us.
