Attentive as to a Lamp in a Dark Place

The Transfiguration of the Lord

6 August 2019

“…the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, … we had been eyewitnesses of His grandeur.”

Our Epistle today taken from 2 Peter explains very clearly how we share in the Mystery of the Transfiguration. In our case, different from Peter, James and John, we share in the great revelation not by vision but by words. As it was for the chosen three on Mount Tabor, so are we destined to be consoled and strengthened by the Word of God. God has also communicated to us not from a bright cloud, but even so unerringly through the Apostles and their successors in the Church right up until our day, such that we might live in steadfast hope of the coming of His Day.

“This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased. And this voice we ourselves heard borne from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mount. And we have the word of prophecy, surer still, to which you do well to attend, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”

As to a lamp shining in a dark place… I suppose what distinguishes us in our Transfiguration experience from Peter, James and John is that we are not caught totally off guard or sleeping as they were. We have the benefit of their testimony; we can hold on to the word that they proclaimed. Holding on tight: that is our job; that is our destiny. We stand on their shoulders; their word is ours within the community of the Church. Attending to that word of prophecy, as Peter exhorts, is a different experience than was theirs, perhaps solely because ours is well, yes and no, without surprises.

“This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear Him.” The Father’s command, hear Him, is not so much a moral precept as it is a call to enter into relationship with the beloved Son. It is as simple or challenging as cultivating a life of prayer appropriate to our station in life. James Keating, in a small book he wrote recently for priests and deacons sums it up so: “The great struggle of the spiritual life is to find ways to stay in love with God.” (REMAIN IN ME Holy Orders, Prayer, and Ministry, James Keating, Paulist Press New York / Mahwah, NJ, Kindle Edition 2019.)

You might say, we believe that the primary challenge or goal of the Christian life is to stay focused …As to a lamp shining in a dark place… Living a moral life, being upright, of course, goes without saying. But if we live in justice, we are still not halfway to our goal. We need to seek His Face, the Lord’s Face. In the little Keating book just quoted, the author would have us all contemplatives. Lest anyone be frightened off by such a big word, I would say rather that our vocation is to vigilance, to attentiveness, to keeping our gaze fixed on that lamp, on that word of prophecy, on Christ the beloved.

In the Sacred Heart Chapel of the Cathedral in my home town, there is a very large tableau painting with Christ enthroned in glory at the very center, His Sacred Heart is visible as are the wounds of His Passion. Besides a fair number of angels in the upper part of the canvas to either side of the Lord, there are all manner of saints and a number of allegories portrayed on the canvas as well. What strikes me about the angels is that the artist intentionally depicted them all as either young boys or young men. Their devotion and attentiveness to the Lord Jesus has almost a bold, military air about it. My reflection on the tableau’s angels would be that their attentiveness to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is transforming. In a sense, they are young men who have gotten their wings; they have been transfigured, because of their attentiveness to the Lord, the God of our salvation, the beloved Son of the Father.

Attentiveness is a challenge, at least as far as it involves a constant disposition of the will: “The great struggle of the spiritual life is to find ways to stay in love with God.”

I can remember that my mother could almost sleep standing up. I have that from her. I think I slept through my whole formal education. If you are like me, then staying awake in prayer is where your struggle lies, if not physically awake, then at least in terms of focus. In terms of our relationship with the Lord, as Jesus admonished Peter, James and John for sleeping in the Garden and as the scene on Mount Tabor jolted them out of their sleep, both times as the Lord Himself prayed, we are called to be ever vigilant, watchful in prayer, as was Jesus Himself. As to a lamp shining in a dark place… We need to hear the words of St. Peter and be attentive. Benefitting from the witness of the Church the surprise element does not regularly figure in for us as it did for the three of them on the Mount of Transfiguration. Returning to my thought about the angels in the painting, we will earn our wings, if you will, through our vigilance. The Lord has no need of our tent building efforts, but rather of our attentiveness to Him: “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear Him.”

The Mother of God could well be said to be noted for her attentiveness. Through Christ‘s infancy, childhood and youth, she cherished it all in her heart. Attentive as she was, she called her Son‘s attention to the wine shortage at Cana and instructed the waiters to do as He said: “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear Him.”

The mystery of the Transfiguration is great indeed, but the challenge for you and for me is to watch and pray. As to a lamp shining in a dark place…