a lawless blog

In a way there is far too much to reflect on in the three readings put together to begin this second week of the 40 Days. I would suggest the commentary by John Kavanagh in the St Louis University Centre for Liturgy at http://liturgy.slu.edu/2LentB030412/theword_encountered.html  could dispel some of the uneasiness we feel about Abraham's sacrifice.

Enough for me to say that the story as used in the bible is not about child sacrifice, but about about faith and trust - whether it is conceivable to Abraham or to us that 'god' might be entirely trustworthy. Can I really believe that? Paul hinges everything on it.

My preferred focus is on the experience those three disciples had with Jesus on the mountain (traditionally identified as Thabor south-west of the Sea of Galilee and not that far from Nazareth). Mark says 'Jesus led them up a high mountain to be apart by themselves.' In a certain mood I find I simply want to go along with the story by following those three, with Jesus out in the lead and, I imagine, setting a good pace up the steep climb. The 'mountains' around Galilee are nothing like the picture we have of climbers in the Alps or Himalayas scaling vertical walls of rock. These are rounded shapes that one might rather call very large hills. But only as you climb do you realise just how high a 'mountain' can be. Jesus is in the lead.

And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.

This is very economic story-telling. No mention of reaching the top, or enjoying the view, or even sitting down to rest or being quiet for prayer. In Mark's story it just happens: Jesus is 'transfigured' before them. This makes me think that the episode is meant to be seen as a commentary on the journey they are on in following Jesus. The mountain becomes a symbol: following him, the going gets harder, but even as they follow with their eyes on Jesus up ahead, he is 'transfigured'. They come to see something more in him.

His clothes, the things we wear to drape the body and keep it warm - these most human accessories, became dazzling white. You would think for one who is so economic in his use of words that Mark would have settled for that, but he adds: 'such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.' Note that this is a negative statement which says that the dazzling white was different from anything they had ever seen. The hint is that it was of 'unearthly' origin.

I find myself wondering whether Mark is very properly following correct procedure in describing an unusual experience? These are the things the disciples told of their experience. It's all you can 'put into words'. But the insight they gained was of another order. The elements Mark includes in his narrative and the way he presents these are pointers that we have to follow if we want to perceive the real content.

Elijah is representative of the prophets, people known for their radicalism, for their spirituality, their enthusiasm and their mysticism (the prophets were called seers). Moses, the legislator, represents law and order. And they were 'talking with Jesus'. What does this mean? How do you hold a conversation with someone whose clothes are dazzling your eyes? Perhaps the experience might have been like in a dream when you see what's happening even while your common sense tells you it can't be real. The disciples perceived that Jesus was on a par with the prophets and the law-giver, and in fact above them. Such a realisation would have been of enormous significance to Peter, James and John at that point of their journey with Jesus.

The cloud is awesome - literally. It would be useful to read chapter 24 of the book of Exodus to get some idea of the significance of the cloud http://www.usccb.org/bible/exodus/24. The cloud filled the temple at its consecration too, so that not even the priests could enter the sanctuary http://www.usccb.org/bible/1kgs/8:10 .

Take it literally if you will; the end result is the same. For the disciples, the penny drops. They come to the amazing realisation that this man they were following, who had shown authority already by the way he spoke and the power that was in him, had something of the divine about him. Something unearthly shone through his very 'human' being. The greatest symbols of their culture - the law, the prophets and the temple [ref. the cloud] - acknowledged him as god's 'beloved son'; they authenticated him as the teacher.

We are familiar with the other elements: Peter wanting to set up tents - not wanting the experience to end, as is all too common whenever we have one of those moments of insight. But it does end suddenly, and Mark has Jesus insisting that they keep it to themselves until 'the son of man had risen from the dead'. Commentators will tell us that this is another example of Mark directing attention away from the 'wonder-worker' in order to make us look at the whole experience of life with Jesus through the lens of his ending, his Passover and his rising from the dead. The 'beloved son' is not going to transfigure the world with some flash of light (nor through the power of some mighty institution his followers would set up), but by joining with the common folk as we give witness to the truth, faithful - trusting and trustworthy - as life unfolds before us, in the joy and the pain, in the triumphs and the tragedies that go to make up 'life' for everyone.

It's as simple as that. The experience on Mt Thabor always introduces the second week of our 40 Days to the Passover, suggesting enlightenment that will come as we follow the one who hastens ever upward.