Heaven
2nd Sunday of Lent (B)
I was recently reminiscing with parishioners about roller coasters, which I thoroughly enjoyed when I was younger. The taller and faster, the better. Mind you, I have a great fear of heights, so a roller coast ride was always a combination of terror and exhilaration, particularly at the moment of suspension when the cars are at the top of the hill, about to take their plunge.
The Transfiguration reminded me of that conversation. On the top of the mountain, far removed from earth, the disciples had an intense experience of the divine glory shining through the face and skin and clothing of Jesus. If they could, they would have remained there forever: “it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents” (Mk 9:5). On the other hand, “they were terrified” (Mk 9:6).
Sometimes people wonder what heaven is like, and whether or not it will be “boring,” since it’s not clear what we will do for all eternity in the clouds. The Transfiguration gives a glimpse into the experience. At once exhilarating and terrifying, the creature will be overwhelmed and filled with the glory of the Creator. The terror comes from the fact that everything creaturely is overwhelmed, the “ground is removed” from beneath one’s feet, and man becomes nothing before God. Yet the experience is not in fact one of annihilation but fulfillment, beyond what can be imagined. “It is good.” The desire will be to remain fully in that moment forever.
For the disciples, this is not yet heaven, though it is the foretaste. For the disciples, this is the beginning of their “roller coaster ride” that will take them to the ends of the earth before finally bringing them home. From the heights of Tabor they will plunge into the depths of hell. Forty days after seeing the Lord radiant in glory, they will see him transfigured by agony and sweating blood. And from the darkest depths of the crucifixion and death, they will shoot up with him in the Resurrection. From there it will be many twists and turns, hills and valleys, driven by the inexorable energy of the Holy Spirit unleashed at Pentecost, a ride at once exhausting and exhilarating.
This is the Christian life, and it begins for each of us with an experience of the Lord on Mt. Tabor, a moment in which we recognize Jesus as the divine Son of God, prefigured in the ancient Law (of Moses) and fulfilling the oracles of the Prophets (Elijah). It is a life of faith, handing over one’s life to God, such that He, and not the earth, becomes the ground of our being. It is a pathway that includes both the mountain of God’s presence and the valley of the shadow of death. It is a life we do not control, yet it is fully planned and foreseen by the design of God. We are fully engaged on the human level through our free will and cooperation, yet we are moved by a grace and power above us. Above all, it is a life in which the natural terror is absorbed and overcome by the light and overshadowing cloud. Faith conquers fear.
During this Lent let us remember our great journey from the curse of death to the new life of Christ’s Resurrection, and be renewed in faith to move forward without fear, eager for what lies ahead.