In Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer-prize winning novel Gilead, an elderly Iowa preacher
shares his life experiences in a letter to his young son. His greatest lesson is one
of the importance of being open to God’s presence, and the ways in which that
presence can transfigure the world. The preacher writes:
It has seemed to me
sometimes as though the Lord breathes on this poor gray ember of Creation and
it turns to radiance – for a moment or a year or the span of a life. And then it sinks back into itself again, and
to look at it no one would know it had anything to do with fire, or light.
[…] But the Lord is more constant and
far more extravagant than it seems to imply.
Wherever you turn your eyes the world can shine like transfiguration. You don’t have to bring a thing to it except
a little willingness to see. Only, who
could have the courage to see it?
When you walk outdoors and turn your
eyes to the dome of the sky, do you ever notice the beauty of birds in flight through it, the
sunlight on your face? Do you find God present in that moment? Such simple things can offer glimpses of God’s glory, less shocking,
maybe, than the dazzlement of the Transfiguration, but still, glorious (and extravagant!) in
their simplicity. Or, you might find Christ’s light in the eyes of someone you love, or even in the shock
of eyes meeting yours in the street. That moment of connection can be a sign of God’s presence through the
Spirit, the flame that we acknowledge at Pentecost, the brilliance of a moment of Transfiguration, made real, concrete, in the
eyes of another...
The truth is, we never really know when God will choose to
reveal a glimpse of God’s divine glory…
But if we open our eyes, we might see it – if we dare, if we have the
courage, if we are attentive to the
many manifestations of God’s presence in
our daily life.
Happy Feast of the Transfiguration!
Photo source: Carl Heinrich Bloch, The Transfiguration of Christ
Quote source
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