Sometimes we are so
bogged down with the distractions and preoccupations of daily life that we miss
the everyday transfigurations that are waiting for us. They are not dramatic
and we do not have to climb a mountain to experience them. We encounter them in
the quiet moments of prayer. When reading or listening to the Scriptures something
jumps out at us and commands our attention. When we are captivated by the
beauty in creation, awestruck by a sunset, moved to tears by a passionate piece of
music or the radiant smile of a friend, Christ is in all of these experiences
and many more that we take for granted.
We all have our mountaintop experiences,
even if they are brief and fleeting and we should cherish them. Being on the
mountain is a wonderful experience, but Jesus himself did not remain there. He
came down to be with the people in their pains and sorrows, in their fears and
anxieties, in their neediness and their sins. When we come back down the
mountain we also return to the ordinariness of daily life. All the same problems,
challenges and disappointments are there but in some way changed. We begin to
recognize, little by little, the things that are really important in life. We are
freer to experience God’s presence in our daily life. The full meaning of a
mountain top experience often does not become clear until we return to the
ordinary.
Photograph by Brother Brian. Meditation excerpted from Father Emmanuel's homily for the Second Sunday of Lent.