Seeing in the Dark

When I was a kid, I used to be afraid of the dark.  It is natural to be afraid of the dark because we cannot see well in it.  During the day the same things are there as are there at night, but we are no longer afraid simply because we can see those things.  This Sunday’s readings all discuss light and darkness and the effects they have on us.   Peter, James, and John are not afraid when they can see and very afraid when they cannot.  When they see, they are spurred to action.  When they can’t, they cower and hide.

Did the transfiguration just go away when they couldn’t see it?  Or is Jesus still clothed in white and Moses and Elijah still there with the Father conversing with Jesus?  Did Daniel’s vision just go away after he saw it, or was it a glimpse of what is always there even when the lights are off? 

Saint Paul tells us to pray unceasingly.  Praying is conversing with God and Jesus was constantly conversing with God in many ways.  Just because it isn’t apparent doesn’t mean it isn’t still happening.  Peter, James, and John get a glimpse of heaven and Truth in that moment with Jesus, but that doesn’t mean those things disappeared because they were no longer visible.  In Peter’s letter written long after the original moment of the Transfiguration, he comes to terms with what he experienced and what it means for himself as a Christian: “You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” 

So as an experiment this week when you go to bed for the evening, turn the lights on and then off in your room and remember today’s readings and realize that even when you cannot see the good and what is real, it is still there waiting for you when you can and are ready to see it.  It hasn’t gone anywhere.  It just depends on if you are ready and long for the spirit to shine a lamp in your heart so you can see.

–Suzanne Kaufmann

Send Us Forth are reflections written by St. Matthew parishioners and friends.