We in the modern world take books for granted. I have so many books on my shelves that I have no idea how many I have, but
they certainly number in the hundreds. But, you know, for most of human history, books were a special, rare commodity. In fact, in Ancient Israel, the scribes, those who were literate and who copied
and interpreted Sacred Scripture, held a very special role in society. Johannes Guttenberg changed all of that in 1440 with the invention of the
printing press. Things changed
dramatically, with books being massed produced for the public. Today, with the internet, the ipad, and with e-readers like the Kindle or the
Nook, things are changing once again. The Bibles that were produced by the monks and the scribes before the invention
of the printing press were very fancy indeed. In fact, they contained very elaborate illustrations and what was called
illuminated letters. A simple letter
takes on a whole new life by the way it is illustrated and illuminated. The opening letter of a Scripture passage was
embellished into a very fancy image such as this. Back before the turn of the millennium in the year 2000, St John’s Benedictine
Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota commissioned a hand-produced illuminated
Bible, the first one to be commissioned by an abbey or monastery since the 15th
century and the invention of the printing press. You can see examples of this beautiful Bible on the internet if you look it up. It took about 13 years and a cost of over $8 million dollars to hand-produce
this one Bible. The calligrapher of the
Queen of England was one of the main collaborators of this project. I cannot even imagine all of the work and
imagination and courage that it took to produce this Bible.
I bring up the Illuminated St John’s Bible because illumination is at the heart
of today’s Gospel on this Second Sunday of Lent. Jesus’ assent on Mount Tabor with his close disciples Peter, James, and John
becomes a pinnacle event in Jesus' earthly life and ministry, as his divinity
is revealed to these three close disciples by means of a miraculous,
supernatural light, by means of an illumination. Jesus’ appearance is changed by this brilliant, white light. It took this blinding light for Peter, James, and John to see and understand who
Jesus really was. All of us probably need some sort of illumination in some aspect in our own
lives in order for us to perceive how God is truly present in our lives. The Trappist monk Thomas Merton tells a story in his book Conjectures of a
Guilty Bystander of how his life was illuminated while walking through
downtown Louisville, Kentucky one day. Looking out at the crowds in this central shopping district, Merton was
overwhelmed by his love for the people around him, even though they were strangers
to him. Merton said it was like he was waking from a dream of separateness and
self-isolation in world, of renunciation and false holiness. Merton felt an immense sense of joy of being a member of the human race, of
sharing his humanity with the humanity of our savior, Jesus Christ. Merton had been a monk for 17 years when he had this illumination, this
revelation. It made him realize that
even though he was a monk, he was still a part of the world, and holiness was
not a separate quality that he could just experience in his life in the
monastery. He experienced holiness on that busy street corner in Louisville knowing that
he was united with, not separate from, the humanity of his brothers and
sisters.
Even though we are journeying with Jesus in the desert wilderness during these
40 days of Lent, the Gospel reading of the Transfiguration of Jesus today is a
reminder of the light that is always with us in the presence of Jesus in the
world, as Jesus is indeed the full manifestation of God’s light. The light that shines from Jesus at the transfiguration – the light that shines
from Jesus in his resurrection at Easter time at the culmination of our Lenten
journey – that is the light of his triumph over darkness. In our day, on our journey through the 40 days of Lent, we are to emerge out of
the darkness. We are to truly be
children of the light. The Transfiguration is the perfect model for us of how Christ can illuminate us
in our commitment to be his disciples.
And the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and works of charity are
what can help us on the road to that illumination.
Yet, as we contemplate the Transfiguration, we must not forget that Jesus and
his three beloved disciples did not remain on the mountaintop forever. They came down and brought the illumination
of the Transfiguration to the people down below. We also must bring the illumination we receive as disciples of Christ to the
world around us. We must bring the
insights and growth that we receive on our Lenten journey to our daily lives and
to the rest of the year. As we continue our Lenten journey on this Second Sunday of Lent, let us feel
the light of the Transfiguration encouraging us and giving us strength.
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