In the modern world, it is easy to 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. However, for most of human history, books were rare. In Ancient Israel, the scribes, those who were literate and who copied and interpreted Sacred Scripture, held a special role in society. Johannes Guttenberg changed the world in the year 1440 with the invention of the printing press. Things changed dramatically when books could be massed produced for the public. Today, with the internet, the ipad, and with e-books like Kindle, 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. They contained 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. 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 with the invention of the printing press. 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 imagine the work, imagination, and courage that it took to produce this Bible at St John’s Abbey.
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 Peter, James, and John is a pinnacle event in his earthly life and ministry, as Jesus’ divinity is revealed in a special way to these three disciples by means of a miraculous, supernatural light, by means of illumination. It took this blinding light for Peter, James, and John to see and understand Jesus true identity. All of us probably need some sort of illumination in some aspect of our lives in order for us to perceive how God is truly present to us.
Trappist monk Thomas Merton tells a story in his book Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander of how his life was illuminated one day while walking through downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Looking out at the crowds in the downtown area, 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 up 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. 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, in knowing that he was united with, not separate from, the humanity of his brothers and sisters.
Jesus’ Transfiguration reminds us that the light 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 is the light that shines from Jesus in his resurrection at Easter time at the culmination of our Lenten journey: this is the light of Jesus' triumph over darkness. 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. The Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and works of charity can also help us on the road to that illumination.
As we contemplate the Transfiguration, we must not forget that Jesus and the three disciples did not remain on the mountain forever. They came down from the mountain and brought the illumination of that event 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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