Second Sunday of Lent
I had the craziest dream the other night. A friend and I decided to go for a hike after feeling a little fried from zoom meeting after zoom meeting. It was time for a change of scenery. So, she suggested that we drive up to a historical site that’s local to our part of New Jersey – Washington Rock. We don’t have “real” mountains in New Jersey like they do in Colorado, but this is still a pretty cool spot. After driving up a winding road higher and higher, you get to this clearing with a surprising panoramic view of a heavily wooded part of New Jersey, reaching all the way out to New York City. This is the historical outlook where George Washington observed troops led by General William Howe in 1777 (which I just looked up on Wikipedia). It’s beautiful and quiet – an incredible place to go to clear your head, forget everything that stresses you and just be alone in nature.
Pretty normal dream so far. Then I walked up to the edge and saw none other than actual George Washington himself, foot up on the stone wall, lunging over the edge to get a better view and shielding his eyes from the sun. Oh, and sitting next to him scrawling on some parchment with a feather quill was William Shakespeare.
“Away, you scullion! Thou art blocking the sunlight from my quill!” shouted Shakespeare, clawing a handful of rocks and tossing them at Washington, who easily swatted them away with his leather glove. They seemed to be used to each other.
“Yo, Washington! Willy Shakes!” cried my friend, greeting them like old friends. She and the first president grabbed hands and clapped shoulders, then she fist bumped Shakespeare. This did not seem to be the first time my friend had met these historical figures. “Uhh, hi!” I said, clearly terrified, wondering if I even knew who my friend really was. “You guys in town for long? N-need a place to stay?” The words even sounded dumb as I said them out loud. Then Washington and Shakespeare disappeared.
As we drove back down the hill to get some coffee, which oddly enough remained full and at the perfect temperature even after constant sipping – this was my kind of dream – I was rather speechless about what happened up there, and I couldn’t quite find the words to ask my friend what that was all about.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Peter, James, and John have a similar experience, only theirs wasn’t a dream – it really happened! Jesus takes them on a little hike, and when they get to the top of the mountain, Jesus’ clothes become dazzling white, and Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets, appear and have a conversation with Jesus. Talk about your Old Testament all-stars! The three Apostles don’t quite know what to do next, but Peter has a general sense that this is so important, they should stay there as long as possible. But they have to go down the mountain eventually, and Jesus tells Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone about the experience yet. Can you imagine later that night, the Apostles playing cards by campfire light, and the other guys start asking them about their day? “Oh, it was fine…er…um…nothing special. I’ll tell you about it some other time. Hey, Philip, hurry up and deal the cards.”
There are all sorts of things we can reflect on with this passage and how it connects to our lives. Maybe we’ve had a mountaintop experience with Jesus on a retreat, at Mass, or a time of prayer, that we feel like our friends or family just wouldn’t understand, and we’re still working on how to best talk to them about this new aspect of our life of faith. Maybe we’re still reflecting on it and processing it for ourselves. Maybe we feel like we haven’t had an experience like that yet, but others have, and we have to trust in their witness and have some faith for now. This Sunday when you hear this Gospel, put yourself in Peter, James, and Johns’ shoes…I mean sandals…and think about how the Transfiguration story reflects something about your life of faith right now. You might be surprised!