I woke in the dark and stumbled into the bathroom. I hit the light switch and was blinded by my sudden emergence from the dark. What irony that a light to help in the darkness can also blind one from seeing anything at all! It is like driving in a car at night! Headlights so necessary to see can blind us when coming from another car. Light overpowers the darkness, but darkness can blind us like light.
One day disciples saw Jesus light up the sky. His glory was so intense they were blinded by that light. As a result, they were incapable at first of seeing and understanding what was right in front of them. They expected one thing but were so used to shadows this light was more than they could handle. It was no different from what had been happening ever since their call as disciples.
Like everyone else, they hoped Jesus would be an earthly Messiah who would bring all the goodies they hoped for. They were ready for border security, the defeat of Rome, prosperity, and an easy life. They were so excited by the spotlight on the mountain they wanted to keep that vision bright and keep Jesus on that mountain forever. They didn’t understand yet the concept that the true glory of Jesus would come only through sacrifice, surrender and death!
What is so different now? Don’t we assume faith should assure glory NOW? Wouldn’t we prefer to live on mountaintops (close to the warmth of the sun) rather than in the cold and dark shadows of the valley? Aren’t we confused when another war begins, or illness dims our faith? For some reason we think faith should bring heaven to earth, and we should just bask in its glow.
But it was for dark places of our lives, rather than moments of glory, that Jesus came in love. And even though that glorious vision quickly faded, it revealed who would light up the dark shadows of our valleys. While the disciples wanted that bright light to last, Jesus reminded them his true purpose would only be found in the darkness of a crucifixion and the black hole of death we call a tomb.
During Epiphany we have basked in the glow of angels and a star over Bethlehem. Even in the darkness of winter, we have celebrated the coming of the light. But this powerful vision of Jesus’ glory as God was temporary, and then the light faded, shadows return, and we follow Jesus on his passionate walk into the valley of death.
Now we move into Lent, following the footsteps of Jesus. Remember Psalm 23? “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil for you are with me!” That begins our annual trek into the journey we call LENT. Jesus showed the future on the top of that mountain, but he came to earth to live in the same valleys that darken our lives and his earth.
This day of transfiguration moves us back to the valley of real-world living, but with a gaze toward the next mountaintop to come. This was a preview of coming attractions, a sneak peek at what Easter would ultimately reveal. Jesus was headed to another mountain peak called Calvary which would not have three huts but three crosses. And that would lead to an even greater surprise!
Just as Jesus left the first peak to join us in the valley of the shadow of death, he climbed the one called Calvary to lift us to the glory of the new creation called Easter! This was his goal from the moment of his humble birth in a manger. In Lent we will begin our journey of remembering. Like our earthly pilgrimage, Lent suspends our time in a sin-filled valley between twin peaks. One is capped by glory and peace, and the other is topped by the dying love of grace. We live between the peaks of Transfiguration and Calvary!
I am frustrated that it has taken two family deaths for me to become a better husband and father (which is definitely a work in progress) and yet it was that walk through the valley of the shadow of death, knowing Jesus was the only way I could recover, that I was prepared for a brighter life in a different pasture.
What has changed me is the journey, and without that journey I would still be what I was before that valley walk. Disciples always learn that. Jesus came not to shelter us from the storm, but to shelter us in the storm. What a familiar tension this is for us all. We move back and forth from extremes of bright lights and darkened shadows, with normal days being somewhere in between. Jesus came to live in that valley in-between life and death, in between heaven and earth, in between God and Satan, to change the script for all time.
Let me refresh your memory of theme of the wonderful epic, “The Lord of the Rings.” The glory and power of creation was symbolized in a solitary ring of gold. And yet the only way for the world to be saved from the Dark King, was for that earthly ring of glory to be destroyed in the depths of a dark mountain! Deep in the bowels of the earth, when the ring was destroyed, life and light returned. Out of darkness came life, and from what appeared to be certain destruction came the peace and joy of a glorious new kingdom. Doesn’t that scene have a familiar feel as we prepare to remember a burial and death in a week we call “holy?”
The journey of the Lord of the Rings is a mirror of our Lenten walk through the valley of the shadow of death. What a parable for Transfiguration, Calvary, and Lent! What a simple illustration of the message of Christ the triumphant, suffering king! And so, the glory of God on the mountain would first be buried under the mountain of sin called death.
The world had to wait for Easter for the Christmas star to shine brightly again; where angels would sing and the glory of the Lord would be fully revealed for all. The Gospel is, after all, about twin peaks. Each makes sense only with the other. Together they are the miraculous glory of a God who loves us so much now and forever.
We long from bright lights and easy living, but sometimes we relearn that it is in the darkness that we finally are able to understand the true power and purpose of Light.
As we walk from the darkness of childbirth to the darkness of death, Christ reminds us that he has come to make the world’s ultimate darkness (that we call death) into the bright light of a new beginning with him forever.
Now, hear again the words of 2 Peter 1:19! You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts.
Even in the valley, we now have peace!