Up and Down the Mountain – Everyday
Over the past couple of weeks, we have been listening to John’s Gospel for our Sunday Masses. Our meditation is particularly concentrated on the 6th chapter of John, which presents to us Jesus as “the bread of life”. This is one of the seven profound sayings by Jesus, explaining the mystery of His own person. The Gospel clearly indicates that only when we believe in the person of Christ, does he become our “life giving bread”. In today’s second reading, St. Paul says to us that to believe in Christ means to live an altogether new life – a life of Christ.
This week on Tuesday August 6th, we also meditate on the Transfiguration of Christ, which we celebrate the mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ. The Transfiguration anticipates the heavenly glory of the risen Christ.
On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal became the first to conquer Mount Everest, the highest place on earth. Many people asked Tenzing whether he saw God when he was up at the summit. Tenzing wrote in his autobiography that, the whole expedition, which took several years to complete, was a process to reach God.
It is the belief with almost all the ancient religions that the gods lived high on the mountains. The Old Testament presents such notions whenever it explains God’s interactions with humanity. In the Gospel, the scene of the Transfiguration of the Lord, presents the experience of three disciples on the holy mountain as they saw Jesus transfigured. Prior to this, John, James and Peter walked with Jesus for six days. It was a tedious journey – climbing up the mountain to experience the moment of ecstasy. Our desire to experience God is never static; it is always dynamic, like an ascent to the mount. The whole process of climbing the mountain is the process of transfiguration. For Tenzing, reaching the tip of Mount Everest was the goal. Realizing that goal brought about an ecstatic experience of God.
We can experience Transfiguration in our everyday life. Each day we can reach the top of our everyday mountain. Climbing up also involves climbing down. What we have experienced on the top has to be relived and shared in love with others. The whole discipline we put in to reach God involves reaching out to our neighbour.
–Fr. Ranjan D’Sa OCD