Reflection - The Bigger Picture

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/080618.cfm
Daniel 7:9-10,13-14
Mark 9:2-10

That’s an interesting line — I mean the one that ends the gospel reading. Let me repeat it for you:

So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what ‘rising from the dead’ meant.

Now, I haven’t checked other translations, so I can’t be certain as to the proper meaning; but as I read this text that verse seemed to say that the matter the three disciples kept to themselves was Jesus’ comment about rising from the dead. Now I already knew that the three sort of missed the point of what they had witnessed because of their proposal to set up three tents. So it appeared to me that that observation was simply being reinforced by their focus on Jesus’ admonition rather than the stunning scene they had just beheld up on the mountain. In any case, all three readings suggest something rather hard to digest.

Starting with The book of Daniel makes my case for me. Images of thrones of flame and wheels of fire are a bit difficult to picture. And, of course the story continues from there. Moreover, it’s difficult to imagine all nations serving anybody in a world like ours. Peter’s remembrance of the Transfiguration with a voice from heaven, and Mark’s account of the same, which follows, are beyond the experience of most living today. So I began to wonder what it must be like for a life without God.

With the critical exception of keeping oneself in existence, it’s not too hard to speculate on an ordinary life on an ordinary day in an ordinary American city.

People whose lives include a mere ‘tip of the hat’ to God or whose lives do not include him at all are not necessarily evil in their life style or even in their behavior towards others. They may have great compassion for their fellow man. They may be the driving force behind some notable charitable endeavor. They may not violate the Ten Commandments any more frequently than those close to God. It seems doubtful that more than a few participate intentionally in satanic worship. These same people may intensely love their spouse and remain faithful to them. They may be involved and concerned about their children, protecting them from violent or profane media, guarding them from potentially bad relationships and teaching them humanitarian virtues.

The lives of those who do not include God, or who only do so in a cursory way, are not necessarily going to be burdened with poverty or injustice or tragedy or personal failure. They may be oblivious to worry or have a disposition which is impervious to fear. They may be supreme in self-confidence or totally comfortable ‘in their skin.’ The evil one is not always intent on getting people to live evil lives. There are a sufficient number of truly evil people to create chaos for us all. Besides, the tiny, sinister dimension of each of us is sufficient to be used as instruments of his work. Ultimately, I believe his primary concern is that we not include God in our lives, that we not engage in a personal relationship, that we never learn intimacy with the divine.

What Peter, James and John witnessed on the mountain was difficult to comprehend because they had yet to reach the point where the Spirit taught them everything. Their lives had not yet been transformed so they could be told, could hear, could understand what our God would teach all of us, namely, how to see from God’s point of view.

Living lives which do not actively, consistently and persistently include God is to miss the bigger picture.