Spiritual Reflections

The reading from Genesis (15.5-12, 17-18) is ancient and mysterious. It describes some ritual that took place at the dawn of human memory, perhaps three thousand years or more ago. Its original meaning is far from certain, but two things seem clear: it is about the gift of children, and the gift of land.

Abraham and Sarah are childless. They have come to the Holy Land as strangers and sojourners. They have staked out some land for themselves. But who will inherit it? And will they be able to hold on to it? The answer comes when Abraham is asleep or in some kind of trance. In a vision, God promises him a vast number of descendants, who will inherit his land and his faith. God does not say how these things will come about. Abraham will only find out by going ahead in faith.

Abraham's situation is a mixture of faith and promise, of hope and anxiety. We can often say the same for ourselves. God gives us a promise too. It is the promise that he will always be there for us, that we can never fall beyond his love. It is a promise that in Christ we are blessed with the life-giving grace of God which will strengthen us in times of weakness. We believe, and yet we go through times of worry.

The same was true there on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9.28-36). It was a moment of reassurance, when God comforted those who needed strength. Yet they still had their struggles. On that mountain, the veil that separates this world from eternity was lifted for a moment, and the face of Jesus reflected the light of eternity. The sight of Jesus transfigured was a privilege to strengthen those who saw it for the coming ordeal. They wanted to stay rather than, so to speak, come down to earth. The disciples were reluctant to go back to the world and all its conflicts. They would have preferred to stay with the eternal peace they had glimpsed. Instead, it was their calling to accompany Christ in his ministry of healing, reconciling and bringing faith. It is our calling too.

I think of the promise made to Abraham now fulfilled in another way. It is not a land that God promises us in Christ. Instead, we belong to a people found everywhere on earth. A people who every Eucharist stand on the mount of transfiguration to glimpse the face of Christ, before returning to the everyday world to live the mission he gives us.

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