It just occurred to me: Jesus' transfiguration was also his "dark night!"
No doubt this event happened in the heart of night; in fact, his friends (Peter, James and John) who witnessed it were "weighed down with sleep!" (Lk 9:32).
I guess we could go deeper: Jesus-at-prayer was already anticipating his passion and death, his "dark night". That's when the Father came to show him the "bigger picture" - and HE was ENLIGHTENED, indeed he was RADIANT WITH LIGHT. He understood his mission: he is here to fulfill the Scriptures: the First Testament (Moses and Elijah - the Law and the Prophets) and the Second Testament (Passion-Death-Resurrection).
In the transfiguration, we are privy to Jesus' "yin/yang" experience -- explosion of light in the heart of darkness! In Jesus, darkness is a prelude to light, death is pregnant with life!
So in Jesus, we can pray:
When from the darkness comes no light,
when from the weeping comes no laughter,
when in the day we hope for night nor any comfort coming after:
Grant us your peace.
When in our confidence our fears clutch at the heart and make us tremble;
when in our joy we weep cold tears and in our frankness we dissemble:
Grant us your light.
When in our love there is not care and in our yearning we are dullness;
when what we know we cannot dare and we are nothing that is fullness:
Grant us your truth.
(text by B. McLaughlin and music by C. Mawby)
No doubt this event happened in the heart of night; in fact, his friends (Peter, James and John) who witnessed it were "weighed down with sleep!" (Lk 9:32).
I guess we could go deeper: Jesus-at-prayer was already anticipating his passion and death, his "dark night". That's when the Father came to show him the "bigger picture" - and HE was ENLIGHTENED, indeed he was RADIANT WITH LIGHT. He understood his mission: he is here to fulfill the Scriptures: the First Testament (Moses and Elijah - the Law and the Prophets) and the Second Testament (Passion-Death-Resurrection).
In the transfiguration, we are privy to Jesus' "yin/yang" experience -- explosion of light in the heart of darkness! In Jesus, darkness is a prelude to light, death is pregnant with life!
So in Jesus, we can pray:
When from the darkness comes no light,
when from the weeping comes no laughter,
when in the day we hope for night nor any comfort coming after:
Grant us your peace.
When in our confidence our fears clutch at the heart and make us tremble;
when in our joy we weep cold tears and in our frankness we dissemble:
Grant us your light.
When in our love there is not care and in our yearning we are dullness;
when what we know we cannot dare and we are nothing that is fullness:
Grant us your truth.
(text by B. McLaughlin and music by C. Mawby)
