Second Sunday of Lent (B)
“The earth… is divided into three parts, one of which is called Asia, the second Europe, the third Africa… Apart from these three parts of the world there exists a fourth part, beyond the ocean, which is unknown to us.” – St. Isidore of Seville, Etymologies, c. 600 AD
This quote may challenge the way some of you have viewed European history. Here is someone who lived nearly two centuries after the collapse of Roman rule in Western Europe – during a time often dismissed as the “Dark Ages”. And yet, he reports this concept that the world is more than he or anyone of his era knew – that there is a “fourth part of the world… unknown to us”. This idea doesn’t come from Isidore himself; he reports it, matter-of-factly, as something commonly assumed in his day. A belief that there was more to the physical world than what they could see then.
A book titled The Fourth Part Of The World, by Toby Lester, discusses the history of European exploration which led to the realization that Columbus, Vespucci and others had actually stumbled across this legendary “fourth part of the world” and had not reached Asia, as Columbus first assumed he had. Even though many suspected the existence of a “fourth part of the world”, its actual discovery changed forever how Europeans saw their world and themselves in it. What they were able to see depended on what they were looking for. Many simply looked for resources that could be exploited, wealth that could be attained. A few saw this as a chance to relearn what they thought they knew about the world, and to grow with this knowledge.
To appreciate this a little more, I offer a thought experiment and then a glimpse at our own experience when we were children. First, the thought experiment. For over a century now, books, movies and TV shows have assumed the possibility of intelligent life on other planets. Where would the Star Wars and Star Trek empires be without this assumption? Some scientists are using radio telescopes to search for any hints of such intelligent life out there. On the other hand, we tend to dismiss reports of UFO sightings as not credible by attacking the credibility, if not the sanity, of those who claim to have had such sightings. Now, imagine what would happen if a real-life Klaatu (remember The Day The Earth Stood Still?) should land on the National Mall near the White House, providing irrefutable proof that there is intelligent life out there. In spite of all our sci-fi, our perception of our world would be shaken, expanded, and altered in ways we can’t even begin to imagine. We could never see the world with our “old eyes” again.
Now, the childhood experience. Think of science class. See if you can remember the first time you looked through a microscope. Things that seemed very dull and unexciting – a dust speck, a drop of water, a sliver from a leaf – were suddenly revealed as whole new worlds, teeming with color and life. You may have read about it beforehand in your science textbooks, but seeing it for yourself made the difference. You discovered a “fourth part of the world” that you never knew was there. From that point on, you couldn’t look at a dust speck or a drop of water in the same way as before. You may have had a similar experience when you first looked at the sky through good binoculars or a telescope. All of a sudden, there were the rings of Saturn, a moon or two around Jupiter, the fuzzy streak of Andromeda. There was much more to the sky than you had seen before.
The same is true when we meet someone new. At first, we have initial impressions of that person. With time and openness, however, we may discover that there may be much more to this person than we had first seen or guessed.
Of course, someone could have any – or all – of these experiences and not be changed by them. We can deny them or minimize their significance. With people we meet, we can choose to cling to our first impressions of them and reject anything else. We can hide from our experiences, as change and growth are unsettling, even frightening. To discover that your world is not quite what you believed it was is hard. What we need is a basic openness to what is real, a patience that allows us to discover that reality gradually over time, and a humility that allows our preconceived ideas to change as our sense of reality grows and changes. We are learning, and do so all our lives. We never can say that we know it all – whether about the physical world, or other people, or even ourselves.
All of this is even more true of our relationship with God. From the earliest times we know of that we can speak of our ancestors as being homo sapiens – human like us – we know that they buried their dead with care. This is, at the very least, a strong sign that they believed in some form of life beyond death – some world or state that they could not perceive with their physical senses. Nearly all ancient peoples had a belief in a god or gods, as well as spirits of some form or another. There was this intuition of a “fourth part of the world”, invisible to our senses, and yet as real as anything that can be seen, heard, or touched physically.
Abraham, our ancestor in faith, grew up in the land of Sumer – a land that abounded with tales of gods and goddesses who lived in that spiritual “fourth part of the world”. However, Someone from that world reached out to him, spoke to him, and summoned him to leave his homeland and travel to a distant place. Abraham’s life was now radically different. God had spoken to him – not by a story but in his real experience. Abraham proved singularly willing to be led by this mysterious but very real God and to trust his future utterly to Him. This encounter with God formed a new people, Israel. Later, when Israel was enslaved in Egypt, another encounter with this God would result in their freedom from slavery.
There was resistance and misunderstanding along the way, however. Encountering the true God is unsettling and frightening. There were attempts to domesticate this God and make Him into something we make and control – this is where idolatry begins and why it continues. Yet, God continually revealed Himself as being not like us, as being utterly holy, that “my ways are not your ways”. Those who put their faith in this God saw their lives transformed. Those who found such a God too much slid into idolatry, recreating God into a form they could control, a god who did their will, who served them, and who would give them glory, honor and power. The God of Israel, in the Old Testament, is a God who reveals Himself and yet remains essentially hidden. There was a sense that there was a “fourth part of the world”, an unknown aspect, even to God. God was much more than anyone could express.
Enter Peter, James and John. They were raised on the stories of this God and of their ancestors’ constant struggles to be faithful to Him. They also lived in a very difficult time. The Roman occupation of the land was a threat to their faith, their culture, and at times their very lives. They must have felt like many did in their day – that they desperately needed God to act in freeing them from the Romans as He had from the Egyptians so long before. What other “good news” could there be, given such a plight?
Enter Jesus. He calls Peter, James, John, and others to follow him as disciples. They soon find themselves unable to categorize Him, as He doesn’t fit into any category of people they know of. Jesus heals and does other extraordinary acts of power – in ways that go far beyond the wandering healers of their time. Jesus teaches, but unlike the way the rabbis did. They appealed to the authority of the rabbis who taught them, while Jesus interpreted the Scriptures on His own authority. Jesus claimed the authority to forgive sins – not only sins against Him personally, but any sin that anyone might commit. Over and over again, Jesus spoke and acted in ways that the people of Israel would have ascribed as belonging only to God. Time and time again, even the disciples asked themselves, “Who can this be, who can do and say all this?”
So, the hope began to rise. Maybe Jesus was the One chosen by God to save His people. Maybe Jesus would somehow rid the land of the Romans and establish God’s true Kingdom. When Jesus asked the disciples who they believed He was, Peter spoke out: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
Peter was right, of course, but his interpretation wasn’t so right. He is about to be reminded that God’s ways are not our ways. Jesus would save the people, but not in the way they thought. Jesus began to speak of the need for Him to suffer, die and rise again. Salvation would come in this way and in no other. Moreover, anyone who followed Jesus could expect to encounter suffering along the way – not merely the kinds of suffering common to all people (physical and emotional injuries, illnesses, the aging process) but also a kind of suffering that would happen precisely because they were being faithful to Jesus. This suffering could include the struggle to repent and turn from old destructive habits and sins. It could include the misunderstanding and rejection Jesus’ disciples might meet from other people – maybe even from family members. It could include their own burning desire for God – hearts wounded by love which will be satisfied by nothing less than God. Suffering, in some form or other, is part of the deal.
It was Peter who raised the objection: “No, this can’t happen to you!” He also meant to say, “And it can’t happen to us, either!” How could salvation involve even the chance of suffering and death? Peter couldn’t see it. Moreover, how could Jesus be the Promised One, if the spiritual leaders of the people seemed to oppose Jesus more and more?
So, Jesus takes three disciples up a high mountain: Peter, who had just objected to Jesus’ words, as well as James and John – who would later try to get the choice places in the Kingdom for themselves. Yet Jesus seemed to favor them by His grace. The three are given a moment of revelation, like that moment when a child first looks into a microscope. They begin to see Jesus in a whole new way – in a glory and beauty surpassing anything they could imagine. Moses and Elijah appear by Jesus, revealing that all the Hebrew Scriptures do, in fact, point to Jesus and are fulfilled by Him – even if Peter and the others can’t yet see how. Finally, a cloud comes. The disciples are terrified. They now are getting more than they bargained for. They knew from their Scriptures that the cloud is a sign of the presence of God. They hear a Voice: “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him”.
Yes, Peter, James, John (and you others): listen to Him. Let Him teach you. He has a salvation in mind for you that goes far deeper and way beyond being freed politically. He wants to re-create you from the inside out. For that to happen, something in you has to change, even die: your old ways of living, your old ways of seeing. He has in mind for you so much more. Yes, that change may hurt for a time. Your old self may need to “die” in one way or another. But listen to Jesus. Follow him. Be not afraid of possible suffering. You now see, in a greater sense, who Jesus is. The Father’s beloved Son. The One whose glory outshines any earthly thing.
Yes, dear readers. Listen to Jesus. That is, if we are honest, no easier for us than it was for Peter, James or John then. We still fear, at times, to encounter the real Jesus. We would rather domesticate Him, make Him into someone who supports our own desires or causes. After all, He may ask something of us that may draw us out of our comfort zone. Something that doesn’t make sense to us as we see our lives now. Something that will call for a profound act of steady faith. At the same time, however, it is not blind faith. Sooner or later, the Father and the Spirit will reveal Jesus to us – not merely as a historical figure, but as a real Presence among us now. Sooner or later, we will be given the chance to believe in Him, not merely because our parents or nuns or priests say so, but because we have encountered Him ourselves. Klaatu has landed in our hearts. The fourth part of the world is now revealed to us. Jesus is the One who reconciles humanity to the Father – and not only humanity, but all of creation. Meeting the living God can be frightening, at least at first. But believing in Him opens us to a salvation and a joy that no one can take from us. Jesus is the Beloved Son. Listen to Him.
P.S.: If you click the category “Transfiguration” on the right, you’ll find that I have given two previous “takes” on this Gospel event. So, if this one doesn’t do it for you, maybe one of the others will!