On this Sunday, the story of the Transfiguration has stirred many thoughts for me, trying to connect with it in some way that is personally meaningful. Strictly speaking I think it speaks to the fact that people have always needed to see something to believe it. And even after seeing, people are often not convinced.
It is hard to accept things that are not concrete and personal. Hearsay is like a giant game of telephone, played out over the centuries with everyone adding their two cents worth. We want to attribute fantastical things to dreams or maybe even some kind of group hypnosis. Believing in some scientific reality seems necessary, but none of this is the point.
Faith is personal. If I believe something then you are unlikely to convince me otherwise. If I only want to believe, then it is a tenuous thing no matter what is said, or shown to me.
In my own life there is an unseen face with a voice whose identity I sometimes doubt and sometimes revere. Not a god by any means except that in a way we are all a manifestation of God. I want to believe I know who this person is, but my faith can waver. And yet, this manifestation keeps me grounded and alive and trying to do better all the time.
Maybe that is all that is really necessary in this world.
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