Under the Clouds

I used to stay hidden in my faith life or more correctly I use to hide from my faith. There was very little chance of me going on a church retreat. Simply it was not on the list of things I want to do or think I need to. There was so little to connect my daily life to church. And I was happy to keep the distance. Going for a retreat was perhaps as tough as climbing a mountain. The idea would not even enter my head.

“Suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.’”

I never knew what being spiritually high was about. Actually we do? Or think we do? Reading the words that describe it or hearing about it from a friend, is not knowing at all. To know it, we need to experience it. We need to live the experience because the high can only come about when we are touched deep in our hearts. Only then can we be like Peter to declare, “Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here”.

The Transfiguration of Jesus had been something I found difficult to relate to. To be in the presence of God, let alone to be in a personal relationship with almighty Him was an idea I couldn’t get my head around to. Until I experienced being spiritually high that opened my heart to search for more.

This Transfiguration of Jesus can occur in our lives daily. It will occur only when our hearts are open to it. Jesus is transfigured into our daily life for us to live in Him. He is transfigured to fit into our daily schedule. He is there at the corner even when we choose to ignore him. He is there to touch us when our own decisions fail us. When we realise this and accept Him, his transfiguration becomes for us a transformation of our life.

The clouds above us want to open up to declare, “This is my Son, the Beloved”, but we must first get into the position of ‘being under the clouds’. We must choose and make a decision to open our heart to “Listen to Him”. It actually only require a sincere “yes” from us, however weak and small our “yes” is to allow Jesus to take us with him up to a high mountain to be alone so that we know who he truly is.

The path up the mountain is made visible by his bright presence in the events of our daily life. But we must first make the choice to want to see him. And the easier way to light up our path is to live with gratitude. When we live all the little moments of our day acknowledging and giving thanks to him, we open our eyes and our heart to see him transfigured in our life. When this sense of his presence become more acute, we can scale up the mountain to reach our spiritual highs. Gratitude can be a start to get us under the clouds.

We must continue to find opportunities to expose ourselves to faith, to narrow the gap and come closer. We must scale mountains for the fresh air of faith. Retreats will help us but daily life is lived down from the mountains. “As they came down from the mountain Jesus gave them this order, ‘Tell no one about the vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.’” Holy Communion is the Risen Jesus transfigured in a special way to be with us when we come down from the mountain to live our daily life.

Every day there are moments of opportunity to connect, to be in relationship, and to come under the clouds. But it is up to us if we want to.