Half of our life is learning how to live and adapt to the vagaries of life. The second half of life is unlearning what we believe we already know. This can be deeply challenging because there is an inner desire to be authentic and genuine in how we interact with the world, God, and ourselves. Yet, as we grow older, we start to notice our inconsistencies, incompleteness and half-heartedness. There can be a longing to discover what will make us whole and holy.
In the Mountain of the Transfiguration, this story plays out with Jesus accompanied by Peter, James and John. Just at the point where Jesus encounters Moses and Elijah, it is as though Peter finally grasps who Jesus is as the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets. He gains an inner insight that wants to capture the moment by building three tents. He wants to be able to return to this truth that helps him discover that the divine life seeks to engage with our humanity. Yet, at the very moment of realisation, the disciples are covered by a dark cloud that hinders their vision and all their senses. They are deeply afraid that they can no longer see or touch Jesus. All they hear is the voice of God echoing the words spoken at the Baptism in the Jordan, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him."
This is often how we enter into Lent, where we are called to enter into the cloud of unknowing, where Jesus is obscured from us so that we can clearly hear his voice free from attachments. This can disturb us to be known even in our darkest nights when we surrender everything to God. Our listening transforms us and allows us to notice how we are changed from the inside out. It allows us to conform to Christ, who fills the spaces that make us more fully human and alive.
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