Those who know me have often heard me compare the Transfiguration to the 2007 movie, “The Bucket List”. If you remember, in the movie Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two men from totally different walks of life – one a very rich, white, cynical business owner, the other a poor, black, philosophical auto mechanic. They are united by the commonality of an illness that would soon claim both of their lives. They meet in a hospital room which they have to share while they undergo their cancer treatments, and a bond develops between the two in the shared misery of those treatments.
At a point in the movie where the two begin to bond with each other, Nicholson discovers a list of things that Freeman had written. It’s a to-do list of activities that Freemen wished he could have accomplished before he “kicked the bucket” – a bucket list. Nicholson adds to it what he thinks should be on the list, and the rest of the movie then revolves around the two seeking to complete it.
The number one item on Freeman’s list was to “witness something truly majestic”. In his mind, that could only be climbing the highest mountains in the world – the Himalayas – and looking out across the world. But, despite all of the spectacular adventures that the two experience while checking items off of the list, visiting the mountain peaks eludes them and Freeman is unable to accomplish that goal before his cancer takes him.
Have you ever surveyed the world from the top of a high mountain? Having been blessed by growing up in the mountains of northern Idaho, I’ve been on top of mountains many times. The view is usually breath-taking; one which never fails to remind me of the majestic nature of God.
And each time it is different – from seeing for hundreds of miles on a clear, sunny day, to experiencing millions of stars so close that it seems like you can touch them at night; from the swirling mist and fog that looks like boiling white water surrounding the base of the mountains during the early morning hours of a crisp fall day to the pristine appearance of snow-capped peaks in the middle of winter. I’ve seen many mountaintops from the vantage point of an airplane, but nothing matches the experience of standing on a mountain, looking down on the world.
But in order to stand on top of a mountain, you have to climb it first. And while the higher the mountain, the more majestic the experience, the greater the effort required to reach that summit.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus leads Peter, John and James up a mountain which will result in their witnessing something truly majestic – Jesus’ Transfiguration. It must have been some sort of effort for them to follow Jesus up the mountain, for it says that when they first reached the top they were overcome with sleep. But the awesome nature of the event unfolding before their eyes brought them fully awake. It WAS truly majestic – seeing Jesus transformed before their eyes from their earthly traveling companion and teacher into His divinely transfigured body, and joined by Moses and Elijah in their heavenly splendor symbolic of the Law and of the Prophets – for a brief moment in time, they were exposed to the full power of the glory of God.
And yet, I wonder what the true impact of the event was on them. They don’t speak of it until after the Resurrection (in both Matthew’s and Mark’s versions Jesus directs them not to tell anyone) and shortly after this is when Jesus reminds them of his upcoming passion a second time. But despite the predictions of his imminent death, the disciples can only think about which among them would be the greatest in God’s Kingdom.
As we continue through Lent, what are we doing to experience the transforming power of Christ in our lives? Oh sure, we might be abstaining from sweets or alcohol or some other Lenten sacrifice, but if our goal is to be transfigured into the heavenly glory experienced by those in the Resurrection, are we first making a real effort to “climb the mountain”? How can we experience the divine nature of Jesus in our lives today and so transform our souls in preparation for our future transfiguration? What’s on our “bucket list” for Lent – and beyond?
If nothing else, the events in the world today should be bringing us face-to-face with our own mortality, no matter how old we are. I think all of us have lost a loved one to CoVid, or know several of those who have. The war in Ukraine shows us that it is still a very dangerous and violent world we live in, and the economic impact of world events is having an adverse impact on many of us, especially those who live on the margins. Jesus’ admonition to “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” reminds us that our lives are short.
For Nicholson and Freeman, the acute awareness of the nearness of the end of their lives spurred them to pursuing their extraordinary activities. Nicholson had the money to do anything that was on the list – almost – and so they jetted all around the world, eating fine food and wearing fine clothes, but they were always reminded of their mortality by the flare-ups of their conditions and the inability to accomplish their number one goal – climb the mountain. Eventually, they discover the fundamental truth: it was not in the spectacular adventures where they would find true joy and peace. For Freeman, it was the rediscovery and return to the family that he had left behind that brought him peace and joy in his final days. For Nicholson, it was in facing the sins of his past and reuniting with his daughter and granddaughter. Both realized at the end it was love that they were seeking all along.
Sadly, as is typical Hollywood, they miss out on the greatest love of all – God for His children – and the love we can experience through our faith in Him.
Are we seeking the spectacular in our lives? Are we using our love for each other to seek the ultimate divine love? If we need only to follow Jesus up our personal mountains to discover Divine Love, what are we doing to reach that goal?
At the end of the movie, it is only in death that the two men accomplish the #1 task on their bucket list and are re-united on top of the world, their earthly ashes stored in a couple of “Chock Full of Nuts” coffee cans. And yet, by then, they had already witnessed something truly majestic – love of family and love of fellow man. I only wish they would have included the love of God in the film.
When Peter, James and John witness Jesus’ Transfiguration on the mountain, they “witness something truly majestic”. And as St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians reminds us, we too will experience that same transformation when we get to heaven, where Jesus will “… change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body …” That will be truly majestic. And it won’t take a mountain for us to witness it – only our willingness to accept God’s Love and His Mercy.
