CHRISTIAN NEWS MAGAZINE FOR KERALA MALAYALEE CHRISTIANS FROM INDIA AROUND THE WORLD
MARCH 2007 ARTICLE
VOL:6 ISSUE:03

WE ARE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE, TOTO!
[Exodus 34:29-35, Psalm 99, 2 Corinthians 3:12- Chapter 4:2, Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)]
By REV. JOHN T. MATHEW

Last fall, during my municipal election campaign with no supporters, no signs and no particular platform except the fact that I needed a reasonably good deflection to procrastinate writing my thesis, during a free lunch; politicians do get freebies!, I said something to a potential supporter; she and her two sons delivered flyers in the Moonglow area. After my certain defeat during the Christmas holidays, this young woman phoned me with a question, “Would you please repeat what you told me at lunch?” What did I say? When I was in for a Police Check for the Sudbury Presbytery, one of the officers whom I have known for several years whispered to me, ”no matter what you do, don’t ever get caught.” Then I remembered, I quoted Robert Coles, one of my teachers.

“As you grow older, you need to learn to live with ambiguity.” That’s what I felt as I read the lectionary readings appointed for the Transfiguration Sunday. It is not easy or necessary or possible to make sense of everything that happens to us in life. About fifteen years ago, forty of us ordained ministers from around the world gathered in a Theological Seminary to watch the movie The Wizard of Oz. In spite its international flavor, everyone had seen it before either alone or with our families and or friends. The unusual task this time was we were told to watch it with our theological eyes.

Frank Baum wrote this totally American fantasy, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in September, 1900 and ever since it has become one of the best-loved fairytales for all children including forty aging clergy men and women at our gathering.

Dorothy Gale, played marvelously by that adorable little young girl Judy Garland, lives on an idyllic farm in countryside Kansas. A shady neighbor wants to harm Toto; Dorothy picks up her dog and runs away. One day a terrifying twister sweeps her, her house, and Toto-her dog, away up in the air and safely deposits them in the strange but beautiful magical land of Oz. Dorothy, like most of us, becomes helplessly nostalgic and desperately wants to return home. Dorothy becomes for a moment or two optimistic as the Good Witch of the North shows up; but the Good Witch of the North is upset with the Wicked Witch of the East.

She then travels to the Emerald City where a great wizard lives. She meets a Scarecrow with no brain, a Tin Man who wants a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who needs courage. Everyone is hopeful of receiving what they need from the Wizard before the Wicked Witch of the East catches up with them. In the Gilded Age of 1939 for all the young girls who grew up in small countryside and dreaming to take off to Hollywood for instant transfiguration into celebrities and fortune, soon after the Great Depression and at the very beginning of another devastating World War, Dorothy was almost a too good to be true kind of role model of perfectionism. The teenager Judy Garland epitomized adventure, beauty, ecstasy, innocence, thrill, naiveté, energy and delusion. Like our son whose best playmate was his large German shepherd-Collie for years, Dorothy’s best companion is Toto. All unsuspecting, unhappy, vulnerable children would love to sing:

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby………………

Luke 9 is a dramatic chapter where we see Herod, the ruler is worried about Jesus. He was successful in getting rid of John the Baptist. Following the miracle of the largest picnic for 5000 plus, Jesus is concerned about what people think about him. “What do people say about me?”

The people were baffled about Jesus’ identity. Well, some say, you are John the Baptist returned to life. Perhaps Elijah. Or some other prophet.

He wants to find out what his own disciples think of him. “What do you say I am?”. On behalf of the twelve, Peter jumps in, “You are the Messiah sent from God”. Jesus suddenly turns the table and tells the people in no uncertain terms about discipleship: “Hey guys, no smooth sailing any more; it is going to get tough should you choose to follow me. You will have to carry your cross each day.” That was a long day for everyone. Jesus felt he needed a break and the weary men were in no shape to climb the mountain.

Today is Transfiguration Sunday in the liturgical year, the last Sunday after Epiphany, which is the Sunday before the Season of Lent. The importance of Transfiguration is disputed among scholars. What does it have to do with our 21st century materialistic mind-set? The term ‘transfiguration’ is widely used in the older traditions such as Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church , Transfiguration Roman Catholic monastery and Anglican/Episcopalian Transfiguration Parish etc. The nearest word I could find in the United Church of Canada is Transcona Memorial Church in Winnipeg, MB, which has little to do with the mysterious, numinous story of transfiguration or transformation of Jesus on the top of either Mount Tabor or Mount Hermon in the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi. Jesus took with him only three of his disciples, namely, James, John and Peter.

The other nine were not part of this mystical event. Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James - the son of Alphaeus, Simon-the Zealot, Judas-son of James and the other Judas Iscariot probably waited in the valley.. The three who were hand-picked by Jesus watched a twinkle of radiance as Jesus reached the summit ahead of them. As they witnessed the glory of God, they heard two men speak of Jesus’ departure, perhaps they were Moses and Elijah! Here the term ‘departure’, in the Greek language reminiscent of exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt to the Promised Land led by Moses, is referring to the trip down the mountain towards Jerusalem and Jesus’ death.

The three disciples are stunned and Peter being a pragmatic kind of guy begin to make plans to stay on the mountaintop by making three shelters- one for Jesus, one for Moses, who had been dead for 1300 years and one for Elijah, who had gone for 800 years. Jesus did not respond to that obtuse offer. Or was he thinking about three shelters for themselves—the three favorite followers of Jesus! Were the disciples trying to domesticate the glory of God? It is impossible to tame the holy. We can only experience it. In their attempt to keep their experience of the holy by convening an abrupt meeting of the Building Committee, I suspect whether they missed at least partially the dazzling appearance of the transfigured Jesus!

In his poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay, Robert Frost puts in plain words the quandary of James, John and Peter who heard the heavens thunder: “This is my beloved son”.

Eden’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold,
Her early leaf a flower.
But only so an hour.
So leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief.
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

It is in some sense a spiritual parable of a wonderful place of hallucination and vision…not too different from Isaiah’s vision of the angels and the holiness of God…. ostensibly the great Oz was able to do anything as no one knew what he was doing. All we know of him are his booming voice, big ears and loud voice. And finally Oz came out of his cave of posturing, we knew he was not a god but an ordinary person and we were disappointed and we knew it was nothing but deception and snake oil!.

We too go up the high and shiny places of name, fame, fortune, health and wealth every once in a while. We have our own choice mountaintops in the company of our closest ones. In spite of the theophanies ( revelations and manifestations of the glory of God) and in the midst of all lust and luster of the natural and perhaps supernatural way up there, we too jumpstart doing the wrong thing and miss the point. We hear God’s words of affirmation of Jesus’ authenticity and his mission; but all of these extraterrestrial experiences mean nothing without our participation, our taking up the crosses in and through the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

On May 29, 1953 mountaineer Edmund Hillary, a native of New Zealand and his Sherpa climbing companion Tenzing Norgay became the first known men to mount the world’s highest mountain. Mount Everest. Hillary does not say one word about standing 29,028 feet high on the highest peak in his autobiography. He describes the great moment, “Each of us has to discover his/her own path…some paths will be spectacular and others peaceful and quiet—who is to say which is more important? Most of all I am thankful for the tasks still left to do—for the adventures still lying ahead….a mighty river…a hospital to build; a peaceful mountain valley with an unknown path to cross—yes, there’s plenty to do.” While Jesus, Moses and Elijah were transfigured upon the mountain, James, John and Peter and millions of people ever since in the past 2000 years transfigured in the valleys.

A Jewish father was concerned about his son who was about a year away from his Bar Mitzvah but was sorely lacking in his knowledge of the Jewish faith. To remedy this, he sent his son to Israel to experience his heritage. A year later the young man returned home. "Father, thank you for sending me to the land of our Fathers," the son said. "It was wonderful and enlightening, however, I must confess that while in Israel I converted to Christianity." "Oi vey," replied the father, "what have I done?" So in the tradition of the patriarchs, he went to his best friend and sought his advice and solace. "It is amazing that you should come to me," stated his friend, "I too sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian."

So in the tradition of the patriarchs they went to the Rabbi. "It is amazing that you should come to me," stated the Rabbi, "I too sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian. What is happening to our sons? "Brothers, we must take this to the Lord," said the Rabbi. They fell to their knees and began to wail and pour out their hearts to the Almighty. As they prayed the clouds above opened and a mighty voice stated, "Amazing that you should come to Me. I, too, sent My Son to Israel..................."

Let us step off of our heights of successes and accomplishments in our spiritual hibernations and mystical migrations - human or divine; share in the pain of those around us, extending a hand to those shrivel in desperation with no hope in this life or the life beyond, with no visions left in them. That’s how we share in Jesus’ passion and suffering. That’s what Transfiguration is all about.

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