Why is this happening?” is the common question we raise in times of crisis. We desperately want to understand even when we know there are no easy or understandable answers. We rush to do. We send flowers; we cook a meal; we talk too much—anything in our attempts to cope with the anxiety around the great unknown we face.
If Jesus’ transfiguration is not enough to shock the three disciples, the sudden appearance in the blinding light of the Hebrew titans Elijah and Moses is enough to completely undo them. Peter freezes and babbles on about a building program. We, like Peter, often find ourselves “terrified” when faced with the Christ standing before us, summoning us to the mission field. And many churches, like Peter, often employ “building projects” as a response. We find ourselves upended from all we knew and with which we were very comfortable.
However, the positive outcome of being upended—even rudely—is that we can end up in a new and life-giving place. A counselor friend reminds me from his practice that instead of focusing on the “why” questions in a crisis, he helps his clients to focus on the “what” questions: What can I learn from this? What can I do differently going forward because of this experience? “What” questions give energy; “why” questions only steal it away.
Peter, James, and John are stuck in the “why” question as they are in most of Mark’s Gospel; the disciples are always slow to catch on. In their defense, upending encounters with the Holy will do that.