However, as they descended the mountain, St Peter was tempted to remain where they were. It is a good to feel good. Many of us can resonate with that because we too wish to feel God’s closeness.[1] Whichever the reasons we adduce for our euphoria, it is “unreal” because no one can be ecstatic forever without being crazy; a condition associated with mania. In short, an encounter with the Divine should lead down from the mountain in order that life, ordinary life can go on. In fact, we read further on in the Gospel that Jesus, after this mountain experience, set his face like flint towards Jerusalem. He did not remain up the mountain but stiffen His resolve to complete His mission.
We are, according to St Paul, citizens of two cities—one of heaven and the other of earth. We live both now and for the future. This makes us valuable players in the temporal field and because of our engagement in this temporal arena, we secure our place in heaven. Vatican II laid out a blueprint for immersion. The Church, in particular, through the laity is to reform or renew the temporal order, which according to Gaudium et spes, “The Christian who neglects his temporal duties, neglects his duties toward his neighbour and even God, and jeopardises his eternal salvation… They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities. For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his proper vocation”. (GS43)
In this respect, I like what the Opus Dei stands for. They may not be viewed positively by some Catholics but I think they do have their purpose in the right place. They take very seriously the here and now of what a person is, meaning that through one’s vocation, one becomes the light of Christ and of His grace. In other words, excel at who you are and what you do.
In that way, no matter how small a role a person plays, he or she is working for the betterment of the world. The unfortunate reality is, we are often mesmerised by rank, hypnotised by status and enthralled by prestige. In working for our salvation, what a person does may be important but it is not the measure of one’s importance. For example, since rank, status or prestige are important, it would be logical for people to attain a reasonable position in order to be able to command others. What happens when everyone is a manager? Not a lot can be achieved simply because everyone is in command and certain duties may be considered as beneath the dignity of one’s position. We do not expect a manager to be sweeping simple because he is too “important” to be engaged in so menial a task that should be left to the “coolies” [2].
As Hegel says, “There are no masters without slaves”. Rank, title or position only make sense when we have a cadre of servants who support the system. I am not advocating slavery; just making a point that it is not what you do that makes you important but you are important to what you do[3]. It matters not your rank but your devotion to the task at hand. Hence, even the rubbish collector or anyone who takes up any 3-D work—dirty, dangerous and demeaning—they give dignity to what they are doing by the very fact that they do it well. That is how the Opus Dei looks at vocation. You excel in your vocation by being professional at it and you are the dignity of your work.
The way we approach secular life is crucial to the mission of the Lord. We decry the culture of corruption in this country but we are no angels for the very moment we are caught, we bribe without batting an eyelid and then justify it by saying that it is the culture here. How about not giving bribe? Or in submitting a proposal to a government department, work through the system trusting that God will provide? It is easy to be active in Church but definitely and infinitely more challenging to live the Gospel values in the workplace. And in world which no longer knows God, this mission is even more urgent.
There is a quotation attributed to St Teresa of Avila which is relevant for us. “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are His body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours”.
Scripture asserts that man is made in the image and likeness of God. In reality, not only man. We enliven the world by reforming the temporal order so that in becoming more humane, the universe also reflects more the image of the heavenly Jerusalem. The Transfiguration is both an epiphany of our divine destiny as well as a revelation that Jesus’ mission continues through us all. In so doing, we are preparing the world for Christ’s rule to take root. It is not an easy task but we know that Calvary must come before the Resurrection. Are we up to the challenge?
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[1] But sadly, our yearning to feel good is generated by an outlook known to some as a moralistic therapeutic deism. It is moral because it accepts an innate principle of good conduct but therapeutic because God is no more than a divine butler or a cosmic therapist. He exists to make us feel good for being good or moral. Our feeling good is quite unlike that of Peter, James and John.
[2] The word “coolie” is now listed in Cambridge Dictionary as offensive and it does feel outrageous that we should even dare suggest a person embrace such a low status by proposing that they give dignity to work that is demeaning. This could be because we all breathe a certain fiction that everyone is entitled to have his dreams fulfilled; a myth probably derived from a philosophy that promises the “equality of outcome”.
[3] The Last Judgement is therefore crucial to this disparity and inequality we face. Those who are endowed materially have a grave responsibility to care for those who have no voice and no access to justice.
