Unity of the Universe

"His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool; his throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire. A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat." ― Daniel 7:9-10

"And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus." ― Mark 9:2-4

Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration. It is also the Day of Remembrance of the Bombing of Hiroshima. The two seem to have nothing much to do together; in fact, there is a dichotomy. One, the glow of divine brilliance. The other, the blast of human shame.

What exactly happened at the Transfiguration? It defies our understanding of science. What was that white light? How were Moses and Elijah there? It’s frighteningly inexplicable. Yet the witnesses, Peter, James, and John, accept that the miraculous is happening. They believe what they’re seeing, even when what they're seeing is hard to believe.

One of my favorite paintings is Dali’s Christ of St. John of the Cross. Painting it in 1950-51, right in the atomic age, Dali was inspired by the atom. In his sketches he writes of a “cosmic dream” in which he saw the nucleus of an atom. “This nucleus later took on a metaphysical sense that I considered ‘the unity itself of the Universe’ the CHRIST!” he wrote. The circle and triangle feature strongly in his religious art.

This minuscule, fundamental, forceful power has thus been tied to Christ.

There is a hypothesis about the Shroud of Turin that the Resurrection, the exact moment of Christ conquering death, produced an extremely brief intense burst of radiation from the body, which discolored the fibers of the burial shroud, forming the images seen on the Shroud of Turin. Whether true or not, or scientifically plausible or not, it’s an interesting theory; what exactly did happen? If Peter, James, and John had been sitting in the tomb, they probably would have gone along with it.

I’m not sure I would have. I want to have such faith. But I know I'd have too many questions first. I want to know why, how. I don't want to build booths until someone explains what those prophets are doing there. How does that bush on fire not burn up? Where does that manna come from? It’s hard for me to let go of my skepticism and let the mystery and miracle just be mystery and miracle.

But I’m glad I'm not the only one who sees the power of the Transfiguration in view of the power of atomic advancement, however odd it seems. If the Lord can appear to Moses in a fire that does not consume the bush, can Christ appear in a blast that is not radioactive? Because the mushroom cloud is a sign of destruction, of mass death, of our ability to annihilate ourselves. And yet, in art, it draws you closer, it is rich, it is alive, it is divine. Is the divine a fire that does not burn? Is it the antithesis of our worst actions? Will our scientific advancement help us understand God and His creation better, or will we refuse to believe what we witness and abuse what we’re given?

The message of the Transfiguration is not merely the brilliant light. It is not the appearance of Moses and Elijah. It is the voice of God saying, “Listen.”

Witness. Listen. Don’t turn away.