Since 1945, it has been hard to hear the August 6th Transfiguration readings from Daniel without considering another “surging stream of fire,” that one from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan 78 years ago today. For the B-52 which released the bomb must have seemed to those on the ground like a “throne,” a throne from which a conqueror shot “flames of fire.” And it is hard to hear Luke's story of Jesus’ clothing turned “dazzling white” as he stood before Peter, John and James on a mountain, without remembering those survivors who spoke of a dazzling white light, a flash bringing brief illumination and, then, lasting night.
A “surging stream of fire” is what we men and women constructed and used against other men and women, other sons and daughters of God. We would do well to consider today the ways in which we continue to use light to bring darkness and dominion to bring death.
The synoptic Gospels agree that Jesus' “face shone like the sun.” He was not shined upon. The light came from within him.
And not just Jesus’ face. Matthew says, “his clothes became white as light.”
As at Hiroshima, the light was followed by a cloud. The cloud comes as Peter is trying to take control and and order the situation. He will make three tents and get everyone settled in. But the cloud that “overshadowed” those disciples present at the Transfiguration — Peter, James and John — is not the cloud of death over Hiroshima. Rather, this cloud is described by Matthew as “bright.”
The disciples hear a voice speak from the cloud. It is God the Father, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."
“They fell prostrate,” Matthew writes, “and were very much afraid”
Jesus comes to them as they lay cowering on the ground. He touches them and tells them, "Rise, and do not be afraid."
In the account of eyewitnesses to the bombing of Hiroshima, those who can get up find nothing but fear. Where are my children? My wife? My husband? My parents? My home? In a city of some 350,00, more than half will die, either in the bombing or as a result of the bombing. Isao Kito was the chief meteorologist for the Hiroshima weather bureau. He recorded his memories in 1986 for the Hiroshima Peace memorial. He remembers the light, the cloud, the fire and the rain. It rained for hours, people say, but the fires did not go out. It rained as the dying walked about, their skin sloughing off in sheets.
The fires could not be quenched and the dying could not be saved.
Kito recalled,
After I noticed the flash, white clouds spread over the blue sky. Then came the heat wave. It was very, very hot. It was as if I was looking directly into a kitchen oven. I couldn't bear the heat for a long time. Then I heard the cracking sound. I heard the groaning sound. At the same time, the window glass was blown off and the building shook from the bomb blast. When I looked down on the town from the top of that hill, I could see that the city was completely lost. The city turned into a yellow sand. It turned yellow, the color of the yellow desert. The smoke was so thick that it covered the entire town. After about 5 minutes, fire broke out here and there. The fire gradually grew bigger and there were smoke everywhere and so we could no longer see towards the town. From Koi, looking towards Hiroshima Station, you could see the black rain falling. The rain fell quite heavy over a period of several hours. It was a black and sticky rain. When it fell on trees and leaves, it stayed and turned everything black. When it fell on people's clothing, the clothing turned black. It also stuck on people's hands and feet. And it couldn't be washed off. It couldn't be washed off.
We would do well also to consider the counsel from Second Peter, that “the prophetic message” given to us of Christ’s majestic glory is not a weapon to be used, but a beacon to be followed. It is like “a lamp shining in a dark place.” The prophetic message belongs to anyone longing for the light of Christ, and its radiance falls on all who seek him.
It is light in darkness, not light that brings darkness. It is light we are given, not light we command. This light brings life, not death. We are called to lay aside our weapons and follow the light of Christ “until the day dawns and the morning star rises in [all our] hearts.”
Readings for the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, August 6, 2023
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9
Second Peter 1:16-19
Matthew 17:1-9
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