While a teenager driving up north with 3 friends, Mike, the driver, decided to veer off the highway and go off-roading on a sandy, two-track.
We were having an absolute ball skidding between pine trees, kicking up sand in the turns, and enjoying a litany of roller coaster hills.
Then, going way too fast up one of those sandy hills, we crested - only to discover a big pine tree right in front of us, too close to avoid and too tall to run over. Adrenaline gushed, there were gasps and fierce grips as we slammed into the tree. I remember opening my eyes and seeing my friends. Silence gripped us as we all looked out the front windshield to see we’d bowled over and mounted the huge tree. And all we could do was sit there for a very long time.
I don’t remember what broke our silence, but it could have been the same words Jesus used in Sunday’s gospel: ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’
Although Jesus was talking to his disciples who had just witnessed The Transfiguration, these are words for all of us faithful souls who have had life-altering experiences that resist explanation. Maybe it was a car wreck, the death of a child, the loss of a job, or a disastrous business venture. They are life’s ‘what was that all about?’ experiences, and God wants us to know that we never, ever, go through it alone.
We note that Jesus’ words here are not about explanation as much as they’re about invitation. You and I don’t know why the unexplainable occurs but we do know that everything happens for a reason and in the full sunshine of God’s presence. And in the aftermath of many of these instances we can find the words we need to hear to move forward: get up, and do not be afraid.
