 |
The Brocken Spectre – if you are interested in more of the physics
see https://atoptics.co.uk/blog/brocken-spectre/ |
Address given at St Mary's Nenagh and Killodiernan on Transfiguration Sunday 11th February 2024, the last before Lent
Mountain tops are special places, places where we feel awed by the
immensity of God’s creation.
When the weather is good, the distant views reveal how
puny we really are. When the clouds close in, we experience isolation from all
that is familiar. And when the wind blows rain or hail or snow in our face, we
understand our own frailty and vulnerability.
Like most of us, I suppose, I’ve loved walking and
climbing in mountains, though I’m less able for it nowadays, sadly. I have
vivid memories of many climbs. Climbing Keeper Hill as a child with my parents,
each time I thought I was near the top another ridge revealed itself, until at
the final summit half of Ireland was laid out in front of me. Climbing a peak
called Le Dent du Chat near Annecy in France as a teenager, Mont Blanc and the
snow peaks of the alps began to rise above the opposite ridge as I neared the
top. And climbing Lugnaquilla by myself in my 40s - on a whim, unsuitably
prepared – the cloud closed in after 5 minutes on the summit, and it grew cold,
very cold – I was lucky to fall in with a soldier with a compass walking from
the Glen of Imaal to Glenmalure, who showed me the right way down.
In today’s Gospel (Mark 9:2-9), Mark tells the story of Peter, James and
John’s very special mountain top experience with Jesus.
High on the mountain, Peter, James and John see Jesus ‘transfigured
before them, and his clothes became dazzling white’ – his appearance
is changed: the Greek word translated as ‘transfigured’ is from the same root
as ‘metamorphosis’. Alongside him they see two figures talking to him,
whom they recognise as Moses and Elijah, the two preeminent figures of Judaism,
representing the Law and the Prophets.
Peter, always the impulsive one, says, ‘Rabbi, it is
good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for
Moses, and one for Elijah’. Peter does not want this emotional
moment to end – such a human response!
Then the cloud closes in around them. They are terrified. And they hear a voice
saying, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to
him!’ When the cloud clears, they look around, and they see only
Jesus, who orders them not to tell anyone what they have experienced, ‘until the Son
of Man (has) risen from the dead’.
Their experience, which we call the Transfiguration,
reveals Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God. It must have been very
important to them, because they remembered it and passed on their story after
the Resurrection, so that it could be told to us not just by Mark, but also by
Matthew and Luke.
There is a possible scientific explanation for what Peter, James and
John saw.
High on a mountain, with cloud around, is precisely
when we may encounter an optical effect called a ‘glory’. In this effect sunlight is scattered back from water droplets in a mist,
as a glowing halo - the technical term for it is Mie scattering.
The most famous example is the ‘Brocken Spectre’, so named
because of sightings on the Brocken, the highest peak of the Harz Mountains in
Germany. This appears when a low sun is behind a climber who is looking
downwards into mist from a ridge or peak. The spectre is the shadow of the
observer projected onto the mist, and it is surrounded by the glowing halo of a
glory. On the sheet you should have you can see a photo of one, and if you’re
interested you can follow the web link to find out more.
You might be lucky enough to see a glory yourselves,
as I have. I saw it when I looked down from a plane at the shadow it cast on a
cloud. The shadow was surrounded with a halo of light – this was the glory.
I imagine Peter and James and John close together on
the mountain, with Jesus praying a little bit away, as the clouds swirl around
them. Where Jesus has been standing, they each suddenly see a glowing figure –
it’s a shadow, their own shadow, cast on a cloud, wrapped in a glory. And the two
other shadows beside it are those of their companions, whom they take to be Moses
and Elijah.
This possible scientific explanation of the
Transfiguration should not disturb our faith.
I find that it helps me to believe that the
Transfiguration really did take place. It was not invented by the
Gospel writers to serve their own artistic or theological needs.
Their experience of hearing a voice from heaven also
rings very true to me. When human beings suddenly realise something of vital
importance, something which changes everything, we often talk of having a
‘flash of inspiration’ or ‘hearing a voice’. There are many such reports of deeply
emotional religious experiences, not only within our own Christian tradition,
but also from other faiths.
I believe that God is present in and works through the
laws of the universe he created. The disciples accurately reported what they
saw, even if they could not understand the physics. The true wonder and glory
of the Transfiguration is how the subtle working out of the natural laws of
God’s creation testify to its goodness, and God’s love for it, and for us.
If this physical explanation is correct, it should not change one whit
our awe and wonder at God’s power and glory.
What matters, surely is what the Transfiguration
reveals to Peter, James and John - and to us too - about the nature of Jesus
and his relationship with God.
They saw Jesus transfigured, as ‘the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God’, in St Paul’s words from today’s 1st
reading (2 Corinthians 4:3-6). The voice they heard told them to listen to him,
and this they did. From then on Jesus intensified his teaching to them,
preparing them for their role as apostles after his death.
I believe the Transfiguration was the moment on their
long road when Peter, James and John realised their complete commitment to
Jesus and his teaching. Starting from their call in Galilee, this road led them
ultimately to Jerusalem, to the Cross, to the Resurrection, to the Ascension,
and on to Pentecost, where they started to blossom as Christ’s Church.
And as Christians it should inspire each one of us to
make our own commitment to follow Jesus as his disciples. ‘For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who
has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ’.
I finish in prayer.
Holy God, mighty and immortal,
you are beyond our knowing,
yet we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ,
whose compassion illumines the world.
Transform us into the likeness of the love of Christ,
who renewed our humanity so that we may share in his divinity,
the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
