The Rub Off Effect

When Jesus revealed himself upon the holy mountain, he emanated light. I have always wondered what that might have looked like. Was it so bright that Peter, James and John found it hard to look? Was it like the sun on a blazing hot day when you cannot look directly at the light without blinding yourself? Was it frightening? Peter does not seem scared, he seems more distracted, trying to preserve the moment. He never once asks how this is happening, or what Moses and Elijah are doing there, talking to Jesus. He seems happy, but just gets distracted with his idea of how to preserve the moment by building homes for the three of them. The brightness of Jesus does not seem to scare Peter, rather it makes him want to preserve the moment.

I think that I have seem some of God's light in people's eyes. When they are completely joyful. When they have been praying. My friend Marcella went on a 48 hour silent retreat in college. She had never really prayed in a disciplined way before. I wondered if she would make it without going crazy. When she came back to our dorm after the retreat, her face shone. She seemed so at peace and she couldn't stop smiling. When I asked her what it was like, she told me that it was initially very painful, trying so hard to be silent and to sit still. But about halfway through the retreat, something shifted inside of her. She felt totally awake, as she had never been before. She went for a walk and everything looked so beautiful, the colors, the sky. And when she came back, just for that night, she seemed to shine.

I have had the privilege of talking to people whose faces shone with light when they talked about the people that they loved or about God. One old man in the hospital could not wait to see God's face. "I have been waiting all my life," he said. And his eyes, they just shone with light.

What is a halo? It must be a reflection of the light of God, shining in the person who loves God. St. Paul writes that those who love God will reflect God's glory. Like a mirror, the devoted will begin to shine with the light of Christ.

You could call it the Rub Off Effect. Just hang around God enough, loving God and basking in that love, and you will begin to shine like the sun.

- The Very Rev. Kate Moorehead