“And a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.” Abram has just been told that despite having no children that his descendants will number greater than the stars. God has given him the impossible and incredulous promise that he, Abraham, will be the father of nations. Abraham then does what the Lord asks and offers a sacrifice to the Lord. Amid all this, birds of prey start to swoop down on the carcasses and Abram is enveloped in darkness.
Similarly, we find Peter, John, and James who have been given the promise of the transfiguration. A promise that is dazzling and incredulous, and one that they don’t yet understand. And they too are caught in darkness, a cloud casts a shadow over them, and they became enveloped by it, and are terribly frightened.
How often in our lives have we been incredulous about the promises of God? How often have we been afraid? Do we remember what God has promised us? As we look to the examples of Abram, Peter, John, and James we see how God fulfilled his promises. When we find ourselves in the darkness, enveloped in our own fear, we can look to the Cross and share in the sufferings of our Lord, and we can look through the Cross, to His glorious resurrection, to the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. In times of fear and disillusionment it is good to remember, as Dorothy Day often stated, that we all want to stay in the Joyful Mysteries, but to get to the Glorious, we must go through the Sorrowful.