OWNED BY PARROT01

It’s not easy to knuckle down to the responsibilities of a working week and a wounded world after the excitements of the Olympic experience which has taken us all by surprise. There’s a rather strange story in the Christian gospels which might be of help to us. It tells how Jesus goes up a mountain with his closest friends, Peter, James and John to be with God. There they see Jesus transfigured, glowing with a bright aura. Nor is Jesus alone, in this vision Moses, representing the Law of God, and Elijah, representing God’s prophets also seem to be present. And the transfixed disciples, hear God saying, “This is my Beloved Son. Listen to him.” Well, Peter and James and John want to hold on to that great vision, that peak experience, by making the mountain top their permanent base. But they can’t because in the bible there are always two ingredients to any peak experience. Firstly, the experience deeply enriches its recipient, but secondly it leads directly to a deeper calling to involvement in the life of the world. And so it was in this story. Peter, James, and John would gladly have stayed on the mountain top where the world was glowing with wonder and meaning but there was work to be done. Jesus leads them down from the mountain top and immediately the truth of messy, everyday experience challenges them and they’re facing a sick hysterical young man and a distraught father, and the reality of the world. We can all be encouraged and uplifted by peak experiences. And we too want to hold on to golden moments such as we’ve experienced during the Olympics, but the reality is that over time these may fade. And maybe it’s much better and wiser to regard them as pure gift, but perhaps to then be able to use that gift to see our messy, fragmented, bewildering world in a new light. And in the Christian tradition there is that linkage. The transfigured Christ of the mountain top is also the healing teacher from Nazareth in the foothills. And hopefully so it will be in the aftermath to the Olympics, the determination and dedication demonstrated by the medal winners, the efficiency and effectiveness of the planners, the patience and good humour of the volunteers, the joy and exhilaration of the crowds. That dedication, that effectiveness, that patience, that excitement can be transmuted into the bigger task of winning the battle against poverty, hunger and disease. Having seen what can be done in the peaks, we can be more encouraged to transform the foothills.

在令人惊叹的奥运会之后，人们一时间很难从激动的状态中抽身投入工作，投入这个伤痕累累的世界。基督教的福音书中有一则奇异的故事，可能对我们有所帮助。故事讲述了耶稣和他最亲密的朋友，彼得(Peter)、雅各(James)还有约翰(John)一起登山并遇到了上帝。在山上，他们目睹了耶稣的容貌发生改变，全身闪耀着明亮的光环。不仅仅是耶稣，上帝法制的代表人摩西(Moses)和先知以利亚(Elijah)也现身了。目瞪口呆的信徒们听到上帝说：“这是我的爱子。你们要听从他的指引。”彼得、雅各和约翰都想永远地待在山顶以保留这一伟大的异象、这一高峰体验。但他们不能这样做，因为在圣经中任何高峰体验都包含着两个因素。首先，这一经历使接受者变得富有，然而，拥有这一经历就意味着这一接受者担负着更大的责任去为尘世服务。在故事中同样如此。彼得、雅各和约翰非常高兴他们能待在山顶，身处闪耀着奇迹和寓意的世界中。但他们还有工作要完成。耶稣领着他们走下山，很快，他们面临着麻烦的现实和日常琐事的挑战。他们遇到了一位歇斯底里的年轻人和他心急如焚的父亲，以及世界真实的一面。我们都可能受到高峰体验的鼓舞和激励。而且我们也都想留住这黄金时刻。就像我们在奥运会上体会到的那样。但事实是，随着时间的流逝，这些体验终将淡去。也许更明智的做法是把它们当作礼物，这个礼物让我们在全新的光亮下看清这一纷繁复杂、令人迷惑的世界。在基督教传统中存在某种联系。山顶上改变容貌的基督同时也是山脚下来自拿撒勒的治愈师。但愿奥运会后的情形亦是如此，获得金牌的运动员表现出的决心与奉献、设计者的效率、志愿者的耐心与幽默、人群的激动与喜悦。这些奉献、效率、耐心和兴奋都能注入到更加重大的任务中去，与贫穷、饥饿以及疾病作战，并赢得胜利。目睹了我们能在巅峰时做到什么，我们就有更多的勇气去改变山脚的景色。