You know, there is a new disease going around? It is known as SAD.
Many of you are probably thinking, “SAD? What is so new about that? Isn’t SAD the disorder where the sufferer is irritable, distracted, edgy, and often depressed? New? Isn’t it that disorder that is highly prevalent in the north at this time of year? Well, yes, you would be right if I were talking about SAD as in Seasonal Affective Disorder. But I am not talking about Seasonal Affective Disorder; I am talking about another disease, this disease also has the initials of SAD, but in this case they refer to Spiritual Affective Disorder.
Why these two diseases get confusing is because they both have the same symptoms. The person with Spiritual Affective Disorder will also feel irritable, distracted and edgy. The person with Spiritual Affective Disorder may also feel depressed. And like Seasonal Affective Disorder, Spiritual Affective Disorder is also highly prevalent in society.
Now another thing that is really interesting about these two disorders is that they are treated in almost the same way. In Seasonal Affective Disorder, the person must stay out in the light of the sun – that would be S-U-N – to get better. When the person gets enough light, then the person begins to feel better and has a generally better outlook on life. To treat Spiritual Affective Disorder, the person must stay in the light of the Son – that would be S-O-N. By staying in the light of the Son, the person gains a radically different outlook on life. When people are in the light of the Son, their whole lives are changed.
In today’s gospel reading, we have a case study for the successful treatment of Spiritual Affective Disorder. Previous to our reading, we have the situation where Peter is having trouble. Jesus is explaining to the disciples how he, Jesus, was going to have to suffer and die. After hearing this, we see that Peter begins to exhibit the key symptoms of Spiritual Affective Disorder. Peter gets irritated with Jesus. Peter acts impulsively. Peter seems very edgy. Peter is defensive and tries to tell Jesus that the plans are all wrong. And if we remember the story, it is at this point Jesus rebuked Peter.
I don’t know if you noticed this before, but Jesus is a very good psychologist. And being a very good psychologist, Jesus knows exactly what Peter is suffering from. Of course! Peter is suffering from Spiritual Affective Disorder! And since Jesus is a very good psychologist, in fact the best psychologist that ever was or ever will be, Jesus knows exactly what Peter needs! That’s right! Peter is suffering from Spiritual Affective Disorder. So therefore, what Peter needs is a good dose of light from the SON!
So Jesus takes Peter, James, and John, three of the original disciples, (Andrew must have been out gathering more people!) up onto a mountain. And while they were on the mountain, Jesus was transfigured. Jesus was made to shine brighter than the sun – that would be sun, S-U-N! And we can see from Peter’s response that this light from Jesus was enough to do the trick: Peter is cured! Peter goes from being defensive and edgy to being happy and rejoicing! Peter is totally changed. Peter is so eager to celebrate this moment that he wants to live on top of the mountain.
But just as with Seasonal Affective Disorder, there is a downside to the treatment of Spiritual Affective Disorder: for neither disorder is the cure permanent. In Seasonal Affective Disorder, the person needs continual light. The longer a person stays out of the light, the worse symptoms become. The same holds true for Spiritual Affective disorder: The longer we stay away from the light of the SON, the worse things in our life can look. The longer we close our lives to the light of Christ, the worse things tend to look.
I think one of the things that makes Spiritual Affective Disorder so SAD is that when we get it, although we may look for light, we often do not look for the right kind of light. What is unfortunate is that with both of these disorders, the wrong kind of light can be bad for us.
I know that sometimes about this time of year, I can feel a little bit of Seasonal Affective Disorder setting in. In trying to help myself feel better, I have tried going to a tanning bed to get some really concentrated light. What is unfortunate was not the kind of light I needed. I needed some natural sunlight, not the overly intense light of the tanning bed. Granted, the light did feel good, but it was not the right kind of light. Unfortunately, in the end, I usually ended up getting burned.
When we are dealing with Spiritual Affective Disorder, quite often the same thing happens; we go off looking for a way to light our lives but go after the wrong kind of light. We neglect the true source of light and go looking for other sources. And as with the tanning bed, these other sources usually end up burning us. We may look for that light in other people, but other people will let us down. We may look for that light in alcohol, but alcohol will leave us in a deeper hole than when we started. We may look for light in honor and respect, but honor and respect only last as long as peoples’ memories. These things may seem like sources of light, and granted, they feel good when they are there. But when we search out these things to lift our Spiritual Affective Disorder, what we end up feeling is burned. We go looking for light, but like Peter, James, and John, the light we need is right in front of us!
This is the wonder of the Transfiguration; the glory of Jesus was shown to the disciples, but that glory is for us too. This was not some future glory for Peter; this was glory that was right then. Peter goes a little crazy when he sees the glory of Jesus, but then he again sees the light of Jesus and finds his bearings. It is also the same for us; this is glory for us NOW. When we lose our bearings, we can look to the light of Christ and find our way.
Now, the light of Christ does not go away from us, but often we turn away from the light. And when we turn away, we again find ourselves in the dark and searching. God says that the disciples are to listen to Jesus, but eventually they forget. Even Peter, who saw the light directly, returns to his fear. And when Peter’s fear returns, he too looks for a light elsewhere. Peter becomes afraid and fears for his safety. Yes, this is another false and dangerous light: safety. Peter denies knowing Jesus because he feared for his safety. If others knew Peter was a follower of Jesus, Peter was afraid that he too might be killed. Instead of staying strong in the light and faith in Christ, Peter seeks out the false light of safety, and ends up getting burned.
The true light of Jesus does not burn us. The light of Jesus, it does not blind us. Even though we are told that Jesus’ garments shown like the sun, the disciples were dazzled, but not blinded. The light of Jesus actually helps us to see the world more clearly. Peter was moved by the wonder of the light, but he was not blinded.
Now, there is one thing that is very different about Spiritual Affective Disorder. In Seasonal Affective Disorder, the light makes us feel better, and that is about it. But when we follow Jesus, the light that we experience transforms us. Peter, James, and John were transformed by being in light of the transfiguration. I don’t think they realized it at the time it was happening, but their experience provided a base from which they could later preach, teach, and evangelize. The story of the transfiguration provides us with a base also. Again we hear the voice of God speaking: “This is my Son, my beloved. Listen to him.” It is this Son, the Son of God, that lights our way and transforms our lives.
The one thing that I find sad about Spiritual Affective Disorder is the fact that we don’t have to suffer from it! Jesus wants us to follow him and to follow his light. Jesus gives us spouses, parents, friends, and congregations to guide us. The light that we truly need is right here, it hasn’t gone away! But still we go searching for light elsewhere. Like Peter, we lose our light and become irritable and edgy. And we may go searching for the light out in the world. But we need to remember that we have the light in our baptism. We share the light when we gather as the community of St. Swithin’s. We are strengthened by the light when we gather around the altar. And we then take the light of Christ out and share the light with the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment