Do you ever feel like there are so many moving parts in your life that it’s overwhelming? I feel that way, in this moment. There are things I have control over and some I do not- that’s normal, but I am not a fan of lots of unknowns.
Moving parts and changing circumstances bring the dreaded word….change. It makes me think of the word metanoia. In the Scripture the word metanoia means “repentance”. What I think of when I hear the word is “pivotal moment”. In literature, it’s the moment the character decides the path of good or evil.
In Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables, after Jean Valjean steals from the bishop, he is literally running away when he stops in the middle of the road and has this transcendent moment- his metanoia where he figures out that he needs to go back. In case you don’t know, the course of his life changes. The bishop forgives him, gives him the silver and sends him on his way. Jean Valjean is never the same.
In today’s gospel, Jesus is transfigured before the disciples. The disciples see him in all his glory- a sign of things to come. It’s a pivotal moment for them because they may have “known” that Jesus was the Son of God but did they really know?
To me, metanoia means that there is a change of epic proportions in someone’s life. It looks different from person to person, but it’s the very moment that they decide to change, grow, let go of things, really start moving in a different direction. There may be one big one in your life or several on a smaller scale.
Do you need a change in direction? Will you be brave enough to see the writing on the wall and change whatever needs to be changed?
