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One of my favorite scenes in The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky involves the brother Alosha, who also happens to be a brother in the monastic sense as well.
The abbot, or leader, of Alosha’s monastery is getting ready to die. But before he does, he calls Alosha to visit him. And Alosha, despondent over his master’s illness is even more distraught over the abbot’s command to him.
The abbot tells Alosha that he must leave the monastery. He has a power that the others at the monastery don’t have. Alosha can withstand the temptations of the world while in it. He can do what no one else at the monastery can. He can go out into the world and successful do God’s work.
And that is what Alosha is able to do. He goes out into the world. He organizes the boys around him and leads them in doing good.
We’re called to be like Alosha. To not keep the glory of God or His will behind walls or closed doors, but to go out and reveal it in the world. Because that’s the purpose of the word and glory of God. It’s meant to be spread. And we see that in the story of the Transfiguration. Or rather, in the story of Peter’s mistaken declaration.
Peter, John, and James have all gone up a mountain with Jesus. And suddenly, Jesus starts to glow a dazzling white. And Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets respectively, appear with Jesus and converse with Him.
And just as Moses and Elijah are getting ready to leave, Peter declares it is good he is there. He can build tents there for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah to dwell in. He can help contain the glory that has presented itself there on this mountain for as long as possible. He can keep it there.
But as Peter says this, a cloud covers them, and from this cloud, in a way answering Peter says, “This is my Son, my chosen. Listen to Him!”
“Listen to Him.” Jesus’ glory isn’t meant to be kept on the mountain. It’s meant to come out into the world. It’s meant to speak. It’s meant to reveal itself.
So Jesus doesn’t stay. How can He? He still has much to do and say. There are still so many to listen to Him.
We’re called to do the same thing. To follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We’re called not to let the light of Christ Jesus be contained just in the walls of this church. We’re called to go out and share that light with others as well.
Alosha, in The Brothers Karamazov, is a great example of how we can do that. We let the glory of Christ Jesus be revealed by both word and deed. By making our lives such that we are guiding all who we meet to follow Jesus along with us. By representing Jesus in the world, as many here do, so that people can know through our love that Jesus loves them too.
Ponder that as you leave here today. How can you make your lives even more into such a tool that the glory of Jesus Christ is made clear to all you see? How can you bring Jesus outside these walls to others?