Heavenly Conversation

The gospel for today, the feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord, has Jesus glorified on the mountain before his friends, in conversation with Moses and Elijah. This is arguably the clearest glimpse we get into heaven, and what do we see? A conversation! They are just talking with each other: the three of them! How fascinating! What could they be talking about? And then another voice joins the conversation: the Father expresses his delight in his dearly beloved Son and directs the three disciples to listen to him. Peter eventually joins in with an impertinent, clueless suggestion, but at least he is in the conversation. From this we may conclude that heaven is, among other things, a Grand Conversation; and that heaven-on-earth has to do with good conversation. For me, there is hardly anything better than a good conversation with an interesting, intelligent, fascinating partner. Consider the dynamics: we become intrigued and captivated by our friend, we gain new visions and understanding, we surprise ourselves with our own wisdom and depth, we share an exhilaration in serendipitous, energetic insight. Good conversation...reverent,humorous,informed, loving, inquisitive, transparent,light and lively...surely is something heavenly. I look forward to many such conversations, in this life and especially in the next!