The passage for this week is the Transfiguration (Mark 2:2-9). Moses and Elijah appear alongside Jesus and a voice from heaven proclaims him as God's beloved son. This glimpse off glory helped Jesus to understand what would happen to him when he went to Jerusalem. The authorities would never be able to accept him and so they would kill him (as they saw it) for their own survival. We hit out against anyone that brings us face-to-face with our own mortality. This is shown by the Internet vitriol surrounding Jade Goody's reality death. There is a website inviting people to predict the date of the 'media whore's' death with an iphone 3G as a prize. The Jewish authorities did not like what Jesus had made them realize about themselves. We do not like the way in which Jade Goody holds up a mirror to our society. Fame is her 'secularized version of salvation' and publicity offers her redemption. The #1.5 million offered by the OK magazine to cover her wedding will set up a trust fund for her children's education. The Transfiguration gives us a glimpse of what lies beyond Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection; without this Jade's death will be nothing more than another person dying.

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