Unlike many of the homeless people in the area, Alex doesn't recognize her and does his best not to look at her as he and the dogs are approaching. As he comes parallel to her, and is ready to pass by, she looks directly at him, and something made him look at her. Alex said she had the most piercingly dark, moist and intelligent brown eyes he had ever seen. And she asked him, standing there on the curb, in a very soft voice, "Can you help me to that doorway please" pointing to a shop adjacent to where she was standing. Surprising himself, Alex said yes, put the dogs' leashes in one hand and offered this homeless woman his elbow. She placed her dry, calloused hand on his arm and they made their way across the sidewalk, slowly, her leaning heavily on his arm, him walking and limping slowly alongside her. They reached the doorway, she let go, looked him in the eye and said "thank you." Alex nodded and turned away, the dogs leading him to the corner of 19th Street, where he turned right to walk west towards 8th Avenue.

Shaking his head as he walked, Alex was thinking to himself, "that was very strange. Why did I help her? Why did she need help? How'd she get there? Why didn't I talk with her?" He told me his mind was simply a jumble of questions. About half way down 19th Street he realized something. His leg was no longer hurting. He was not limping. And he stopped dead in his tracks. He said he felt blinded as if lightning had struck nearby: an image was seared on his retinas....all he could see were her moist dark eyes staring at him. Without dwelling on why, he tugged on the dogs, turned around and hustled east on 19th Street, turning left onto 7th Avenue, retracing his footsteps to that doorway. Peering in the window he couldn't see the homeless lady. Opening the door and going in the shop (and getting yelled at by the proprietor to get out because of the dogs), he didn't see her. She was not there. Alex looked up and down the block, in the different stores and could not find the woman. He was uncertain, but also certain, that something had just happened to him. What is transfiguration?

Alex is not a religious man, only occasionally attending church and infrequently having discussions about spiritual matters. But he knew something had happened to him: months of pain and discomfort had ended. What is transfiguration?

Did Alex's good deed in helping that homeless woman loosen some knot of anxiety and stress that relaxed some muscles that sent the pain away? Had the medication he had been taking suddenly kick in at that exact moment? Or was there something more mystical or spiritual at work. Is there a concrete, one-size fits all explanation of what happened to Alex?

Similarly is there only one way to read and understand the Gospel we heard today? What is transfiguration?