Feast of the Transfiguration 6 January
Some years ago, my wife Barb and I made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. One of the very special memories we made was our trip to the top of Mount Tabor, or The Mount of the Transfiguration. (MT 17: 9-21) Jesus and His Apostles – Peter, James and John – made the trek on foot to the top of the Mount. Barb and I made the trip by bus. Other than Jesus, neither his apostles then, nor we now, know what awaits us at the top of our Mount Tabor, or more importantly, what awaits us down at the bottom of the hill – the world, the flesh and the devil.
That imagery, the glory at the top and the chaos down below in the village, is a very clear summation of our earthly journey from birth to the grave. I would like to point out that the glory of Jesus in the company Moses and Elijah, as revealed to his three brothers, Peter, James and John, who were literally knocked off their feet and down the hill, was NOT the miracle on Tabor. The glory seen by those Apostles and infinitely much more behind it, was the true natural state of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The real and true miracle was that Jesus hid His blinding, infinite and uncontainable glory under His beautiful humanity, known to the angels and God alone. And perhaps His holy Mother!
God willing, we’ll keep that Transfiguration of Jesus experience – that promise of future glory – burning in our hearts. Especially during those stormy days and very dark nights of the soul that are sure to come! Case in point, after the Glory Show up on high, the 3 Apostles with Jesus came to the bottom of the hill where the villagers were pushing and shoving the other Apostles who’d been left below. These men could not free a boy from his demons. The frantic father even said, “I brought my son to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” In response Jesus called all of them a perverse and faithless generation and immediately freed the young boy from his demons. Later the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked Him “Whass’ up with that?” I paraphrase. Jesus said that it was because of their incredibly weak and immature faith that they could not free the poor child from his demons.
We are all meant for, even created for that glorious eternal Thanksgiving Day and the faith that will move mountains, but we still have today’s mountain to climb, and that angry, shoving and yelling crowd to deal with down at the bottom of the hill. Jesus will be with us, calming us, giving us the answers we seek and the strength we need to graciously and effectively witness and minister to the maddening crowds and endure the dark and bitter moments in our lives. The question is, will we be with walking and working in union with Him? And there is that glory that awaits us on the mountain top!