Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
“Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.
When the Transfiguration happened, Peter and the other two disciples were completely blown away by what became of Jesus right in front of their eyes. His leader, a man that he has seen do extraordinary things. Heal the sick, cast out demons and calm storms. Peter had identified Him as the Messiah and Peter was called to lead His Church.
However at this
moment, Christ was truly revealed as the fulfillment of the prophecies.
As Moses and the Prophet Elijah appeared alongside Him, with the
voice of the Father from the heavens saying “This is my son, my chosen, listen
to Him”.
Peter felt that he had
to do SOMETHING about all of this. He started to direct the disciples to
make shelters for them. He tried to spring into action. Then, as
quickly as it happened, it went away. His Lord returned to normal and they
said nothing about it.
This was startling,
shocking. It shook Peter to his core. You think it would be a
life-changing experience. It was very obvious that there was a God, and
that He was directing and driving what had taken place.
If we try to hold onto
those moments as our only sign of God being present, we will be left empty.
As stunning as this was, how easy would it be for Peter to forget all
that happened? How is that possible?
The truth is that
Peter did continue to doubt. Things got harder after all of this, not
easier. It was a greater struggle to follow Jesus. He felt unworthy
of his office. Mostly, he seemed terrified of Jesus leaving him. He
kept making promises to Him that Jesus knew that he could not keep. He
denied God when it counted most; three times while his Lord, who he swore to
never abandon, was being prepared for crucifixion. He did abandon His
Lord.
No matter how much or
inadequate we are in front of God, no matter how paltry or pathetic our
offerings may seem. God uses these moments to perfect us. We don’t
need to be anything because He is already everything.
Peter is our First
Pope, the leader of our Church; A great sinner with a short temper that would
proclaim the primacy of Jesus as Lord with confidence and react with panic and
rage at a moment of uncertainty.
Although he may have
thought that he was inadequate for the Lord by abandoning Him, His Lord never
abandoned him. Throughout his life, his ministry and his time, Jesus came
to him in real, undeniable ways because if anything, Peter knew how much he
needed Jesus and that without the support of Him, that he would not be capable
of carrying out the office that he had been appointed to.
During this time of
Lent and transition in our Church, let us pray for Peter, his succesor Pope Benedict and his office and how
Christ has never abandoned him, but rather that He has pushed, molded and
motivated him to be exactly who he needed to be to lead his flock to Him.
Now that we will be
before Jesus, offer all that you have to pray for to the Lord on behalf to the
imperfect men who have the impossible task of leading us to Christ and that
this time of transition may lead us to a new understanding of our Lord.
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