Mountains are most often the meeting place of the Divine and the human. In the event of the transfiguration Jesus takes the three disciples with him to the top, leaving the others at the foot of the mountain. Were they the privileged ones?
Apparently it seems so. They saw Jesus in His great glory and were enveloped in that glory for a while, they heard the voice of the Father from heaven. They witnessed to the testimony of the great prophets regarding Jesus. They were given the premonition that Jesus was about to embark on His exodus, the Passover from this life to the next, just like the great Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
Did these privileges make any difference in them? Apparently no. These great signs did not last with them. At the critical moments they just did not remember them and had forsaken Jesus and ran away. Jesus in a few occasions did express his surprise at the lack of faith in the Apostles including in these three. However, he did not blame them nor condemn them for it. Jesus knew their limitations and weaknesses. In order to strengthen and bring them back into track for the mission they were called, Jesus sent forth the Holy Spirit and when the Spirit of God descended upon them they were truly changed persons and were fully in the mission of proclamation and witnessing, even to the point of giving up their lives.
We are the people of God, followers of the disciples, and our behavior is not much different from that of the disciples. Just like them, we never want to be unfaithful to Jesus, but happen to be so. Just like them, we too need the constant presence in us of the Spirit of God that we may be effectively empowered to be disciples and true witnesses, proclaiming the Good News in our times and to our people around. And Jesus is there to care for us, to accept us with all our weaknesses and shortcomings.
Let us join Peter in praying to Him “Lord, let us be here and we will make three tents”! Let us pray that the risen Lord may dwell in us and we may be enabled to dwell in Him! Let us also pray to the Spirit to descend upon us and fill us.
Fr. George