Feast of the Transfiguration

Saturday, August 06, 2011
Matthew 17:1-9 (Feast of the Transfiguration)

Happy feast of the Transfiguration!  When Peter saw the Lord resplendent with glory, His face shining like the sun and his clothes white as snow, he cried out, “Lord it is good for us to be here!”  Yes, Peter found it good to be with Jesus on Mt. Thabor.  But he did not find it so good to be with Him in Gethsemane, and he found it even less good to be with him in the courtyard of Caiphas.  And where was St. Peter that Good Friday afternoon?  Not on Calvary!  It takes courage and faith to find it good to be with Jesus when He is suffering and especially when we are hanging on the cross beside Him.  If, like St. Peter, we fail, Jesus will not abandon us.  He will search for us until He finds us and offer us His peace.  And we will learn to rely on His strength and not on our own, to draw on that power which comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.  Let us take courage from Him and from those faithful people who really do stay with Jesus until the end, no matter the cost.  If they can do it, we can do it too!