Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Peter, James and John, in today’s Gospel story about the Transfiguration of the Lord on the high mountain, stunned them to the core. It was one of those unforgettable experiences that, I’m sure, they carried with them for the remainder of their lives.
As close companions of the Lord and as the familiarity that is characteristic of all friendship, grew, they were taken aback when the familiar gave way to the inexplicable. On that ‘high mountain’ which was a highly symbolic image of the place of encounter with the Holy One, something happened. In a brilliant flash of light, the disciples were privileged and graced with a moment of insight. ‘Insight,’ that marvelous English word that points to a deeper meaning of a reality beyond mere surface appearance. In this extraordinary moment, the disciples were given an ‘inner’ glimpse of the deepest and most profound reality of the one whom they had come to know and call, Rabbi – Teacher.
Words alone could not capture the deepest meaning of this moment. It was left to symbolic and physical gestures to convey its unforgettable impact on these privileged witnesses. In the presence of this radiant moment, the three fell prostrate in adoration and homage. When they finally spoke, their first inclination was to memorialize the place of this extraordinary occurrence, “I will make three tents…” Deep in their heart of hearts, they wanted to remain, for this moment filled them with inexpressible joy, “Lord, it is good that we are here…”
The early 20th century Lutheran theologian, philosopher and comparative religionist, Rudolf Otto, in his famous book, The Idea of the Holy, defines those moments when we sense the powerful touch of the holy in our lives as ones that initially ‘astound’ and call forth ‘reverential fear,’ while, at the same time, beckoning us with an indefinable beauty and goodness.
Many of us, at one time or another, have had glimpses of such moments. They might be in the presence of an extraordinary display of nature’s beauty or power. Parents have sensed the power of the holy as they cradle their newborn child in their arms for the first time. Often, the moment of first love can touch us with the otherworldliness of being immeasurably gifted with unspeakable goodness and beauty.
These and countless other moments of ‘transfiguration’ are reminders that our lives are much richer than what we so often settle for in the everyday humdrum and monotony of daily existence. Our lives are fashioned for far more than the ordinary. All life holds the potential to be ‘sacrament’ for us, revealing and disclosing the very holiness of God in the beauty of creation.