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“As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, ‘Master it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ (He did not know what he was saying.)”
— Luke 9:33
The transfiguration of Christ is a powerful moment. Jesus takes three of His most faithful followers into a mountain so they could pray together. While they are, His followers are overcome with exhaustion as Jesus begins to pray. While He does, His appearance changes; His face is illuminated as He appears to be lit from within. As soon as that occurs, Jesus is joined by two others: Elijah and Moses. James, John, and Peter wake from their sleepy state to see their Lord conversing with the two. Moses and Elijah prepare to leave and in that moment, Peter calls out offering to erect shelters for everyone.
Some argue that Peter is frightened and does not know what he is saying. Others argue he is merely overwhelmed. But there is another side to Peter, the side that does not want to leave the mountain.
There are times in our lives that we can easily become like Peter. We struggle with moving on because we are content to bask in the beauty of the moment. Or, we may know that moving forward will take us through difficult times ahead. Unfortunately for us, just like Peter, staying in that moment in time is not an option. We have to move forward into our future and trust that we will not be alone while we are there.
