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. (Lk 9:33)
“He did not know what he was saying?”
How many times do we find ourselves in that position in our faith lives?
God does something, God says something, and we misinterpret the doing or the saying.
That is because we view, we hear, we see everything through the filter of our humanity.
We can only understand and accept things if we can see them, touch them, taste them. We need all of our senses in order to understand the world around us. That is, after all, how we began.
Watch any child.
Something doesn’t exist, it seems, until the child can get his or her hands on the object, unless the object can be shaken and tasted. Once done, the child will move on to the next object in the room.
We apply that same kind of approach to our lives as we grow and mature. We are taught to mistrust anything that cannot be handled. Because of that, we do not deal with concepts easily.
In today’s Gospel, we see that St. Peter was thrown.
He was on “information overload.”
He had heard of concepts of immortality and divinity and had even had the opportunity to see some miracles.
But, to see Jesus in His divinity with Moses and Elijah? That was too much for Peter. He really did not know what to say. So, like a child, he babbled.
There are many times in our lives that we become overloaded as God manifests Himself. That is why we need to ask for the gift of enlightenment, that our eyes may be opened and we may be able to approach the mystery of God properly.
FAITH ACTION: Pray the following prayer for enlightenment this day.
All-powerful Father,
you sent your Son Jesus Christ
to bring the new light of salvation to the world.
May he enlighten us with his radiance,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen