As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant. (Mk 9:9-10)
Today we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration. On that day, the Lord took Peter, James, and John up a mountain and was transfigured before their eyes. For a brief moment, they beheld Jesus in all of His glory and saw, speaking with Jesus, Moses and Elijah.
This was unheard of.
Up until that time, I am sure that many were coming to believe that Jesus might be the Messiah for whom they had longed and hoped. I am sure that they were giving more and more credence to His words about eternal life.
However, to stand there and see two people from their past most obviously alive? The experience shook their world.
Jesus, upon their departure from the mountain, told them not to reveal to anyone what had happened until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept their promise, all right, because they did not understand what “rising from the dead meant”. They were totally stupified, that is, until the resurrection of Jesus Himself.
They always had that memory, though, of seeing Jesus in all of His glory standing before them and hearing the voice of God declaring Jesus as His beloved Son.
We, too, have had moments in our lives when God has revealed Himself to us. It may have been in brief experiences, it may have come over time; however, we have had the opportunity to encounter God in a much more personal way.
Our experiences, I daresay, left us speechless as well.
After all, how does one explain in human tongues the divine?
FAITH ACTION: We may not be able to put into words what our encounters with the Lord have meant. However, our encounters have made us changed people. Live as people of the Lord this day!