Jesus goes to Jerusalem with his disciples. When he announces that there he will have to suffer, die, and rise again, Peter rebels, becoming the spokesman for the general discouragement and incomprehension. Then the Master takes him with him, along with James and John, up "a high mountain," and there he appears to the three with a new and extraordinary light: his face "shone like the sun," and Moses and the prophet Elijah converse with him. The Father himself makes his voice heard from a luminous cloud and invites them to listen to Jesus, his beloved Son. Faced with this surprising experience, Peter does not want to leave, and exclaims:
«Lord, how good it is that we are here!
Jesus has invited his closest friends to live an unforgettable experience, so that they will always keep it within them.
Perhaps we too have experienced with wonder and emotion the presence and action of God in our lives in moments of joy, peace, and light that we wish would never end. These are moments that we often experience with others or thanks to others, for reciprocal love attracts the presence of God, since, as Jesus promised, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Mt 18, 20). Sometimes, in these moments of intimacy, He makes us see ourselves and read events through His eyes.
These experiences are given to us to give us the strength to face the difficulties, trials, and hardships we encounter along the way, with the certainty in our hearts that God is watching over us, that he has called us to be part of the history of salvation.
In fact, once they have descended from the mountain, the disciples will go together to Jerusalem, where a crowd full of hope awaits them, but also dangers, conflicts, rejection, and suffering. There, "they will be scattered and sent to the ends of the earth to bear witness to our final dwelling place, the Kingdom" of God. [1]
They will be able to begin to build the house of God among men on this earth, because on the mountain they have been with Jesus "at home."
«Lord, how good it is that we are here!
«Get up, do not be afraid» (Mt 17:7) is Jesus' invitation at the end of this extraordinary experience, which he also addresses to us. As his disciples and friends, we can courageously face what lies ahead.
This is what happened to Chiara Lubich. She, too, would not have wanted to return to everyday life after a vacation period so full of light that it was called "the paradise of 1949" for the perception of God's presence in the small community with which she was spending a period of rest and for an extraordinary contemplation of the mysteries of the faith. She returned, and with renewed vigor, because she understood that precisely because of that experience of illumination, she must "come down from the mountain" and begin to work as an instrument of Jesus in the realization of his Kingdom, injecting her love and light precisely where they were lacking, even while facing hardships and suffering.
«Lord, how good it is that we are here!
Instead, when we miss the light, let us return with our hearts and minds to the moments when the Lord has illuminated us. And if we have not experienced his closeness, let us seek it. It will be necessary to make the effort to "climb the mountain" to encounter him in our neighbors, to adore him in our churches, and also to contemplate him in the beauty of nature.
Because He is always there for us: all we need to do is walk with Him and, in silence, humbly listen, like Peter, John, and James. [2]
Silvano Malini and the Word of Life team
[1] T. Radcliffe, OP, Second Meditation for the Participants in the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Sacrofano, 1-10-2023. https://www.vaticannews.va/it/vaticano/news/2023-10/testi-meditazioni-padre-radclifferitiro-sacrofano-sinodo.html.
[2] Cf. Mt 17, 6.
