I have been up many mountains. Some have been a laborious journey while other mountains were steady inclines. Then there are spiritual mountain top experiences where I was with the Lord and felt his presence. Just like the photo above. We took our boys to the Dinos Alive in West Sacramento. They enjoyed seeing these massive creatures and pretending themselves to be dinosaurs. It’s a simple moment in family life where we felt close through captured memories.

Reaching the mountaintop can be a breathtaking moment. There’s a sense of touching the heavens and seeing the world from new perspectives.

Out of the many mountain experiences, one special memory was ascending Mount Tabor! I knew upon my return from the Holy Land that hearing the Gospels would never be the same. I can hear today’s Gospel and say aloud, “I have been there.” I have this intimate connection of having step foot onto the Gospel scene.

By no means is Mount Tabor a hop, skip, and a jump away to the top. It is a long journey to its peak.

Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the mountain and witnessed his glory as the Son of Man. They were so moved by the presence of Jesus with Moses and Elijah that Peter wanted to pitch his tent. Peter wanted to give permanence to our Lord’s glorification as he said, “Master, it is good we are here!”

Yet, he learned that this ascent up the mountain was an invitation to ascent inwardly to the heart. He learned that true light must pierce us through the light of our Lord’s cross.

Pope Benedict XVI comments on this inward journey in the mountain top experience. He says:

The mountain is the place of ascent – not only outward, but also inward ascent; it is a liberation from the burden of everyday life, a breathing in of the pure air of creation; it offers a view of the broad expanse of creation and its beauty; it gives one an inner peak to stand on and an intuitive sense of the Creator (309).

We need to hear this Gospel in the early stages of Lent. We can have mountain top experiences. We can be with the Lord in his glory and feel good about our spiritual progress. Yet, as we are on this mountain, we must also descend it. We are not meant to pitch our permanent tent on its peak.

Pope Benedict XVI teaches us something important about this idea. He says,

It is only as they go down from the mountain that Peter has to learn once again that the messianic age is first and foremost the age of the Cross and that the Transfiguration – the experience of becoming light from and with the Lord – requires us to be burned by the light of the Passion and so transformed (315).

On this Second Sunday of Lent, we pray the words of the psalmist: “The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

When I give myself completely to him, his light pierces my heart and I find life anew. His light evades at the mountain top experience. His light evades as we descend to the plane. The Lord of the mount is the Lord of the plane. No matter where we are, we can say, “Master, it is good we are here!”