Today’s Gospel reading is about Mount Tabor, the mountain of the Transfiguration, which we can call the mountain of worship. It is about the three apostles who were at this sacred moment and it is about all of us. Peter, James, and John the apostles privileged to be there, had a startling experience as Jesus’ face and clothes changed and Moses and Elijah flanked Him. Then came the voice of the father, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” those words of the Father are the heart of this moment. This experience will enter the deep memory of the apostles and will sustain them in the difficult times ahead because these apostles will be Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.
Here they had an experience of Christ’s glory that would sustain them through the passion and death of Jesus. They were told to listen to the words of Jesus about His own suffering and passage into glory because that will be their journey as well. They will know the suffering in their own life and this experience on the mountain will give them an assurance of glory.
For all of us, Mount Tabor represents the mountain of worship. Here at Mass we rise into the very presence of God. In our life, we all need the mountain of worship to help us in the valley of work we have to do here on earth. All of us need to move back and forth between the mountain and the valley. It is like breathing.
Lent is the time to bring balance back into our life. It is a season to journey to the mountain of worship at Mass and to recommit ourselves to the work of the valley. Our spiritual life is shaped by both.