Psalm 95** & 102; Exod. 2:1-22; 1 Cor. 12:27-13:3; Mark 9:2-13

** Intended for use in the morning

A number of years ago, I was given the gift of “Tsam Tsvas Tvat,” the phonetic transcription of a Sanskrit breath prayer. It means, “I am that.” When faced with the beautiful, it is a reminder that I am that, too. When faced with the unlovable, it is a reminder that I am that, too. It can be valuable prayer to call upon almost any time that Peter shows up. Peter loves Jesus, but he is a bumbler, fumbling his way through many of the Gospel stories, inadequate in his faith, inadequate in his responses. I am that, too.
In today’s Gospel, Peter, James, and John are granted a moment of brilliant clarity, when the veil is lifted for them, and that which was always there, the divine Christ, is revealed. Peter, with characteristic inappropriateness, wants to stay in the moment, to pitch a tent on the mountain top. How human, how typical is it to be reluctant to come down into the trenches again when we are given a rare moment of clarity, when we catch, however briefly, a glimpse of the divine. How difficult it is to come down from the mountain top.
Peter, and James, and John came down from the mountain and followed their Lord to Jerusalem. And for the rest of their lives they went about the work he had given them to do, healing and serving as faithful witnesses of Christ. Peter, despite his shortcomings, saw the transfigured Christ and was His true disciple. May I be that, too.