From the Pastor
Fr. Mike Comer shares his thoughts on Scripture, spirituality and the challenges of living the Gospel.
trust in the lord in difficult times
March 16, 2025
Last Sunday we travelled with Jesus into the desert. This week we climb Mount Tabor with Him, and with Peter, James and John. We become witnesses, with them, of the amazing event of His Transfiguration.
This scene takes place in a very difficult moment for the Apostles. For the first time, Jesus has begun to speak openly about the fact that He will go to Jerusalem, and there He will be arrested and murdered. This is very unsettling, as they believe that He is the Messiah, and that the Messiah cannot die. They have begun to question whether or not they have followed the wrong man, and that He was now leading them into disaster, not only for Him, but for them as well. Their faith in Him has been shaken.
It is in the midst of that crisis of faith that they are granted this remarkable vision, in which they see Jesus with both Moses and Elijah. Jesus became dazzlingly white, as were His clothes. This is showing us Jesus in His resurrected form. And the two individuals with Him, Moses and Elijah, tell us a great deal about Jesus.
This scene takes place in a very difficult moment for the Apostles. For the first time, Jesus has begun to speak openly about the fact that He will go to Jerusalem, and there He will be arrested and murdered. This is very unsettling, as they believe that He is the Messiah, and that the Messiah cannot die. They have begun to question whether or not they have followed the wrong man, and that He was now leading them into disaster, not only for Him, but for them as well. Their faith in Him has been shaken.
It is in the midst of that crisis of faith that they are granted this remarkable vision, in which they see Jesus with both Moses and Elijah. Jesus became dazzlingly white, as were His clothes. This is showing us Jesus in His resurrected form. And the two individuals with Him, Moses and Elijah, tell us a great deal about Jesus.
Moses was the great Lawgiver and was considered the author of the Pentateuch. Elijah is one of the greatest of the Prophets and represents all of them. What you and I call the Old Testament, the Jews of Jesus’ time would have called the Law and the Prophets. Their presence with Jesus on the mountain, hundreds of years after their deaths, are a proclamation that what Jesus was telling them about Himself as the Messiah was in line with the Law and the Prophets, the Old Testament Scriptures.
After Moses and Elijah disappear, they are all enveloped within a cloud. The cloud is the same one that led the Israelites through the desert and filled the Temple. The cloud is the great symbol of the invisible God. From this cloud they hear the voice of the Father pronouncing, “This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.” God Himself is confirming the teaching of Jesus about the necessity of the sufferings that He must undergo in Jerusalem.
They did not tell anyone about this experience until after Jesus had risen from the dead. How could they? Who would have believed them? They would have been dismissed as insane.
Our own faith at times is shaky. During this Lent we seek to strengthen our faith and our trust in the teachings of Jesus.
—Fr. Mike Comer
After Moses and Elijah disappear, they are all enveloped within a cloud. The cloud is the same one that led the Israelites through the desert and filled the Temple. The cloud is the great symbol of the invisible God. From this cloud they hear the voice of the Father pronouncing, “This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.” God Himself is confirming the teaching of Jesus about the necessity of the sufferings that He must undergo in Jerusalem.
They did not tell anyone about this experience until after Jesus had risen from the dead. How could they? Who would have believed them? They would have been dismissed as insane.
Our own faith at times is shaky. During this Lent we seek to strengthen our faith and our trust in the teachings of Jesus.
—Fr. Mike Comer
