Lk 9:28b-36
28[Jesus] took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. 29While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. 30And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, 31who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
32Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. 34While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. 35Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” 36After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.
Metamorphosis: In Sacred Scriptures, mountains are known to be places of prayer and spiritual retreat. The prophet Elijah, persecuted by Queen Jezebel, goes for safety and retreat to the mountain of God, Horeb (1 Kgs 20:8). Mountains are also powerful symbols of encounter with God. Abraham is tested by God to offer his son Isaac as holocaust on Mount Moriah (Gn 22:1-14), and Moses encounters God in the burning bush in Horeb/Sinai (Ex 3:2-6). Hence, to speak of the mountain is to expect an encounter with the divine. And an encounter with the Lord, a mountaintop experience, strengthens, renews, and prepares the person for the mission God entrusts to him or her.
The Gospel pericope gives a glimpse of such a mountaintop experience. Jesus undergoes a metamorphosis, a change of form. Moses and Elijah, who personify God’s Revelation (the Law and the Prophets), converse with Jesus who fulfills the Law and the Prophets. Thus, Jesus’ identity and mission are revealed to his most intimate disciples.
Peter and his companions are overwhelmed by their experience. Peter wants the “high moment” to last a lifetime and so proposes that tents or booths be put up on the mountain. He misses the point of the experience. It is to strengthen them when they descend to the plain and go up again to Jerusalem where, in his passion, Jesus will appear as one of those from whom people hide their faces. Behind the rejected face is the face of the chosen Son.