Gospel invites us to climb the mountain

March 4, 2007 -- Second Sunday of Lent

By Fr. Michael Stubbs

	Fr. Mike Stubbs

I am in the middle of reading a fascinating book, A Team of Rivals, by Doris Goodwin. It tells how Abraham Lincoln chose his cabinet members from among his opponents. He did not want yes men, but rather, independent thinkers who would challenge him.

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I wonder if Jesus did anything along those lines. Did he create anything approaching a cabinet?

Within the twelve apostles, Jesus also formed an inner circle, consisting of the three disciples, Peter, John and James. These three figure prominently in Sunday's gospel reading of the Transfiguration, Luke 9:28b-36. They had appeared earlier in Luke 8:51, where Jesus singles them out to accompany him into Jairus' house for the miraculous healing his daughter. "When he arrived at the house, he allowed no one to enter with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's father and mother."

Now, in Sunday's reading, Jesus invites them up the mountain to witness his glory. Jesus is transformed in front of their eyes. Or is he?

In Luke's account, it is not altogether clear. Luke provides a detail overlooked by Mark and Matthew: "Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory." Another translation renders the same verse 32 as "Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep but kept awake, and they saw his glory."

Luke's text employs a verb not seen previously in Greek literature. Thus, there is nothing to compare it to, to pinpoint its meaning. Does it mean that Peter, John and James were sound asleep, and suddenly woke up to see Jesus already transfigured in glory? Or, does it mean that Peter, John and James were fighting off sleep, but managed to stay awake and see Jesus transformed, while they were in a trance-like state?

In either case, this detail links Luke's account of the Transfiguration to another scene in the synoptic gospels, where Jesus is praying in the garden of Gethsemani, Mark 14:32-42, Matthew 26:36-36 and Luke 22:39-46. In all three synoptic gospels, Jesus brings some disciples with him to join him in prayer, but who have trouble staying awake. Interestingly enough, The gospels of Matthew and Mark identify those disciples as Peter, James and John. Luke's gospel does not name the disciples who were overcome with sleep at Gethsemani. At the same time, the detail in Luke's account of the Transfiguration about the disciples being overcome with sleep allows us to make that connection.

But why Peter, James and John? What did Jesus hope to find in this inner circle? Was he looking for companionship and support? Did he wish to prepare them for roles of leadership? We know that Peter stood out as the leader of the Twelve, so much that we can call him the first Pope. But also James eventually played a significant part in the leadership of the early church, specifically the local church in Jerusalem. He is honored as its first bishop.

In the accounts of the Transfiguration, though, Peter, James and John function as figures that we can identify with. For our purposes, they help us to enter into the story. Jesus invites us, as he did Peter, James and John, to climb the mountain with him, to join him in prayer, to witness his glory.

(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)