Daily Gospel for Sunday February 25, 2018

Gospel, Mark 9:2-10

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain on their own by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured:

his clothes became brilliantly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them.

Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus.

Then Peter spoke to Jesus, 'Rabbi,' he said, 'it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.'

He did not know what to say; they were so frightened.

And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and from the cloud there came a voice, 'This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.'

Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.

As they were coming down from the mountain he warned them to tell no one what they had seen, until after the Son of man had risen from the dead.

They observed the warning faithfully, though among themselves they discussed what 'rising from the dead' could mean.

Reflection on the Gospel of the Lord

In the Holy Gospel today, I can feel the joy of Peter, James and John when they saw Jesus Christ transfigured in front of them. Maybe they were also shock and awe, overwhelmed or maybe excited because they have not experienced this before.

The three apostles Peter, James and John didn't know the reason why they will climb up a mountain. They just followed Jesus Christ with no question. The Apostle didn't except that they will witness a small glimpse of the glory and splendor of God. And that was what happened.

But there is something that bugs me. Why is it that Jesus Christ only took Peter, James and John with him to the mountain? Jesus has 12 apostles and why only he took 3 with him. Are Peter, James and John the closest apostles of Jesus? Does Jesus had favorites? But I think Peter, James and John plays a special role in Jesus’ life that is why they are the ones who was chosen to witness the transfiguration.

As a human being, we are called to love everyone. It is in our nature to develop special relationship with a few. It is always your family that you have the closest bond. Next in line are your friends, your mentors, your co-workers and etc. There are three elements that involves in true friendship and these are Relationship, Trust and Accountability.

In relationship, you spend quality time with someone. You have constant communication with that person. Trust is not very easy to get, you must earn it. It will take time to build your trust to someone. With trust, we can share those thoughts and feelings. We must be faithful and loyal to be trustworthy.

We also want to see our friends grow spiritually and mentally. True friends support each other especially during the times of crisis and struggle. We always help our friends no matter what and this is accountability.

Jesus Christ loved his friends. He loved his apostles that they created a special kind of relationship. He trusted Peter, James and John and showed them a small glimpse of the God's glory and lastly, he wanted to see his friends grow mentally and spiritually and always support time in times of need.