This encounter of Peter, James and John upon the mountain with the glorious Christ seems out of place in the Gospel of St. Mark. Why are the disciples not able to see the glory of Christ at every moment? Why can they not see this? It is because they have not accepted that Jesus must die on the cross. We, readers of St. Mark’s Gospel, are now seeing all this in the light of the cross and resurrection. We know that without the cross there can be no resurrection. It is only after Jesus has risen that the disciples will understand the significance of what happened upon the mountain. The mountain of the glorious appearance of Jesus only makes sense in the light of that other mountain, Golgotha, the place of the crucifixion. When we think of earthly glory we think of those who have risen above our ordinary human weakness and vulnerability. Those who are rich and famous do not share in our daily struggles to make a living. Sometimes we think that sharing in the glory of Christ will make us invulnerable to human weakness and suffering. With Peter we say it is wonderful to be with the glorified Christ, and we wish to build a dwelling place so that Christ can stay forever with us. Yet remaining with Christ means following Him to that other mountain, the place of the cross.
In order to enter into His glory, Christ calls us to follow Him on the path to the cross. It is very tempting to remain on the mountain, but we are called to return to our lives. Each of us is confronted by suffering: the pain and disappointments of our own lives, the sufferings of those around us. As Christians we are not called to rise above the pain and suffering of the world, but to follow Christ and enter into those places where people suffer. We can only do this as Christ’s disciples, allowing Him to enter into our own suffering and pain, so that we can show to others this healing love. This is what it means to show the glory of Christ.