Have you ever been somewhere that was so special, so different, so otherworldly, that you just wanted to stay--you couldn't bring yourself to leave? As kids, my brother and I often wandered around in the delightful woods at the end of the quarter mile lane that went from the back of my grandparents farmhouse, to Slim's pond, where our woods started. When staying with our grandparents for a weekend, or a few days in the summer, Denis and I would inevitably wander out to the woods, just to poke around, skip rocks in Slim's pond, or otherwise go adventuring. Usually, we stayed within the fences that bordered grandma and grandpa's farm, but now and then, since we were out in the middle of nowhere, we'd climb over the fences, and see what we could find. Once, we felt like we'd discovered heaven on earth. We crossed a fence, found a little stream, followed it through some brambles, until we came upon, what seemed to us, the most secluded and special place in all the world. There was a little cliff area, where the stream had cut through the hillside, there was a pleasant little grassy area between the stream and the hillside, and it all seemed to be surrounded by briars and brambles, so that when you were in this little spot, you felt like you were all alone, protected, and well, safe. I don't know how long we stayed there, in our little piece of heaven. We dabbled in the stream, sat in the grass, looked up at the sky, and talked about the fact that this must have been what the Garden of Eden was like. In fact, we decided that we would call this the Garden of Eden--a place so different and apart, that it would be our paradise. We were so impressed, we couldn't bring ourselves to leave. We stayed, and dallied, and played all afternoon. And I think if we could have, we would have put up a tent, and never gone back.

     Today, as we celebrate the Festival of the Transfiguration, we find the disciples in much the same mood.or, Peter, at least. Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain, where they were by themselves. And while they were there, Jesus was transfigured--the Greek says he was "metamorphosed"--which means he was changed in form or substance, he was transformed. Before their very eyes, Jesus' appearance changed, his face shone like the sun, his clothes became dazzling white, and suddenly, there appeared to them, Moses and Elijah, the embodiment of the Law and the Prophets, standing right there, and they were talking with Jesus! And then and there, Peter, James and John knew they were in a special place--so much so that right away, Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." In other words, Peter wanted to stay! And why wouldn't he? Who wouldn't want to prolong this interaction, to remain in this special place and time, with these special people? We've all had such experiences, and wondered why we couldn't just pitch a tent, and remain there.

     And isn't it curious, that Jesus doesn't respond to Peter. Why didn't Jesus at least tell Peter "no"? Why didn't Jesus say something to Peter? Pope Leo the Great, writing about this very experience, said, "Excited by these revelations of secret realities, the apostle Peter, spurning the mundane and loathing earthly things, was seized by a certain excess of passion toward a yearning for eternal things. Filled up with the joy of the whole vision, he wished to dwell there with Jesus where he was delighting in Christ's manifested glory..but," Pope Leo writes, "the Lord did not respond to this suggestion, for it was not wicked, but inappropriate.since the world could not be saved except by Christ's death.and Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem."

     And isn't that always the way it is--we think we've found our paradise on earth, but life calls us back--to reality, to responsibility. Peter thought they should stay on that mountaintop, just Jesus, Moses and Elijah-- Peter, James and John--forgetting about the valley below, forgetting what lay ahead for Jesus in Jerusalem, forgetting the cares of the world and the burdens of the day. That's human nature. But Jesus wasn't drawn into such temptation. As spectacular as that must have been for Jesus, the glory, the presence and conversation with Moses and Elijah, the voice of His Father from heaven, saying, "This is my Son, the beloved--listen to him!" In spite of it all--Jesus would not be distracted or deterred. Just shortly after this, St. Luke tells us that Jesus had set his face toward Jerusalem. And that really says it all. While Peter's all too human desire was to spend some extended quality time with Jesus, Moses and Elijah in the glory of the mountaintop--Jesus' desire, now confirmed by the Transfiguration as Son of God, as the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets in the flesh, was to fulfill His Father's will, by going down the mountain, back down to the people who so desperately needed a Savior. And He went, more than anything else, to spend some quality time, not in paradise, not in heavenly glory, He went to spend quality time--on the cross.for us, and for our salvation. Had he not gone--had he succumbed to the human temptation to escape from the world and remain tented on the mountaintop; had he done as Peter wished, and remained there in the glory of the Transfiguration--where would we, and the rest of humanity, for all of time, be? Lost. Alone. Un-redeemed. Un-restored. Without the hope and promise of resurrection unto eternal life.

     Jesus, the Son, the Beloved of the Father, would not leave us in such dire straights. Jesus would not--could not--did not deny the will of the Father, and leave us forsaken. Rather, he was blessed by the transfiguration; surely, He was strengthened and encouraged by the experience on the mountain--but He would have nothing of putting up tents to remain there. Because, the message of the Gospel, is not that Jesus would remain, far off and distant on some mountain-top, where only the privileged and the well-to-do could visit, when invited-when they could afford the trip. No--what does it say in the Gospel of John? It says, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth." Interesting, the actual word is not dwelt among us-but the original says, "The Word pitched his tent among us"-the Eternal Word, Jesus-became flesh to "tabernacle" among us. He became incarnate to live with us, and though He died on the cross for our sins, He was raised to new life, to be, as He promised, "with us always, even to the close of the age."

     So, we might ask, where is He? He came down from the mountain of the Transfiguration, to go to Jerusalem, Golgotha and the cross-He was crucified, died, and was raised on the third day, to dwell with us. But, where is He? Where is He, in my life, in your life? St. Jerome writes, "Seek only the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, for in these there is one God, who is to be worshiped in the tabernacle of your heart." The crucifixion, the resurrection, Jesus' ascension to the seat of power and the coming of His Holy Spirit at Pentecost, were all, for one purpose-that the very fullness of God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, would be present with us, and for us-to indeed, dwell with us, not hidden in a woods somewhere, not high up in a purple mountain's majesty...and certainly not camping out in the guest room downstairs, or in the sacristy at the church, but He was raised, that He might be dwell-that He might be present, and worshiped, in the tabernacle of our hearts. And how does He get there? How does the Holy Trinity end up here? The Word of God-the very fullness of God's presence is manifested-transfigured among us, as He-Jesus Christ, is proclaimed in our midst, and we receive Him, and we, as the saying goes, "take the Word of God to heart"-"we take Jesus, to heart"-as the Holy Spirit takes Him, from here (ears and mind), to here (heart and center of our being). And then, if that auditory, aural experience is not enough. The Word of God, the very fullness of God's presence, is transfigured among us, again-as the Word, Jesus, is metamorphosed, in the bread and wine that become His body and blood, so that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, when we eat his flesh and drink his blood, as Jesus proclaims, we have his life, in us. In John 6, Jesus says, "those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. And the one who eats this Bread, will live forever...will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." The Word of God-the Son of God, became human, to be with us, to be transfigured among us-to tabernacle in our hearts, to live with us in this life, so that abiding in Him, and He in us, we would then, receive with Him, eternal life, in paradise. And it is there, finally, where we will be and remain, forever-at peace, at home, satisfied, well, whole, restored-blessed! It is there, that we will, after all, receive, not a tent-but an eternal dwelling-where we will live with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, for eternity. That is the good news, not just of the Transfiguration-it's the good news of the Incarnation, the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection-it's the good news of our salvation. It's the good news that will keep us going through the Season of Lent, until finally, we end up, with Jesus, in the paradise that is, the hope and promise of new life and eternal life, on Easter morning.

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.