The walk down from Mount Tabor after the Transfiguration must have been a long one for Peter, James, and John. How differently they must have viewed the world with the eyes that had seen what they had just seen. How uncertain they must have been. 

I think it’s important to remember that, on the mountain, they were amazed, yes — but first, they were afraid. We are given the image of these three grown men — these saints, these giants of salvation history — cowering in fear at the voice of God. It was not until Jesus touched them that they could even bear to look up.

Christ was transfigured on Tabor, but in a way, the disciples were transfigured as well. We are all changed by what we see and what we hear. That change can be hard because knowledge is hard. Truth is hard. Sometimes cowering is easier.

Go forth, God told Abram. I will make of you a great nation. 

Rise, Christ told his disciples. And do not be afraid.

I spend too much time cowering in fear at the voice of God. I cower even when the voice whispers into my heart instead of booming from the clouds. When it’s the start of a hard day or a tough conversation. When it’s the middle of a half-finished battle, big or small. When I know where Christ is and what he is asking, but I’m afraid because the walk down the mountain is so long, and the world that awaits me is so uncertain. 

“Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.” — Psalm 33