Jesus reveals His glory today to three of his disciples, who are amazed, while he is high up on a mountain. Why did He feel they needed it?
Gospel (Read Mk 9:2-10)
Today’s reading really requires attention to the context in which it appears (read Mk 8:31-9:1) to best understand it. We see that when Jesus “began to teach [the apostles] that the Son of man must suffer many things” (8:31a), Peter rebuked Him. Peter was not interested in hearing about Jesus’ fate, since suffering seemed to be an admission of defeat and failure. This brought forth a stern rebuke from Jesus: “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men.” Jesus made it clear that Peter’s reaction to the fate that lay ahead for Him was earthbound. Satan will always try to convince us that we can get what we want, without having to suffer the pain of self denial. This kind of thinking presented such a threat to followers of Jesus that He turned to the whole multitude gathered there and said to them, “If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (8:34). Sobering! Jesus gave his followers hope, too. He plainly told them,…
