Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and
leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves:
and he was transfigured before them (Mk.9, 2)

Lord took unto Fabor only those of his disciples with Him, whom He found worthy to witness His Glory: Peter, adherent of faith, impetuous is act; James, future martyr, meek in obedience; and John, who with his love won the Love of the Savior more than anyone else.

He took them up unto the high mountain in a special way. How often Lord was looking for a silent retreat! He constantly distance Himself from the crowd and leads His disciples with Him, so that they could have rest and concentrate: “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while” (Mk.6, 31), He was saying to them.

Worldly people seek entertainment in loud pleasures; Godly people avoid crowds, watch their thoughts and concentrate on one necessary thing.

In the Gospel from Luke it is said that “he went out into a mountain to pray” (Lk,6, 12). During all of His earthly life Savior was always noticeably in need of a prayer. He used to retread to communicate without interruption with His Heavenly Father, in Whom He was finding strength and consolation. When starting His earthly course - He is praying. At nights - He is praying. In the laceType>gardenlaceType> of laceName>GethsemanelaceName>, preparing Himself for sufferings and death – He is praying. On the cross, in His Agony, until the last minute of His life – He does not seize praying and encourages His disciples to pray: “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation” (Mk.14, 38)

The mountain, that He is taking His disciples unto, is our hard thorny path, which we need to walk through to be raised to the height of a real prayer. The power of prayer is a greatest mystery, but in its simplicity it is accessible for a simple soul of a child. It would seem that it is easy to pray, because the spirit of prayer gets revealed sometimes just in a simple sigh, in a simple look. But this is a great zeal, supernatural zeal – this is a work of God in a man’s soul.

God by Himself can do this miracle in our heart; He will lead us Himself on the narrow, abrupt, rocky path to the top of the mountain, that He lead His disciples to. He will support us and carry us in His hands, removing all of the obstacles. Following Him we will reach the top and get a trophy , which was waiting for the disciples on the Fabor: there, far from the noise and vanity of the world, they were listening only to the voice of the Savior. They recognized the Son of God in Him, they witnessed His everlasting glory.

Same for us, if we raise our souls to the Lord, leaving behind all temptations and seducements of the world, He will let us to taste that indescribable bliss of closeness to God, which gives us strength to fight in life, firmness in trials and consolation in sorrows.

(Translated from “Every Day is a Gift from God. Diaries of an Orthodox Priest”, author unknown)
Translation by Tatiana Rozzell copyrighted 2009/2010. All rights reserved