When Jesus came to the end of his public ministry, he took Peter, James, and John up Mt. Tabor and was transfigured before them. He showed them his glory there because he also informed then that it was time to go down the mountain and head to Jerusalem. The public ministry was ending and the days of his passion were approaching. So too the days of our pilgrimage are ending and it’s time for us to “come down” and return home. So we too had our day on Mt. Tabor and celebrated Mass in the spot where Jesus appeared in his glory with Moses and Elijah. Mt. Tabor stands apart all by itself in Galilee and the view from on top is spectacular. No wonder Peter didn’t want to come down.
Like the apostles, we too had to come down and continue on. Jesus headed for Calvary and we headed for the airport. On our way, we stopped in the town of Abu Gosh, believed to be the historic site of the village of Emaus. It was here that the two disciples met Jesus on Easter Sunday as they walked along and then recognized him in the breaking of the bread. Since we will be traveling tomorrow on Sunday, we celebrated the anticipated Mass here. This year, the Mass happens to be that of the Presentation of the Lord. I again got to be the main celebrant for Mass and used the homily as an opportunity to tie together some of the events of the last 10 days.