Luke 9:28b-36, Second Sunday of Lent

I can’t blame Peter. Ang ganda ganda sa Mt. Tabor. It’s not certain though if the church up there today is exactly on the same spot where the Transfiguration really happened. But it’s still breathtaking to be in that general area. It was approaching dusk when we were there the first time. The sun was slowly setting in the west. The moon was just rising in the east . Pero magkasabay silang nasa sa langit. Magkabila, parang Moses and Elijah watching over the quietly magnificent church. Oh, the sheer altitude and calmness of Tabor gives you a certain high, 1886 feet above sea level. Kaya siguro nag-aligaga si Peter. “Dito na lang tayo, Lord.” In the Bible, the mountain was a privileged place of meeting between mortals and God. How privileged Peter was to be chosen to climb up Tabor, kasi hindi naman lahat ng apostoles pinasama. And how privileged to witness a miracle confirming that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. And how privileged to hear God saying, “This is my chosen Son, listen to him.” But highest privilege of all, this Rock Star of the Universe was Peter’s friend! He could now tell the world from up there: “Close kami!”

Kaya ayaw na niyang bumaba. “Master, let us make three tents.” I can imagine Peter saying, “Stay here, Lord. Don’t move. I’ll take care of everything. What do you need? The guys and I will go down, fetch our families and all our stuff, and we’ll be right back up. And we’ll stay here. Tayo-tayo lang. What do you need, Lord? Anything. Basta dito na tayo sa taas.”

What came over Peter still happens today…to politicians, school officials, employees. It also happens to bishops, priests, and church collaborators. When we’re privileged to be asked up and be with the privileged, we “transfigure.” Sino lang ba naman tayo noon? Nasa paanan lang ng bundok, blending in with the rest of humanity. But why is it, sisters and brothers, that our “transfiguration” often goes “the other way”? Downhill. We become arrogant. We flaunt our privilege like we deserve it. Instead of holding out our hand to help others up and share the experience, we “exclusivize” the privilege. Gusto natin tayo-tayo lang. Instead of being transfigured into servants like the Servant Son of God, we turn entitled, smug, and like our Ateneo guards call presumptuous guests and drivers, we become “Fil-Am, feeling amo.” Worst of all, we become duplicitous. Up the mountain of honor, we wear our light-filled faces. Down the mountain, our face returns to default: hard and exacting, especially with the ordinary, rank and file “lowlanders.”

Even Pope Francis swept the Vatican clean of this “reverse transfiguration” among hierarchs. His address was well-said to the seminarians (na paakyat pa lang kumbaga sa bundok ng hierarchy): “If tomorrow you will be priests in the midst of God’s people,” he said, “begin today as people who know how to be with everyone… learn something from every person you meet, with humility and intelligence.” “Bumaba ka sa bundok,” in Ateneo-speak. “Down from the hill, down to the world go I,” sadly easier and more often sung than done.

God formed Jesus into excellence through the Spirit within him, yes. But the Father also put the Son exactly where the poor were, so they could teach him how to be human and humane. Mt. Tabor confirmed how well Jesus learned the groundwork of being Messiah. But that groundwork happened down Tabor. The same thing applies to us, sisters and brothers. Only when we’re firmly grounded with God’s people do we transfigure into God’s image and likeness. Why? Because the Son, the perfect image of the Father, didn’t just look like his Father. He who “pitched his tent and dwelled among us” looks like us, too. Kaya shout-out po to today’s young parents. Maybe we can expose our children as they grow up to ordinary humanity. Di po natin sinasabi na pabayaan sila doon. Sanayin po natin silang kasama ang karaniwang tao at kalagayan nila. Formative and hopefully, transfiguring.

But when we’re loving our mountains a little too much, sisters and brothers, God created the universe with what we call gravity. What goes up eventually comes down. That forced descent may take a while. But it happens. And this is all over the news these days. The high and mighty just falling from grace. Gravity isn’t just scientific, it seems, but also divine.

This Lent, maybe we can self-scrutinize and ask, what is our real face? Alin ba talaga ang tunay na mukha natin? Is it the face brightened by God’s blessings? Or is it the one darkened by envy, insecurity, and resentment? ‘Yung pagkatao natin sa taas ng bundok kasama ng mga Rock Stars, at ‘yung pagkatao natin sa baba ng bundok kasama ang karaniwang tao, pareho ba? Have we ever experienced divine gravity? Did we learn our lesson? Or do we need to be taught one?

May God transfigure us down our mountains, on the earth. Earth: the stuff out of which God created us lovingly. We already are very privileged, sisters and brothers. We’re on top of God’s list. But many of us need reminding that we have feet of clay.