Weekly Reflection with Father Kevin

There is a seemingly strange line in today’s Gospel about Jesus not knowing what to do.  When Peter, James, and John went up the mountain with Jesus, they were so amazed at seeing Elijah and Moses there, they offered to build three tents for them.  At this point, St. Mark tells us that Jesus didn’t know what to say, because these three Apostles really didn’t understand what was going on.  This is understandable in one way, most people missed the point or the significance of a lot of things Jesus did.  It wasn’t until much later, after the Resurrection, that people looked back and understood what some of these events really meant.

But what about Jesus?  Did St. Mark really mean that Jesus didn’t know what to say?  Was this just a figure of speech?  Sure, God the Father takes over and proclaims to them that Jesus is His Son.  But does that really mean that Jesus didn’t know what the next step was?

It can be hard for us to think that God the Son was ever at a loss for words, or needed some guidance, or ever questioned what to do.  It would be foolish to overlook these circumstances, because we really need to understand that God really did take on our human nature completely.  This includes the way that we have to struggle through times when we can’t see the right path. 

Most of these times didn’t turn out like the events on this mountain, because God the Father didn’t show up every single time.  Most times, when Jesus didn’t know which way to turn, or didn’t have the strength to continue on, He prayed.  He would find some quiet place to be alone, away from the distractions of His life, and He asked the Father for guidance.  Sometimes we forget that Jesus was actually completely human, as well as completely Divine.  When we forget that, we miss the way He provides a perfect example to us.  Let us not forget that, even for Jesus, praying took time, and even Jesus needed to get away from the noise of His life to really pray.  When we need to have a conversation with God, we must also put ourselves in a position where we can actually hear His voice.