(Matthew 17:1–13, Acts 12:1-2)

As I sit here in this dark and dank place, awaiting the dawn, I would not have had it any other way. He called me by the sea, my brother and I, and Andrew and Simon. We went with him at once leaving our father to continue running the business. I was often asked to go with him, and my John and Simon, sometimes known as Peter. Simon had become a leader and John, well you have read his words, can create wonder on the dowdiest of manuscripts. I was never sure why I went.

When we got to the mountain, he prayed. There was nothing unusual in that he prayed more than any man I had ever met. As he was praying, he changed. We were all familiar with the stories from our scriptures; Moses had to shield his face from the people because he had been with God. Prophets had had visions of angels and of the heavens. But here we were, seeing the man we followed change before our eyes. Yet he did not change, even as we saw Moses and Elijah appear alongside him, for maybe we were granted the privilege of seeing him properly for the first time. It was like a kind of dream, but the truth is this: the heavens lifted the curtains back, and we saw him as he really was. It was as if Jesus and the one like a son of man were identical. No wonder, Peter ran out words, and said shall we build tents for you, Moses and Elijah. I am not sure Simon had ever pitched a tent in his life.

Then everything went a little darker and lighter at the same time. A cloud covered us and out of the cloud came the voice. ‘This is my son. I love him. Listen to him’. There were echoes of the Psalms of course, and yet so much more. That was so Jesus though, utterly faithful to all we knew yet always pushing us to experience more. And then it went, and they went, and the three of us were left alone with our rabbi, our friend and our Lord. Don’t tell anyone what you have seen today, he commanded, not even the others. You will understand all things in time. We did as we were told!

Things began to change after this day. We were heading in one direction from then on, to the holy city. I look back on that day when he changed and yet did not change before us. You cannot put experiences like that into words. But I remember that we went there to pray; and you never know what happens when you pray. I still struggle to pray, and now here I am in Herod’s cell. The dawn is approaching and I will see the face of the man who changed everything once again.