Commemoration
Consider this. In Matthew 17, Jesus takes Peter, John, and James up a mountain. Jesus begins to glow in front of them, and then Moses and Elijah appear. Peter is so taken aback by what is happening that his first instinct is to mark the occasion. “Peter broke in, ‘Master, this is a great moment! What would you think if I built three memorials here on the mountain—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah?'” (Matthew 17:4)
In various translations, Peter suggests building different things– most translations call it a tabernacle, others a sacred tent. In the translation from The Message above, I like the word memorial because I believe it captures the heart of what Peter was suggesting.
This was the biblical equivalent of a photographer at a theme park asking to take a group photo of your family at the worst possible moment.
Peter was so enthralled at seeing Moses and Elijah and a glowing Christ that he wanted to commemorate the experience. And while I can relate– he was also so wrapped up in capturing the current moment that he ended up missing the next one.
While he was still speaking (The Message reads “While he was going on like this, babbling”), a bright cloud enveloped them, and from deep in the cloud a voice said “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him.”
What did the disciples do? They fell to the ground in fear. Peter was a bold soul. If he wasn’t so worried about taking a selfie with Elijah and Moses, I wonder if he would have been afraid at all– especially after his experience with Christ walking on the water.
Commemoration isn’t wrong. But commemoration too hastily can cause us to miss what’s next.