33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
We often want a good thing to last longer. This is where Peter is at this moment in history. The three disciples who are with Jesus get a glimpse of His Divinity. His appearance changes to reflect His nature as God. There are the two greatest prophets from the Old Testament standing and talking with Jesus. Peter wants to prolong the experience. But the gathering begins to break up. Peter doesn’t know what to do so he speaks, trying to figure out how to keep the experience going. Instead of being thankful for the experience he already has had, he wants to get more of it. He is not satisfied with the glimpse, he wants more. If he hadn’t been so occupied with sleep, he would have enjoyed more of the experience. Are there experiences in your life that you wish you could have hung onto longer? I know some people who have lost their spouses due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know they wish they could hold onto some more moments with their husbands. Some have lost significant relationships due to other tragic circumstances. Some events we want to erase from our memories. Some we want to hold onto permanently. Peter wants to hold onto this one. But it is too late. The gathering is over. The moment has passed. It is gone. So how do we handle the loss of a moment we want to hold onto? Do we build a shrine? Take up the cause?
The Arnold Journey 