Come to us again, O Jesus—do not listen to Peter! Come down from Tabor and come to our homes, into our hearts! Come here, where we are suffering and laboring for our daily bread! Come here, where we are crucified by people, demons, and passions! If Peter does not want to come down, leave him on the mount and come to us, to our hearts!
Archimandrite Iachint (Unciuleac)
O, how we would have liked to stay with Peter on Mount Tabor! But we bear a body, gasping from sickness, lusts and passions. In our breasts are hearts burning with hatred. At home our children are waiting for us, asking us for a piece of bread!...
O, how we would like to delight with Peter there, on Mount Tabor! But we see ourselves surrounded by fog, by sin. Do not abandon us, O Jesus, but come down to us in a sharp wind, to the foot of the mount. Here we are waiting for Thee, along with the other disciples: Thomas and Andrew, James and Matthew, Jude and Bartholomew, Simon and Thaddeus. Hungry and naked, wanderers and orphans, the young and the old, widows and beggars, the sick and the suffering—we are all waiting for Thee, thirsting for Thee. Come and make peace with us.
Come down even further, to the shore of the sea, where life is tossed about in the waves, where ships are wrecked against the rocks and so many sails are torn, so many oars are broken, so many souls are carried down to the bottom by the rebellious force of the waves. We know that the mount with its quiet and solitude call Thee to prayer, but nevertheless look down to the sea with pity. There, in the distance, the waves cast up their mist, tearing at the shores with such fury… And this, is the world. But on the waves the ships battle with the sea, wind, and night. And this, is man.
Come down to that place, to the sea’s abyss, to the heart of man, to the hearth of the family. Come there, where the light is mixed with the darkness, life with death, joy with sighing, bread with dust, truth with lies, honey with poison, love with hate, wine with vinegar, time with eternity. Come here, where we people are suffering; make peace with us, transform the face of the world, calm the sea, assuage our hearts, and unite the thoughts of our souls into one.
