Getting up when the world feels heavy
Scripture Reading: Matthew 17:1-9
Photo: Gerald Farinas.
Imagine being on a high mountain when everything suddenly changes. In the story of the Transfiguration, the disciples see Jesus glowing with a light that is hard to describe. For a moment, the world they know peels back to show them something powerful and holy.
The disciples do not celebrate this miracle. Instead, they are terrified. They fall face-down on the ground, paralyzed by a fear so heavy it pins them there.
Many of us feel like we are in that same position today. We look at the world and see problems that feel too big to fix. We look at our own lives and feel stuck in cycles of worry—about finding a job, caring for aging family, or just wondering what the future holds. When we are anxious, we tend to freeze. We stay on the ground because we cannot imagine a future where things actually get better.
In the middle of that fear, Jesus does something very kind. He doesn't stay far away or tell them to just get over it. He walks over, touches them, and says, "Get up, and do not be afraid."
This was not just a way to calm them down for a minute. Jesus knew that they were about to leave the mountain and go back into a world full of pain and hard work. He showed them his light to give them the strength to face those difficult days. He told them not to be afraid because the glory they saw on the mountain would stay with them even in the darkest valleys.
When we feel stuck in the waiting rooms of our lives, the future can feel like a threat. We worry that the problems we have today are just a preview of a worse tomorrow. But the message here is that the light of the Gospel is not just for the good times. It is meant to be carried into the places where we feel the most lost.
To "get up" does not mean we suddenly have all the answers to the world’s problems or our own. It means we refuse to let fear keep us pinned to the floor. We move forward because we know there is a power greater than the stuck feeling we have right now. We carry that hope into our daily lives, trusting that even when the path is unclear, we do not walk it alone.
