A Local Call

A high-powered American businessman was visiting Canada. From his hotel room in Toronto, he made a long-distance call to Montreal. When he had finished, he inquired about the charges and was told that they amounted to fourteen dollars and fifty cents in American money. The man became very upset and he angrily replied, “Why where I come from we can call to hell and back for fourteen dollars and fifty cents.” Whereupon, the operator said, “Yes, but where you come from that obviously is a local call.”

There are times in life when we get the feeling that Almighty God is a long distance away. But there are also those peak experiences when we get the feeling that heaven is just a local call. Today’s Gospel Lesson is the story of a peak experience in the life of Jesus and three of the Apostles.

Jesus takes Peter, James and John “up on a high mountain by themselves” (Mt. 17:1). They have gone up…