"Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain" (Mark 9:2).
Sunday’s Gospel of Jesus’s Transfiguration is paired with the narrative of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac in the first reading, prompting the question: What is the link?
Jesus says to His disciples: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34), so by following Him up the mountain, Peter, James and John are, implicitly, accepting to sacrifice their lives for Him.
