The transfiguration of Jesus is a glimpse into the future glory that God is preparing for all creation. Peter, entranced by what he has seen, suggests that everyone remain on the mountaintop permanently; but Jesus leads the disciples off the mountain onto the path of suffering which culminates in his shameful death on the cross. Jesus leads us in the same way. Our mountaintop experiences with God are not given to us as an end, but as a means to an end. They are given to strengthen and remind us of the glory that awaits us as we walk the way of the cross.