ACC ~ Matthew 17 v4

I WILL MAKE THREE BOOTHS

JEROME: You go astray, Peter, just as the other Evangelist attests: you do not know what you are saying. Do not seek three tabernacles. Seek only the tabernacle of the gospel in which the law and the prophets are to be recapitulated. [1] By seeking three tabernacles you appear to be comparing incommensurably the two servants with the one Lord. Seek only the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, for in these there is one God, who is to be worshiped in the tabernacle of your heart. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 3.17.4. [2]

[1] Jerome’s observation is meant to reveal the tight unity between the Old Testament (law and prophets) and the New Testament.

[2] CCL 77:148.

PETER SAID TO JESUS

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Peter didn’t know what he was saying, for before the Savior’s Passion, resurrection and victory over death and corruption, it was impossible for Peter to be with Christ and to be permitted into the tents which are in heaven. These things would happen only after the Savior’s resurrection and ascent into heaven. FRAGMENT 200. [1]

[1] MKGK 218.

IT IS WELL THAT WE ARE HERE

LEO THE GREAT: Excited therefore by these revelations of secret realities, the apostle Peter, spurning the mundane and loathing earthly things, was seized by a certain excess of passion toward a yearning for eternal things. Filled up with the joy of the whole vision, he wished to dwell there with Jesus where he was delighting in Christ’s manifested glory. Thus Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” But the Lord did not reply to this suggestion, for it was not wicked but inappropriate, since the world could not be saved except by Christ’s death. And in the Lord’s warning the faith of those who believe is called to account. Among the temptations of this life we should understand that we are to ask for endurance before glory. Good fortune in ruling cannot come before a time of enduring. SERMON 38.5. [1]

[1] SC 74:18-19; NPNF 2 12:163-64.