Friends by your side

Jesus, help me turn to people I trust when I need someone to listen. Amen!

Jesus, Peter, James and John went up a mountain. All of a sudden, Jesus' face and clothes got as bright as the sun! Moses and Elijah, famous prophets, appeared with Jesus, and God's voice said, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him." Then the light went away and the disciples were alone with Jesus. "Don't talk about this until I'm in heaven," Jesus told them.

Who do you go to when you're really upset? If you're sad or angry or you just need to talk to someone, you'll probably pick a good friend, someone in your family or even a teacher you trust. You know you can pour your heart out to them and they'll listen.

Kids aren't the only ones who turn to people they're close to when they need comforting. Even Jesus did that -- as we read in this week's Gospel (Mt 17:1-9).

When you're upset, you probably don't want a lot of advice right away. You want to feel like your friends and adults you trust are on your side, willing to listen to your problem and give you a hug.

In the Gospel story, Jesus had a big problem: He knew He would soon be arrested, suffer and die. Even though He was God, He was also a person, so that was a scary time. So He brought His friends to a mountain and showed them something secret about Himself: part of the way He looked as God, bright and shining. The disciples got to see famous people from heaven, and God the Father talked to them.

Even though your family and friends can't solve all your problems, it helps to share what's going on. When Jesus shared a part of Himself, His friends were happy to see it -- and even His Father tried to help Him feel better, calling Jesus "beloved" and reminding His friends to stick by Him!