After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. He said, “Get up. Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up they saw no one except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Do not tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” (Matthew 17:1-9)
Our pastor, Brian, told us about why Peter spoke out. He had no idea what to say; the two men he had spent years learning about, and his leader were right in front of him. Wanting to remember this experience forever, he exclaimed that he wanted to build three temples, one for each of them. A cloud then came over them, with the voice of God, saying, "This is my son that I love, listen to him." The disciples fell to the ground terrified. Jesus told them to not be afraid, and that they had to leave the mountain, for they had to do work in the valley. On the way down, Jesus told them not tell a soul what they have seen that day.
Brian referred to that as a 'mountain top experience.' This wasn't the first time I had heard of such an experience; he had actually referred to it recently, but this was the first time I really understood the phrase. Have you ever had a moment that you never want to leave? I actually had one yesterday at a horse show. I had just won high point champion, but had to leave that mountain quickly to the valley. I knew that nothing was going to get done for me to do well at my next show, if I kept basking in the glory of that last event.
I think this passage is about being humble. One cannot bask in their glory for too long; they have to go back to the valley and do more work. Another theory that comes out of this is that there is really no time to relax and rest. There is no time to completely be satisfied at all you have done, until you have done everything that is to be completed.
So what is really the moral to this blog? You can interpret it in very different ways. I think of it as being humble. This passage applies so much to my life, that now I vow to work to be more humble, because there is always something to do in the valley.
1 comment:
A lovely meditation. Enjoyed this.
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