Friday, August 5, 2011

The Transfiguration, Saturday, 06-08-11

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 / 2 Peter 1:16-19 / Matthew 17:1-9    (2020)

The word "new" is an attractive and exciting word.

When it is applied to things, e.g., new house, new office, new computer, it gives a feeling of a new beginning without the limitations of the old settings.

When it is applied to persons, e.g., new boss, new president, new priest, then it's going to be a process of discovering and adjusting to the new attitudes and styles of new person at the helm.

But as with time and tide, all things new will also become old, or familiar, or gotten used to, or just loose its shine and sparkle.

When Jesus began His ministry and called His disciples to follow Him, He was seen as an exciting and attractive "item" by His disciples and the people following Him.

But as time went by, His disciples also slowly got used to Him and He lost His "shine" for them.

But in the Transfiguration, Jesus showed His glory, but it was not meant to bring back the shine or the attention.

It was a profound moment of proclamation and revelation as Jesus reveals again to Peter, James and John His true identity.

Jesus did not lose His "shine"; rather it was the disciples who may have thought they knew everything about Jesus and was beginning to take Him for granted.

But for us, the Transfiguration is also a reminder of who we really are - we are the beloved children of God.

No one can ever take that "shine" from us. Yet we may just take ourselves for granted and lose that "shine" altogether.