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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Thursday, May 26, 2022
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The Transfiguration [1] Bible Verse:Matthew 17:1-8 (ESV) "And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only." Message:
The Transfiguration of Christ is an odd moment and one we pay little attention to, generally, compared to the other great moments in Christ’s life. But it was apparently important to God and to the evangelists, for it appears in all three Synoptic Gospels.
We see Christ transformed at six points: 1) At his birth, the Word is transformed into flesh; 2) His baptism, when the Spirit descends upon him; 3) the Transfiguration; 4) Death; 5) Resurrection; and 6) Ascension. On four of these occasions, the transformation is outward, permanent and visible. But his baptism and transfiguration seem to be moments where we understand something might be going on that we cannot fully comprehend.
The first thing to notice about the Transfiguration is when it occurs: Immediately after Peter first recognizes the divinity of Christ and is told that He will have to suffer death, but will rise again. (Matthew 16:13-23) So, in one sense, Peter is the central figure, for the full glory of Christ as the Son of God is fully revealed to him. The presence of John and James is not explained and difficult to understand; but the very Judaistic nature of the event might lead us to think that they are witnesses, there to provide the second and third witness commonly needed to establish truth of an event under Jewish law (as Simeon and Anna witnessed Christ’s divinity as an infant).
The appearance of Moses and Elijah is easier to fathom: Moses embodies “the law”, and Elijah embodies “the prophets”. We cannot be sure if they are there in the flesh, or as a vision, but the second seems more likely, because Moses died and was buried. Simply put, they now “pass the torch” to Christ.
Moses praying
Moses praying.
There is a tendency on the part of Christians to envision Jesus as a complete person of God, omniscient and all-powerful, from the moment of his birth; but time and time again, this reductionist tendency, this simplification of the life of Jesus, is contradicted by the gospel accounts. Jesus’ relationship with God the Father was complex. He prayed to the Father frequently, and spoke of him in terms of reverence. Christ was most surely not omniscient — He specifically tells us that He does not know everything the Father knows, e.g. Mark 13:32. On the other hand, He just as surely knew a great deal that common men did not. He was acutely aware of his future sacrifice and resurrection when He began his ministry.
Something seems to have happened on the mountain here, just as something seems to have occurred at Jesus’ baptism, having to do with Christ’s state in relationship to the Father, but we cannot know it or fully understand it. But we can understand it in relationship to the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, for Christ here changes into the embodiment of that fulfillment, fully and completely. We might understand The Transfiguration as the moment when Christ officially changes from teacher into sacrifice. His role to impart knowledge ends, and his passion, his journey to the cross, begins.
Which is why it occurs immediately after Peter first says, out loud, “You are the Christ”. It is the final lesson Christ’s ministry was designed to teach.
Meditation : Prayer : May it please you, my good Lord, that there may come a day when I can repay a little of my great debt to you. O Jesus, strengthen my soul, you who are good above all good; and since you have inclined my soul in this way, show me how I may act for you, whatever it may cost, O Lord. Here is my life, my honor and my will; I have given them all to you and they are yours: use me to do whatever you want...........Amen |
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