Precious Lord, Take My Hand

The disciples didn’t know what to say, but that never seemed to stop Peter. He wanted to build three shelters, one each for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. He wanted this moment to last forever. And who can blame him? I would too. There are occasional moments of happiness in life that you want to build a shelter around; you wish they would last forever. You wish you could build a bubble around your children and never send them off to college or away from home. You wish you could move off to a cabin and shut yourself off from the world, build your own little shelter. I wish as a pastor I could protect families from hurt and divorce and suffering and pain. I wish the devil didn’t exist. I wish that sickness and disease were eradicated. I wish there were no drug and alcohol problems in the world. But no matter how much I warn, and no matter how much I pray, the sickness, the sin, and the death eventually make it through.

There are no shelters big enough to keep people from the elements of this world. We have to understand this reality, even as we pray. God said He would walk us through the valley of the shadow of death, and there’s no going around it. We like to think that it happens to everyone else, until it happens to us. No matter how many shelters you try to put up, how many exercise programs, how many diets, how many safety locks you put on your doors, your time is coming. We live in the valley of the shadow of death, even when we’re up on the mountains. No shelters can protect us from it. That’s the reality of life.

For the disciples, this moment wasn’t supposed to last forever, it was only meant to give them and us a glimpse of who Jesus truly is, so that we would know WHO was going to the cross. This is God who is going to die for the sins of the world.

It wasn’t only what they saw, it was also what they heard. A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.” It seems so basic, the words of the Father. The Father is proud of His Son, His only begotten Son, the One and Only. Peter said that Jesus received “honor and glory from the Majestic Glory” when the Father spoke from heaven. The Father wanted the Son to be revered and respected and heard. It seems so simple. Listen to Him. But it’s interesting when you think of what just happened. Jesus just shone like the sun. He looked glorious. They were enamored with the SIGHT, but the disciples were supposed to LISTEN to Him, not stare at Him and look at Him. And that’s what Peter said in the epistle lesson for today as well,

19 We also have the completely reliable prophetic word. You do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts

Why listen? Remember what Jesus was talking about - His coming departure - and that’s the one thing they DIDN’T want to listen to. They wanted Jesus to rule powerfully over the world. They wanted His kingdom to come on earth so He would overthrow the governments. They didn’t want Jesus to die, so they weren’t getting it. But if they had listened that death wouldn’t come as a surprise, and neither would His resurrection. They would have saved themselves a lot of worry and heartache if they had only LISTENED and BELIEVED what they had heard.