Jesus needed this hour. We need this hour.
In the valley below waited the sick; down below were the ceaseless problems; still farther on awaited the cross.
But when we experience the Presence of the Lord in worship and in lectio divina, it has the power to affect all our days.
1. The goal is to do ministry and do good in this presence of the Lord--
E.g. Ryan LeStrange said [at the Transfiguration] “Jesus saw into a space beyond physical death. He was in a realm where grieving was not the ultimate reality. He had to shift the current space to align with the reality of the spirit realm.
Ryan LeStrange spoke of his charismatic spiritual gift of healing, saying, “I remember a time when a family came to me at the altar while I was ministering to the sick. They shared a very negative report that had been given to their loved one. As they spoke, I began to loudly proclaim, "No, no, no ... heaven says no!" It burst forth from my spirit with an uncommon velocity and intensity. I just knew what God was saying.
I broke free from the realm that I was standing in and even the words that I was speaking. I spoke from another space and dimension.... My lips were overtaken with heaven's decree and plan. The miracle power of God began to flow, and healing came forth. The healing came because I was not moved by what I heard in the natural realm. This is vital in the administration of the miraculous.”
The three disciples fell prostrate which is the posture of those overwhelmed by God’s glory (Gen. 17:3; Ezek 1:28; Rev. 1:17).
Glory in Hebrew means "heavy, weighty, to be of great substance." God is a heavyweight! This is a weight that makes everything in life lighter.
2. Peter wanted to experience a lasting transfiguration.
It IS necessary that the realization of the presence of God become habitual. It must become customary, easily found again, and easily enlivened in joy, even during periods of darkness or trial.
In fact, in the difference between the (1) occasional realization of God’s presence and (2) the habitual and predominate realization of His presence there lies all the stages and all the degrees of the spiritual life and growth.
FROM ONE DEGREE OF GLORY TO ANOTHER
The process is one in which God takes more and more possession of the soul. The person becomes increasingly docile to the workings of the Holy Spirit. “When the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.” Matthew 17:8. Listen to Him...wanting to do God’s will.
3. The search for the holy continues and will not go away.
Over the years, however, our luminosity tends to fade.
Every uncharitable and inhospitable word spoken, every neighbor mistreated, every nursed resentment, and every resource hoarded and habitat plundered are layers of grime over our radiance; apathetic dust.
“Drugs, elementary sexuality and herd-intoxication — these are the three most popular avenues of downward self-transcendence. [1952 by Aldous Huxley, published 1953 by Harper and Brothers, New York].
4. With God's help in repentance, we can become radiant again.
Adam Thomas wrote:
There are radiant people in our lives who seem to exist somewhere between the visible and glorious spectrums. Their grime and dust are gone (or were never accumulated), and they shine just the way God made them.
An elderly woman at my church is one of these special people. Every morning she greets me with a gentle handshake and a slip of paper with that day's readings on it. She prays the same way she talks, because for her praying and speaking are the same thing. On Fridays she plays piano for the altar guild while they clean the brass. [Under all the dust: by Adam Thomas, in The Christian Century, 2010].
God made us to shine just as Moses and Jesus shone. There are those among us whose radiance bursts from them because nothing covers it up. Call them saints.
Action: Jesus talked with Moses and Elijah who are residents of heaven. Am I truthful and kind in my conversation? Do I share or hide my faith in my conversations?
Peter wants to make three tents, but while he’s still making this suggestion, God interrupts him. When God interrupts us (on the level of conscience) do we stop talking and start yielding?
Do we discipline our thoughts and imagination when called for? In our thoughts and heart can be a surpassing glory that lies concealed.
e.g. Romans 12:1-2 speaks of transformation by the renewal of the mind:
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (metamorphousthe) by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may disdiscern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The word transform used in Romans 12:2 is metamorpho, which means to change into another form whether it may be “an external one or a change of state, or an inner change.” (Kittel, 1985, 609).
Amen.
