February 21st, 2021
Devotional
“Transfiguration” - Luke 9: 28-45
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Monday: “Pray” - Luke 9: 28
If I had to sum up this particular section of scripture I would call it “adventures in missing the point”. First, Jesus and his disciples are on their way from one village to the next when Jesus asks a question, “Who do people say that I am?” In other words, I know that people have been talking about me - what have you heard. And the disciples start to list-off what people had been saying from town to town. You’re Elijah! You’re John the Baptist! You’re one of the prophets! But then Jesus turned the question from what they heard to what they believe - “who do you say that I am?”
Maybe the rest of the disciples were silent, but Peter always eager to please just had the words “You are the Messiah!” Burst out of him!
And at first glance, Peter is absolutely right. Jesus is the Messiah sent by God to be a fulfillment of the convent promise made to Israel. Peter got the correct answer to who Jesus is, but he didn’t understand what it meant to be called the Messiah, the Christ.
Peter expected that the Messiah was who was going to come and restore Israel through military intervention. He was looking for the Messiah to be a conquering military hero. But that wasn’t God’s definition of restoration. Instead, Jesus came to restore people to the Kingdom of God, not through military conquest, but my sacraficial love.
Which is exactly what Jesus goes on to say to his disciples - that the Son of Man will undergo suffering, that he will be rejected, and be killed, before rising again in three days. And Peter, the same Peter who just moments before had claimed that Jesus was the Messiah, started to rebuke him. Surly this isn’t true Jesus! Surely you don’t understand what you are saying. And now after this message they’ve received, they are off with Jesus praying.
How would you answer the question, “who is Jesus?”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we often are like the disciples. We do not fully understand. We miss the point. We think the way that we see things is the only way that they can be. Yet, you invite us to a new, fuller way of understanding in you. Transform us, we pray.
Tuesday: “Changed” - Luke 9: 29-35
One would think that Peter would have learned his lesson, but a mere six days later he again finds himself in a situation where he misses the point.
Peter has been on this roller coaster of a ride since Jesus called him and now he is hiking up a mountain, having no idea what to expect. And how could have any of the disciples expected this? In a split moment they saw Jesus shining before them talking with Moses and Elijah, the pillars of the Hebrew faith. Not only are they seeing this unexplainable sight, but they heard the voice of God. They…heard…the…voice….of…God. Excluding the prophets in the Old Testament, not many people could claim to have heard God since the patriarchs.
Peter knew that this was huge. We have to give him credit for that. But then, he seemed to just miss the point, by suggesting to erect three dwellings for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. And then they had to come back down the mountain, as Jesus told them not to tell anyone what they had seen.
Tell of a mountain top experience in your life. How did you experience God in that moment?
Prayer: Lord, sometimes we are overwhelmed by moments with you. Times when it seems like heaven meets earth and we experience your love in a new way. May those moments continue to propel us in our journey with you, as we come back down the mountain, we pray. Amen.
Wednesday: “Three Dwellings” - Luke 9: 33-36
What is so ironic about Peter’s zeal about commemorating the moment is that he totally missed what God told him to do. God’s message to the disciples in this story wasn’t anything radically new - this is my son; listen to him. Instead of absorbing the moment and taking it in for all that it was worth he got busy. We have a tendency to be like Peter as well at times. Instead of listening to Jesus we set out to do things for Jesus, instead of simply asking Jesus if this is in fact what he wants us to do. We get caught in this trap both as individuals and as churches. We want to do the next big thing for the Lord, when really if we would simply listen, Jesus is calling us to do something else completely.
The epistles of Peter tells us that while this wasn’t a long experience, not even lasting a whole day, that it was seared in the disciples memories. Peter was impacted enough to write about what happened to him on the mountain. Listen to the words Peter wrote again. “We had been eye witnesses to his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’ We OURSELVES HEARD this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.” Peter had experienced God in such a way that it impacted his world.
In what ways do we distract ourselves from the call of God?
Prayer: Lord, we confess that sometimes we are so overwhelmed by your glory that we don’t know what to do with ourselves. We get so caught up in the busyness that we miss your call upon our lives. Give us hearts to listen, we pray. Amen.
Thursday: “Back Down” - Luke 9: 37-42
Once again, we too miss the point from time to time do we not? We’ve all had mountain top experiences in our life of faith. Pause for a moment and think about a time when you undoubtedly knew that you were in the presence of God. We each have a unique story that tells of how God has interacted with and blessed up. Those moments when you feel engulfed by the total presence of glory. But how many times like Peter do we want to memorialize the moment, just sitting in God’s glory, instead of using that to fuel our journeys.
Jesus had told his disciples what is to come. He had told them that he was to suffer and die. But they wanted to sit there, in an experience that seemed much more pleasant, then go out and face what is to come. This divine moment of realization in the transfiguration wasn’t the point in and of itself. It was simply a stop on the journey to continue to fuel the disciples to go forward.
Peter shows us in this piece of scripture that we can both be right and wrong at the exact same time. That we can say all the right words with our lips, but our hearts don’t fully understand. Or we can think we understand, but our hearts aren’t in the right place at all.
Tell of a time you would have rather stayed on the mountain top instead of coming back down.
Prayer: Lord, we thank you that when we miss the point you invite us to try again. You keep calling us. Keep using us. Even when we don’t fully understand. Thank you for the gifts onto of the mountain, and coming back down, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Friday: “Healed” - Luke 9: 43-54
If the disciples had stayed up on the mountain, showering adoration on Christ, they would have missed what happens next in the gospel of Luke, the healing of the son. As Christians we sometimes get so caught up in what we believe to be the act of worship that we forget that we live a life of worship. We need to come down off the mountain and do two things
We need to share our mountain top experiences with other people. Christ told the disciples not to share what they had experienced of what they had seen. Until now. We serve a risen God. God created us each to respond to stories. One of the biggest honors you can be awarded is to share your life story with someone. Go. Share. Tell people how you know God exists because of how he has acted in YOUR life. Sometimes, your story won’t be the one people respond to, because stories touch us each in different ways, but they should still be shared, because you never know if your story will be the one to impact someone’s life.
We also need to use our mountain top experiences to full our faith for service. There are going to be times when it is hard to serve God and follow where he is calling. Times when we feel deflated, abused, and misunderstood. In those times we need to look back to our mountain top experiences to remember that God loves us in a personal way and is calling us to serve him in a special way. Looking back to the mountain and remembering gives us the strength and courage to move forward in faith.
How do your mountain top experiences propel you forward?
Prayer: Lord, we love to tell the story. The story of how you changed us. How you love us. Teach us to tell the story of how you are with us everyday, Lord Jesus, no matter what. Amen.
Saturday: Preparing for the Word
You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Jesus Turns to Jerusalem” - Luke 9:51-62
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