To Fear and Not to Fear
This Sunday will be Transfiguration Sunday, marking the beginning of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. Sunday for many Christians will begin a period of contemplation of the journey to the cross…the sacrifice for our salvation. There is tension between our inner experience and our outward public presence as we experience this scripture about the “Transfiguration.” Here we read about God transforming Jesus the man with the James, John and Peter as witness. Today we too climb up the mountain. Today we seek insight into the grace given us to choose To Fear and Not to Fear.
Scripture: Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John 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 dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Matthew 17:1-9 (NRSV)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Proverbs 9:10 (NRSV)
Message: We fear because God can be angered. We fear because God will judge everyone. Interesting tension in the hope of a mountain top experience.
Thomas Merton, renowned Trappist monk and author, observed that “we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent, and God is shining through it all the time.” That is the central truth of the “Transfiguration” as the scripture reinforces who Jesus is and what his mission was and is. C.S. Lewis described the transfiguration as a ‘thin place’, a place of intimate communion and sensing of God’s presence, and, in contrast, what it will ultimately take to bring about the Reign of God…the cross. Together, these dynamics look forward to the day when all things are made new not just on the mountaintop but in the valley as well. So we too are on the journey. On our climb up, Jesus prays into us as we are half-waking, half-sleeping and awakens in us a new insight. On our way down in the face of death God takes away our fear. It is here that in our hearts and minds we too are to see Jesus in a fuller light, we too are to awaken to what is uplifting, inspiring, life-changing, exhilarating, and illuminating. And that is I think what Peter, James and John began to learn as they went on this journey with Jesus. Friends, we are to join in the transfiguration for our role today is to continue to transform the world. That is what Transfiguration is all about. Here we are in the Father’s will and the fear of life turns to joy.
Pray we realize that fear of God is the one that removes all others. Pray we realize that God is in control. Pray we realize that when we come down from the mountain we must face the struggle of our life. Pray we be transfigured lives in a disfigured world. Pray we realize that we cannot stay on the mountaintop but must come down to serve. Pray we fear no evil for God is with us. Pray we see a new vision… one of the glory of the cross and the new creation. Pray we realize that the truth of Transfiguration is that God is to shine through us to transform the world not just in the thin places but everywhere. Pray we take refuge in God. Pray our prayers awaken us to the joy of God shining through us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 