Monthly Archives: March 2012

Not All Bad (Continued from yesterday)

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Peter’s badly chosen comment at the moment of Christ’s revealed glory brought a screeching halt to the supernatural experience for him and his companions. When God instructed him to listen to Jesus, he and his fellow disciples fell to the ground in terror. After that, they didn’t hear a thing.

When they came to, it was all over. Jesus’ clothes had lost their brightness, and his shining face had returned to normal. Were Jesus’ purposes (in bringing Peter, James and John along) accomplished? We don’t know how long his face shone and his clothes were as lightning, but we do know he wanted these 3 men to see him that way. Did they learn anything?

Maybe since the crucifixion was soon to happen, he wanted them to get a glimpse of what would come after his suffering. Or maybe he wanted them to visualize that he was not merely the man they’d lived with but the God-man, deserving of God’s glory.

Though they didn’t listen well that day, they saw what Jesus wanted them to see. As for Peter hoping to hold onto Jesus, Moses and Elijah, his comment might not have been as nonsensical as it first seemed.

The whole incident reminded me of a poignant dream I had about Nate after he died. (One Year Ago: Part III and IV, Oct. 18 & 19, 2010) In the dream I knew Nate had entered a supernatural world, but when I saw him back on earth, I clung to him, just like Peter wanted to hold Jesus, Moses and Elijah. My emotions were burning with desire, and if I couldn’t keep Nate from leaving my world, I thought I might collapse.

Peter must have felt the same way. He was fervently attached to Jesus and sensed his teacher and friend would soon slip away. He might have made his 3-tents-statement hoping to prolong the moment and borrow time to think. He had no way of knowing what was ahead, how/when Jesus would leave the earth or if/when he’d be back.

Interestingly, Jesus didn’t resent Peter’s off-the-subject statement or his attempt to usurp the lead or even his failure to listen. Instead, after Moses and Elijah had gone, he approached all 3 of them and touched them tenderly, coaxing them up off the ground, away from fear, and back toward him. Although they’d missed virtually everything that had been said, they apparently got the drift enough to satisfy Jesus, because as they hiked back down the mountain, he told them to keep it all a secret.

Jesus knows we long for him. It’s even possible he sees our desire as an act of adoration and worship. If that’s the case, Peter’s outburst turns out to be a pretty good one after all.

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  (Matthew 17:4)

What did we miss?

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None of us likes to be interrupted in the middle of an important conversation. I remember a moment like that when 3 of us were having a discussion and a 4th came in, striding up to our group.

“Hi, guys,” she said, disrupting the flow of ideas and forcing a subject change. It was the perfect example of being on two different wave lengths, and we stared at her while mentally trying to switch gears. We never got to finish the first conversation, and I fought resentment about that for a long time.

This morning in church our pastoral intern gave a thought-provoking sermon about the transfiguration. Stirred to learn more, I went home and studied the accounts told in 3 of the 4 Gospels.

On one side of the equation were Peter, James and John. On the other, Jesus, Moses and Elijah. The 3 disciples apparently recognized these Old Testament saints, in itself a miracle, and cautiously approached the 3 other-worldly conversationalists as a discussion was already in progress. Scripture doesn’t say if they overheard the words, but it does tell us what was being talked about: Jesus’ upcoming departure from the earth.

This was, most likely, an animated dialogue. Moses and Elijah might have been expressing joy in learning their Savior would soon be returning to paradise (where they lived), after 33 years as a human. Or maybe they were getting information about the upcoming crucifixion, mourning over the suffering Jesus might have been describing. Or they might have been learning of the resurrection. It’s probable they were all praying, too, since Jesus had told Peter, James and John ahead of time that that’s what they were going to do.

In any case, Peter interrupted this momentous conversation with an inane and inappropriate suggestion: “Let’s set up 3 tents so you can all live here indefinitely!”

I can just see Jesus, Moses and Elijah as they stopped talking and turned simultaneously toward Peter much like my friends and I did when we were interrupted. But unbeknownst to Peter, James and John, a very powerful 4th person was about to enter the conversation: God the Father.

Scripture says that while Peter was still talking, God interrupted him. In a cloak of cloud so dense it frightened them, he forcefully silenced Peter by saying, “Listen to my Son!”

In other words, “Stop babbling, Peter! Don’t you realize the importance of this once-in-a-lifetime conversation? Hush up and listen!” God’s chiding was effective, and the 3 instantly (and silently) dropped face-to-the-dirt for the remainder of the event.

But what about that interrupted conversation between Jesus, Moses and Elijah? Had Peter ruined it for them? Did they ever get to finish it? And if Peter, James and John had quietly stood by listening in on that remarkable exchange rather than interrupting it, what might have happened next?

(…concluded tomorrow)

“While [Peter] was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’“ (Matthew 17:5)

Travel-size Worship

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It seemed an oxymoron to be attending a worship service between an airport security check and the gate check-in, but that’s what happened when I flew to Florida recently. While hiking along the crowded walkways at Chicago’s Midway Airport, a loudspeaker announcement rose above the racket: “All are welcome to join us for a 30 minute Christian service in the chapel on the mezzanine level.”

I had some extra time before my flight, and curiosity urged me toward the chapel. Maybe it was God himself urging me. Although thousands of travelers marched with purpose down the wide corridors, I wondered how many would divert to the chapel.

Following signs depicting a kneeling figure, I rode the elevator to the “M” floor and found the chapel. A pastor had just begun the service by reciting the 100th Psalm, arms outstretched, face toward heaven, and eyes closed. His congregation was 5 members, each seated next to their carry-on luggage.

When the pastor saw me, he walked over and delivered a welcome, a handshake, a bulletin, and a New Testament. “Come right in and have a seat,” he said. “We’re about to take prayer requests.”

His mini-service proceeded according to the bulletin, and I asked prayer for the big event bringing me to Florida: the home birth of my 6th grandchild. The pastor asked for Linnea and Adam’s first names, then prayed with passion for many wonderful birth-time blessings. His mini-message followed, taken from John 4, the story of a woman at her local watering well. “Jesus was a weary traveler,” the preacher said, “just like some of you might be.”

He described this biblically rare encounter between Jesus and just one other person, no one else around. “She was traveling through life carrying a lot of baggage,” the pastor said, using another airport metaphor. “And Jesus was ready with wonderful refreshment.”

As he concluded, the pastor said, “I know you all have planes to catch, so we’ll close in prayer. Feel free to take your Bibles along with you.” He ended by offering to talk one-on-one with any who might want that, and one young man did stay behind.

Apparently every large US airport has a chapel where travelers can find quietness and a place to pray. It’s nice to know God is waiting there in a calm, private place conducive to a peaceful meeting amidst the very stressful environment of an airport.

Of course he’s also in line at security, seated at every gate, and traveling on every flight, too. That’s good to know, since I’ll be back at the airport this weekend, heading home.

“As for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge.” (Psalm 73:28)