Transfiguration

28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure,[a] which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) 
34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

Luke 9:28-36

 

On August 6th, the church celebrated the Feast of The Transfiguration of Our Lord. This is one of the powerful moments in Jesus’ ministry and one that significantly calls us to attention. Every time I think about this passage I am reminded of my chocolate lab Herschel Walker. Many dog owners can relate to the struggle of trying to get your beloved companion to listen to you. Herschel constantly tests my resolve and my patience by not listening to what I ask him to do. The frustration at times is palpable! I imagine that God’s voice booming from the cloud is a stark reminder to the disciples and to us about the importance of listening to Jesus. In our day to day life, we all have moments where we shut Jesus’ words out of our lives and other times where we try to embody his words with every fiber of our being. This is the struggle of discipleship and I imagine that God looks down on this beautiful and wonderful creation just shaking his head at our ability to not heed his call! The challenge for us is whether we want to listen. What prevents us from listening to Jesus’ call to love? What prevents us from hearing His call to go to the margins? What prevents us listening to the simple ways we can follow?