“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 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.” While he 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!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Matthew 17: 1-9
The transfiguration was a life changing moment for the disciples.
The disciples heard God proclaim his love for Jesus.
They were there when God announced that Jesus was his son.
They were there when God told them to listen.
Then Jesus tells them not to breathe a word until he is raised from the dead.
Seriously?
They’ve just seen the most incredible thing ever and they can’t talk, not even to their wives until he’s dead.
At that time they wouldn’t have thought he would die soon. After all he was young.
He had a future. He was well liked and his teachings made him famous.
It wouldn’t have even crossed their minds.
The disciples would have been left with wonder.
Wondering why Jesus said the things he said.
Why they had seen what they had seen
They would have wanted to share it.
Yet Jesus told them they had to wait.
We don’t have to wait.
We don’t need to sit on the message.
We know the Good News and what happens next.
And yet I have to ask the question –
Do we want to share the message?
The message that changes lives is a bold one.
The message is a scary one.
That message will cause us to stand out.
That message can alienate us from others.
Will you share it?
Will you share the message that God calls you to share?
Are you courageous enough to spread the Gospel of hope?
God’s message is powerful.
It sparks life change.
It lights fires in peoples hearts.
It makes people want to be different.
Have you felt that message lately?
Do you feel God’s pull in your life?
Do you feel Jesus leading you to a different way of living?
Imagine living like Jesus lived. He didn’t do the expected. He lived life unexpectedly.
Most people who performed miracles and met God on mountains would proclaim it to the world. Yet Jesus didn’t do this. He didn’t want that to be the focus.
He wanted people to experience the message. To hear the Good News and believe.
He wanted people to know God cared. That even when he was gone they would still have something, that God would still be with them.
God is still with us. We are given hope in the Gospel and we are called to share that with the world. Jesus wants us to live the life change we’ve been offered.
As we head into the season of Lent we need to ask ourselves if we want to know the Gospel, to truly embrace it’s message and share it with others.
As Christians we often live in fear.
We’re afraid of the future.
We don’t know what’s coming. We don’t know what our lives hold. We don’t know where things are going. We are often afraid our faith will die. That our churches might disappear. That everything might end as we know it and this scares us.
Jesus tells us we have hope.
Jesus offers us new life in the resurrection if we accept it and live in faith.
God wants us to be hopeful.
God wants us to be bold.
God wants us to live lives free from fear, knowing that God has directed our future.
If we walk with God we will walk into our future. We may not know what is coming but we do know we have hope. We have the resurrection story. We have the good news! Our lives will be transformed. New life will be breathed into our churches. We just have to trust. We have to believe God is leading us on our journey.
Will this year be different?
Will this be the year we trust?
Will this be the year we proclaim and embrace the Gospel message or will we carry on, living in fear, afraid to turn to God for help?
It’s our choice. We can choose hope or choose fear. What will it be?