Did you notice two interesting things about this passage...
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Did you notice two interesting things about this passage that can make you wonder? First is that Andrew is not with the group; yet he was the one who brought Peter to Jesus. He must be a humble man to stay with Jesus after the other three got promoted -- notice that there were two other brothers!
The next thing to notice is that the disciples recognized Moses and Elijah. There were no photos of them. How did they know they were the ones who appeared? I only mention those two things because we can get so lost in details that we can miss the real message in a passage of scripture.
How quick we are to celebrate an occasion! An Olympic star from our town wins and we put up a statue! When Billy Graham came to Cheyenne the whole town came out for his meeting! Now few remember those days. The disciples wanted to put up some tabernacles in honor of that great transfiguration to remember it! Notice that Jesus was going to be one of the three! But Jesus does not want some earthly monument even like a great cathedral to be built in his honor. He wants his presence in our hearts!
When we have great experiences, let them change us and not just build memorials to them. The disciples could only carry that experience in their minds. They didn't even tell anyone about it -- presumably until they wrote of it or told someone to put it in the gospels. Jesus told many whom he cured to tell no one! He was not broadcasting! He missed many PR opportunities. He had a more important message for all of us!
The interesting thing about that last healing section is that he seemed upset with his disciples, among others, because they could not instantly heal the boy with the demon in him. It looks like he expects a great deal of us. If healing is one of his goals for us, then we have failed him.
We had a healing service from the Lutheran occasional services book one evening, and we always got a few out. I'm not sure they believed they would be healed miraculously, but one was to go in for a heart bypass surgery the next day. Nothing happened that night, but he told us the next week that when he was prepared for surgery, another doctor just happened to be in the gallery that day. He was traveling through and had devised a new procedure that precluded radical surgery. Our man approved and he was out of the hospital in two days instead of the weeks he expected. We felt that all those coincidences were, in fact, the miracle that we had prayed for.
This entire text reminds us that the ways of God are not our ways and we should not try to put God in a box. Just shut up and listen -- and obey!
The next thing to notice is that the disciples recognized Moses and Elijah. There were no photos of them. How did they know they were the ones who appeared? I only mention those two things because we can get so lost in details that we can miss the real message in a passage of scripture.
How quick we are to celebrate an occasion! An Olympic star from our town wins and we put up a statue! When Billy Graham came to Cheyenne the whole town came out for his meeting! Now few remember those days. The disciples wanted to put up some tabernacles in honor of that great transfiguration to remember it! Notice that Jesus was going to be one of the three! But Jesus does not want some earthly monument even like a great cathedral to be built in his honor. He wants his presence in our hearts!
When we have great experiences, let them change us and not just build memorials to them. The disciples could only carry that experience in their minds. They didn't even tell anyone about it -- presumably until they wrote of it or told someone to put it in the gospels. Jesus told many whom he cured to tell no one! He was not broadcasting! He missed many PR opportunities. He had a more important message for all of us!
The interesting thing about that last healing section is that he seemed upset with his disciples, among others, because they could not instantly heal the boy with the demon in him. It looks like he expects a great deal of us. If healing is one of his goals for us, then we have failed him.
We had a healing service from the Lutheran occasional services book one evening, and we always got a few out. I'm not sure they believed they would be healed miraculously, but one was to go in for a heart bypass surgery the next day. Nothing happened that night, but he told us the next week that when he was prepared for surgery, another doctor just happened to be in the gallery that day. He was traveling through and had devised a new procedure that precluded radical surgery. Our man approved and he was out of the hospital in two days instead of the weeks he expected. We felt that all those coincidences were, in fact, the miracle that we had prayed for.
This entire text reminds us that the ways of God are not our ways and we should not try to put God in a box. Just shut up and listen -- and obey!
