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Daily Scripture Readings

Monday: Mark 9:2-13

Tuesday: Mark 9:14-29

Wednesday: Matthew 17:1-13

Thursday: Matthew 17:14-20

Friday: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Saturday: Mark 12:28-34

Opening Prayer

Gracious God,

In the person of Christ you have made known your glory for all to see.

Renew in us the image of You,

That we might reflect Your glory upon the world.

In the name of Your Son, Jesus the Christ, Amen.

Reading

I’ve long wondered what it must have been like for Peter to stand in awe as Jesus is transfigured on the mountain, appearing with two of the greatest of his faith ancestors: Moses (who was instrumental in delivering God’s people from their slavery in Egypt, and leading them to freedom in the Promised Land) and Elijah (whose ministry of announcing God’s word to the people was so profound that at the end of his life he didn’t die: he was carried up into the heavens by a chariot of fire, pulled by horses of fire). Peter, this simple fisherman, certainly wasn’t accustomed to such sights. In fact, he probably was much more familiar — much more at home — with the mundane, everyday realities of casting nets and hauling in fish. Yet this day he beholds a face that shines like the sun, clothes that are dazzling white, and the appearance of two saints who have been gone for hundreds of years.

He is understandably overwhelmed and suggests that three dwellings be built to memorialize the moment. He says dwellings, although I can’t help but think of the towering granite monuments that dot the landscape in Washington D.C. Had Peter access to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he might have envisioned obelisks and engraved walls and reflecting pools. Yet before his dream starts moving to reality, from the bright cloud overshadowing him comes a voice: “This is my Son… listen to him!”

This dramatic appearance captures Peter’s attention, but it will be the listening that transforms his life. He won’t leave the mountain that day a fully formed follower of Jesus Christ. It will be over time, as he hears what Jesus has to say, and witnesses the wonders he performs, and observes how people are touched by their time with Jesus, that Peter himself will become a new man. He will experience Jesus as one who, like Moses and Elijah, leads people to new life, and draws them deeply into God’s presence. Soon he will abandon his plans for three monuments, and help to build a living community that gives witness to the continued presence of the Christ in this world.

We too, like Peter, might be more familiar — more at home — with the mundane, everyday realities of life. We may or may not receive the gift of a mountaintop experience. Still, our task is to join him as we listen with our hearts for where God is at work today. Together with our ancestors in faith we too are called to set people free from what binds them so that they might experience new life; we too are called to proclaim God’s mighty word so that they might be drawn deeply into God’s presence.

“This is my Son… listen to him!” Jesus doesn’t share Peter’s instinct to linger on the mountaintop and enjoy the afterglow of this extraordinary experience. Instead, he immediately makes his way back down the mountain, where within five verses they meet a man whose son suffers from epilepsy. Jesus offers presence and comfort and healing. Peter again beholds an extraordinary moment. And the listening begins.

• David J. Risendal