Up On The Mountain

For Friday, October 19th

Now about eight
days after these
sayings Jesus took 
with him Peter and
 John and James,
 and went up on 
the mountain to 
pray. And while 
he was praying, 
the appearance of
his face changed,
and his clothes 
became dazzling
white. Suddenly 
they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 
They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure,
 which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 
Now Peter and his companions were weighed down 
with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory
 and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving
 him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here;
 let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and 
one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. While he was saying
 this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were
 terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came
 a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’
 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they
 kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things 
they had seen. Luke 9:28-36

We all have moments that have made a permanent and profound
impression on our hearts and minds. A moment where we witnessed
something so moving, so rare and beautiful that there are no real
words to describe it. We sometimes fear we were dreaming and
think if we talked about it folks would think of us as crazy. Yet,
on the edge of the of world, or high up in the mountains, the light
is unique and we are somehow more open to the movement of
the spirit. Often these transforming moments give us the courage to
face the coming days.

Jesus goes up into the mountains with his closest friends, to take
time to reflect and pray. Afterwards, he would set his face to the
hard walk into Jerusalem. Was this moment of revelation, of trans-
figuration, a glimpse at the intimacy of God to son, loving parent
to a beloved child, the love for God for the whole world. We are
invited to the imagine God's love and delight in us, despite our
broken and reckless behavior. 

Today, I ask God to help me regain that vision of the encompassing
love which the Divine has for us all, not matter how we have
been dwelling in dark shadows and disappointments in the low 
lands of our lives.