The Tipping Point

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.” Mark 9:2-13

There come a time, or times, in one's life where we reach a tipping point. It isn't usually logical but rather it is experiential and personal. We find ourselves changed, transformed, decidedly different than before. Decisions have been made, almost in our sleep, and we know we now go a new direction with new determination. The die is cast, the line drawn in the sand, are most often not chess moves, or deliberate actions, but moments in time that change our whole perspective and direction forever.

The disciples follow Jesus up a mountain as they have done on numerous occasions. This time, everything is different. They get a glimpse of a more complete reality, a glorious and splendid understanding of the fullness of God's love. It changed them forever and from that point on, Jesus turned his face for the final drama in Jerusalem. God invites us to honor those moments that have changed us, those which at the time we may not have even recognized as holy or divine intervention.

Today I ask God to help me be thankful for the moments of transformation and transfiguration in my life. May we embrace the tipping points in our lives, those moment where everything we understand changes, as God's love and purpose being broadcast to us, today.