They Entered the Cloud

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

Some days we can feel very earth bound, slogging along, feeling unable to make any positive changes. And other days we seem able to get through the list and the day with time to spare. I have been fighting pneumonia, and it seems I can barely get out of bed, let alone take care of the chores on my list. We are controlled by gravity and the weakness of our bodies. We often want to just give into our weariness and fall into sleep. Those are the days when God often surprises us, coming out of hiding, revealing that there is more than we can ever imagine.

Jesus took his disciples, Peter, James and John up the mountain to pray. I am sure they were all weary from their constant movement, their regular concerns for Jesus and their own families when they got to the mountain. There is no indication in scripture that Jesus knew what would happen on that mountain. He needed time to be away and pray. He energy was lagging. That moment, that both delighted and terrified the disciples was also the moment when Jesus set his face to Jerusalem. That precious moment gave him the courage and energy to continue on. The disciples, for fear of themselves and others, kept the event to themselves. We don't know exactly why, but we know that they feared speaking and making the others jealous - it had gotten them in trouble before. We are invited by God to know that our worst days, our days of exhaustion still hold great hope and possibilities.

Today I ask God to help me move to prayer when I am overwhelmed which seems to be everyday. May we live with joyous expectation, knowing that in our worst days, God is making healing and transformation happen, despite how we might feel.