Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Glorification of Our Lord
Dr. Susan Raj
Carmel
MTC, Boston
32. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully
awake, they saw His Glory. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my
Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”
Luke’s gospel mainly talks about Jesus as the savior of all humankind and sheds light on the divinity of Jesus. This is very important in today’s world as people are ready to doubt, question, deny and change the word of Jesus. But God commands us to take the word of Jesus as from God. To affirm the identity of Jesus as God, we must have faith. Faith in the unseen is especially difficult, but if we ask earnestly for it in prayer, God’s grace will give us the ability to take that leap of faith and trust in him. This theme is evident in this passage as Luke stresses the importance of prayer in Jesus’ life. Jesus went up to the mountains many times to pray either alone or with some of his disciples. Here Jesus chose Peter, James and John. Why did Jesus choose these three? May be Jesus wants to give them a small glimpse of His Glory because He might have thought that they are the most spiritually responsible people among the 12 disciples. Are we spiritually awake and responsible? Let us introspect ourselves.
Most of us today live under great stress as we are exposed to the worries and cares of daily life. Amidst our stressful life, we rarely find time for quiet thought, God’s Word, prayer, and fellowship. As a result, we lose opportunities to witness God’s Glory in our lives. This is why it is important to spend time in conversation with God as Jesus did with his disciples. In the scripture, we see many a time Jesus taking his disciples to the Mount of Olives. As Christians, we all should have our own Mount of Olives where we come to dialogue with God. When we take the time to do this, our hearts are opened to see God’s glory in our lives just as the case with Peter, James, and John. "And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18). The Lord wants to reveal his glory to us, his beloved disciples. Do we seek his presence with faith and reverence?
Peter, James, and John had a transformative experience on the mountain. This does not imply that they found answers to all their doubts. In fact, they were probably left stunned and with more questions. However, they were changed because they recognized the Living God as Moses did. This is significant because God’s presence in our life changes us to become more like Him. As our Mar Thoma motto states, we are “Lighted to Lighten.” We are blessed to be witnesses to God’s glory in our lives and when we affirm Jesus as our Savior, we have the obligation to spread His glory and His light to others by loving and caring for others just as Jesus did.
Luke’s gospel mainly talks about Jesus as the savior of all humankind and sheds light on the divinity of Jesus. This is very important in today’s world as people are ready to doubt, question, deny and change the word of Jesus. But God commands us to take the word of Jesus as from God. To affirm the identity of Jesus as God, we must have faith. Faith in the unseen is especially difficult, but if we ask earnestly for it in prayer, God’s grace will give us the ability to take that leap of faith and trust in him. This theme is evident in this passage as Luke stresses the importance of prayer in Jesus’ life. Jesus went up to the mountains many times to pray either alone or with some of his disciples. Here Jesus chose Peter, James and John. Why did Jesus choose these three? May be Jesus wants to give them a small glimpse of His Glory because He might have thought that they are the most spiritually responsible people among the 12 disciples. Are we spiritually awake and responsible? Let us introspect ourselves.
Most of us today live under great stress as we are exposed to the worries and cares of daily life. Amidst our stressful life, we rarely find time for quiet thought, God’s Word, prayer, and fellowship. As a result, we lose opportunities to witness God’s Glory in our lives. This is why it is important to spend time in conversation with God as Jesus did with his disciples. In the scripture, we see many a time Jesus taking his disciples to the Mount of Olives. As Christians, we all should have our own Mount of Olives where we come to dialogue with God. When we take the time to do this, our hearts are opened to see God’s glory in our lives just as the case with Peter, James, and John. "And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18). The Lord wants to reveal his glory to us, his beloved disciples. Do we seek his presence with faith and reverence?
Peter, James, and John had a transformative experience on the mountain. This does not imply that they found answers to all their doubts. In fact, they were probably left stunned and with more questions. However, they were changed because they recognized the Living God as Moses did. This is significant because God’s presence in our life changes us to become more like Him. As our Mar Thoma motto states, we are “Lighted to Lighten.” We are blessed to be witnesses to God’s glory in our lives and when we affirm Jesus as our Savior, we have the obligation to spread His glory and His light to others by loving and caring for others just as Jesus did.
PRAYER
Lord, open our eyes,
keep us alert and awake to see Your full glory. God please give us the grace to
be people of transfiguration and make life a blessing for all around us. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“Are we people of transfiguration or disfiguration?” “How can we be a blessing to people around us?”
“Are we people of transfiguration or disfiguration?” “How can we be a blessing to people around us?”