After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” Matthew 17: 1-5
Listen to him!
I wonder, Lord, how I would react if I were Peter, James or John that day, high on the mountain.
Would I be like Peter – so self-centered, only thinking of myself? “It is good for us to be here.” I am not sure if I witnessed Your transfiguration and the miraculous appearance of Moses and Elijah, standing there talking with Jesus, if I could even speak!
My mind races and my ego shouts so loud, I can’t hear the conversation among them.
Would I be like Peter – so busy planning to do things – wanting to build a shelter – that he missed the significance of what he was witnessing?
What do I miss everyday, Lord? My eyes are clouded with busyness; they miss your true appearance. My focus is on my plans, my accomplishments, and my to-do lists. I don’t see You in my work.
In Luke, the disciples are sleeping – Wake me up Lord! I don’t want to miss You.
I wonder what Your voice sounded like when You spoke from the cloud.
Loud?
Commanding?
Gentle?
Loving?
Would I remember each word?
Help me, Lord to hold all of Your words in my heart. I want to hear You, especially Your command to the disciples and to all of us – “Listen to him!”
Listen to him. A clear command from God to each of us. Listen to Jesus.
I do want to listen to You. To obey You. To follow You.
These are my marching orders from God – Listen to Jesus
Whether I am on the mountaintop with the Lord –
Whether I am wiping a friend’s tears while listening to her heart break –
Whether I am in my kitchen scrubbing floors
Whether I am typing on the keyboard
Open my ears, Lord to obey and listen to Jesus.
Thanks for visiting and commenting Connie. A clear command is exactly right and one we so often ignore. This Lenten season I am trying to listen more intently to Him and as you wrote – hear his heartbeat. well said
“Listen to him. A clear command from God to each of us. Listen to Jesus.”…and I pray for less of me, more of Him, that I would lean in and hear His Heartbeat…beautiful post Jean
Imaging oneself in the scenes of the Bible can be a powerful spiritual discipline. I always gain new insight when I do this
You know, I never really put myself there, on that mountaintop, in their shoes. I’ve never really thought about how I might have reacted. But now that you mention it, I’d have to say like Peter: distracted, busy, planning, overwhelmed. Just like I’ve recognized myself in Martha, bustling, instead of Mary, listening at Jesus’ feet.
Really compelling post, Jean. And thank you so much for linking up today — so grateful to see you there!
Amen Jean! We all have those marching orders, and need to keep close focus on them as we go through our daily lives.
Thank you for this wonderful post!
Have a Blessed Day!
Thanks for all your sharing. Glad i am not alone in knowing in how I would react in this mountaintop experience.
Bless your heart, Jean, I so appreciate this post! I never gave it much thought before. Yes, Peter was busy planning, instead of just enjoying. Maybe even prideful that he was a witness to that? How I wish I had been there. But…what if I had the wrong motive in my heart? How grievous to be there with the wrong thinking and miss out on the joy. Great post!
Yes, I would no doubt be like Peter. My mind would race, and I wouldn’t take in the absolute miracle that was standing in front of me.
I see myself do this so often with other things in my life. My kids will be talking and I’m in another place. My friend will be sharing, and I’m putting together my response.
For sure something I need to work on.
Jean, I can really relate to this. I need to LISTEN! And take time to listen too. Thanks!
I’m afraid I would have been right along with Peter – I too need to learn to listen to him & not to keep jumping onto the next building project!