Matthew 17:1-13
“Notice what you notice.” The transfiguration. The first thing that I noticed was the disciples’ fear. But the fear came, not at the bright light or Moses and Elijah or the cloud, but only when the Father spoke, when He spoke the same words that He had spoken at Jesus’ baptism. I’m trying to imagine words that strike fear. If I was in trouble when I was younger and my father spoke, yes, I was afraid of what was to come. But the disciples were not in trouble. Then I’m trying to imagine the Father’s voice, a voice “out of the blue” that would strike fear. The closest that I can come is a thunder crack that is very close. It is deafeningly loud and it strikes fear, but only for a second. The Father’s words were a full sentence, maybe five seconds or longer.
The most God-like voice that I can imagine is James Earl Jones, especially his soliloquy in A Field of Dreams. That deep, bass voice: “Baseball…”! But fear on hearing the Father’s voice? Hard to imagine. Jesus’ gentle touch brought the apostles back. This whole story is GLORY!!
So what about Andrew, our namesake? This is the second occasion where we’ve seen Peter, James, and John set apart. The first was the raising of Jairus’ daughter. The next will be Jesus’ praying in Gethsemane. So this transfiguration is the most glorious of the three. But why Peter, James, and John? I’ve always wondered about that. What about Andrew? He’s the one who first brought Peter to Jesus. How did these three ascend to “the top” while leaving Andrew behind? Not a big item. Just wondering…
We have two more days of the transfiguration. It’ll be a glorious three days that will take Carol and me to Maryland, then on a plane to Prague and more. All GLORY!!
Slava Bohu!