Imagine with me, if you will, standing on a high mountain with Jesus and two of your good friends.
Pause…and stay there awhile if you can.
Okay, now imagine that Jesus turns dazzling white—He transfigures—before your very eyes. Then a couple of His colleagues (Elijah and Moses) from centuries past show up. And, to top it off, a voice speaks from a cloud.
Pause…Now? I don’t think so.
It’s hard to imagine being with Jesus that day, let alone honor His request to not speak about it until He had risen from the dead. Risen from the dead? What? I imagine it all seemed quite confusing and frightening to Peter, James, and John, even though they were there to experience it.
It’s hard to imagine being invited onto that mountain with Jesus, isn’t it? But I believe that He extends a similar invitation today. Can you hear Him? “ Dear One, I see that mountain you are facing. Come, join me there.”
He is risen. He is risen indeed. And I’m not just imagining that.
Mark 9:2-12 (NIV)
After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant. And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected?
Questions to consider in your reflection and prayer:
1. As you listened, was there a word, a phrase, an image, or something else that seemed dazzling white to you? Notice what it stirs in you. Visit with Jesus about this.
2. Do you have any high mountains in your life? Name them if you can. Imagine you are alone (or with a couple of friends) there with Jesus. Listen to Him in the quietness of your heart. What is He saying to you?
3. Are there certain shelters you like to put up? Ask Jesus if you have any shelters that you do not need. Listen with Him in the shelter of His presence.
4. What transfigurations, if any, are you seeking with Jesus?
