Thursday 06 August 2015

Psalm: Psalm 27

Background

In the Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-9; Mark9:2-9; Luke 9:28-36) we are told that God lovinglyacknowledges Jesus as God's Son, using similar words to those usedat Jesus' Baptism, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him" (Luke9:35, cf Luke 3:17). Just as at the Baptism these wordscome as a confirmation of Jesus' ministry, so the Transfigurationis the confirmation of the next terrible stage of Jesus' journey -his suffering and death on the cross.

John, in his first letter, acknowledges how great the love ofGod is for us, for we are God's children. God loves each one of uswith a love which is greater and deeper than any other love we canknow.

From time to time we catch glimpses of God and an awareness ofGod's presence in us, but we do not have the full picture. John isspeaking of the 'now' and 'not yet' of the Christian faith. The daywill come when we will see Jesus in all his fullness and we will belike him because we are children of God.

We become more like Christ not only by the glimpses we catch onthe mountain tops of our Christian experience, but also by livingin a Christ-like way in the world. Peter, James and John wanted tobuild shelters on the mountain to preserve the moment of Jesus'transfiguration, but that was not the point of the experience.

They had to return to their day to day journey with Jesus, whichwould take them to Gethsemane (Luke22:39-53) and beyond. We have to live as Christ in a worldwhich will misunderstand and reject us, but safe in the knowledgethat we are loved as children of God. And in that we find ourconfidence.

To Ponder

• What does it mean for you to know that you are God'schild?

• Where do you often catch glimpses of God?