Week of Epiphany 5, Year One [Go to Mission St Clare for an online version of the Daily Office including today’s scripture readings.] Today’s Readings for
That is the challenge of the Transfiguration… to live transfigured lives, right here, right now… with and in the love of Christ.
These early disciples simply persisted in following Jesus without predicting, let alone controlling, the outcomes of Jesus’ life and ministry. As we follow him today, let’s worry less about the predictions that help us feel in control, and instead allow Jesus to accompany us in our confusion and uncertainty.
Yahweh who has been present among the people all along, and the people have obviously forgotten, both before the exile- in their worship of other gods, and during the exile- as they despaired of ever returning home and mourned the loss of the center of their worship in the destruction of the Temple. Their minds have skittered and scampered away, lured by distraction, and they have allowed themselves to become lost.
The prophet Isaiah had a very specific message for the exiles. They weren’t going to be God’s only chosen ones. Strangers, including what the Israelites would consider foreigners, who loved God, followed the rules, observed the Sabbath and lived by the covenant God had originally given to Israel would be drawn into the community and fellowship.
God wants all to believe that we belong in his house. And God leaves the door wide open for more: “Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.” So, who’s next?
For me a lot of doubts accompany my wandering off the beaten path spiritually. Am I doing what God would have me do, or am I going astray? Is my practice motivated by my desire to be in relationship with God, or is it just another smoke screen? Is what I am up to healthy or just lazy? How do I tell?
The call here is to gamble big, to spread out and to stretch out, to strike deeper with our tent stakes so we can go the distance with our cords. The call is to hold nothing back as we stretch, grow, and stake our claim on whatever piece of the kingdom God has entrusted to us.
This week we attempt to be more thought provoking. We wrestle with the very nature of Jesus. The reason is simple: the more you study and think about Jesus, the more you learn. The more you know about Jesus, the more you love him and the closer you follow him. With Jesus, learning leads to loving; more learning leads to more loving.
Is it really possible that Jewish people in the time of this gospel believed they had never been slaves to anyone? Perhaps worse than their selective amnesia about their history is their ignorance of their present circumstances. Occupied by Rome and enslaved to sin, these people don’t recognize their semblance of “freedom” as an illusion.