Prophecy
Transfiguration: Listening to Jesus
02/21/09 06:14
“There came a cloud overshadowing them: and there came a voice out of the cloud, This is my beloved Son: hear ye him.” (Mark 9: 2-13)
The Transfiguration is one of the pivotal points in the Gospel - - for the first time Jesus’ divinity was revealed in all His glory to three of His apostles. Yet, Biblical scholars cannot be certain where the Transfiguration took place. Some believe the site was Mount Tabor, south of the region of Galilee; others point to Mount Hermon, far to the north near Caesarea Philippi. You would think that the location of such an important event in the life of Jesus would remain a landmark for all time. But that was not the case.
A moment’s reflection tells us that there have been many times in our own lives when we experienced turning points, some impossible to overlook, others scarcely noted in passing. Looking back, we are able to see how these events changed our lives in unpredictable ways. Had we known their import at the time we might have been as unnerved as the apostles in today’s Gospel.
But notice what happened when Peter grew fearful and started stammering: a cloud overshadowed the mountaintop, silencing him, and the Lord God said, “This is my beloved Son: hear ye him.”
Today, our nation has reached a turning point that will change all our lives forever. In the storm clouds that have blanketed the economy, many voices call out to us, insisting they be heard, claiming that they know what the future holds. Each pundit and pollster wants to be the one voice heard above the din. So they raise their voices, clamoring for attention, rejecting opposing views and making ever bolder forecasts. However, a new study by Phil Tetlock, a psychologist at Stanford University, reveals that the best-known and most widely reported talking heads are also the ones with the poorest record of predictions. Their celebrity rests not on the accuracy of their prophecies, but on cocksure sound bites that make for headline grabbing news stories and TV sound bites.
In times like these, the one voice we need to listen to above all others is that of Jesus. We need more quiet time with the Lord in which we ask Him to tell us how to think about this turning point in our lives.
The Transfiguration is one of the pivotal points in the Gospel - - for the first time Jesus’ divinity was revealed in all His glory to three of His apostles. Yet, Biblical scholars cannot be certain where the Transfiguration took place. Some believe the site was Mount Tabor, south of the region of Galilee; others point to Mount Hermon, far to the north near Caesarea Philippi. You would think that the location of such an important event in the life of Jesus would remain a landmark for all time. But that was not the case.
A moment’s reflection tells us that there have been many times in our own lives when we experienced turning points, some impossible to overlook, others scarcely noted in passing. Looking back, we are able to see how these events changed our lives in unpredictable ways. Had we known their import at the time we might have been as unnerved as the apostles in today’s Gospel.
But notice what happened when Peter grew fearful and started stammering: a cloud overshadowed the mountaintop, silencing him, and the Lord God said, “This is my beloved Son: hear ye him.”
Today, our nation has reached a turning point that will change all our lives forever. In the storm clouds that have blanketed the economy, many voices call out to us, insisting they be heard, claiming that they know what the future holds. Each pundit and pollster wants to be the one voice heard above the din. So they raise their voices, clamoring for attention, rejecting opposing views and making ever bolder forecasts. However, a new study by Phil Tetlock, a psychologist at Stanford University, reveals that the best-known and most widely reported talking heads are also the ones with the poorest record of predictions. Their celebrity rests not on the accuracy of their prophecies, but on cocksure sound bites that make for headline grabbing news stories and TV sound bites.
In times like these, the one voice we need to listen to above all others is that of Jesus. We need more quiet time with the Lord in which we ask Him to tell us how to think about this turning point in our lives.
Comments
What Is The World Coming To?
11/26/08 07:59
“In your patience ye shall win your souls.” (Luke 21: 12-19)
In preparing His followers for what was to come, Jesus foretold their imminent persecution, a prophecy that would be fulfilled in the Acts of the Apostles. But He urged His followers to use these opportunities to give witness to their faith, then added, "In your patience you shall possess your souls.”
We, too, have to consider how we will endure, when our faith is put to the test in times of trial and tribulation.
The world as we know it is coming to an end, not at some distant point in the future, but every day in countless ways as the onrush of new technology changes our lives forever. Read More...
In preparing His followers for what was to come, Jesus foretold their imminent persecution, a prophecy that would be fulfilled in the Acts of the Apostles. But He urged His followers to use these opportunities to give witness to their faith, then added, "In your patience you shall possess your souls.”
We, too, have to consider how we will endure, when our faith is put to the test in times of trial and tribulation.
The world as we know it is coming to an end, not at some distant point in the future, but every day in countless ways as the onrush of new technology changes our lives forever. Read More...