Of the three synoptic gospels it is only Luke that Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah of his "departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." (Lk 9: 31) The Greek word for departure is "exodus." This detail is helpful to us in our lenten journey. All of us will have to undergo the exodus from life through death to eternal life. We may have moments of insight or even of glory in our lives but we are not able to stay there. We have to go down the mountain and deal with the challenge of everyday life which is frequently anything but glorious. Yet, Jesus as the great pioneer of our faith has gone on ahead of us. We need to follow in his footsteps and imitate his virtues as well as praying for his assistance.
In the same Gospel reading 'Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw His glory' Luke 9 32
ReplyDeleteHow often do I miss seeing His glory in my everyday life because I wander around 'half asleep' inattentive, distracted?
Hi Michaeline, thank you for your comment. I agree that often we miss the signs of God's grace and glory in our midst due to being inattentive or distracted. That is why Lent as a season of recollection has such value as well as purifying us of sin and guilt. The reference to sleep can also be seen as a sign of theophany, an encounter with God, as we read in the Book of Genesis 15: 12. Since we cannot see God face to face and live I suspect he comes to us when we are in a state of altered consciousness so that we may receive the message that he wants to communicate to us. God bless, M
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