For the slew of tomorrows.
His broken heart has awakened to the thought that she is really gone - they had hoped for a cure but that hope was a mist. His children must confront a slew of tomorrows without their mother; he, without his wife. Where will he find courage in this sadness?
Courage, according to Webster, is the ability to do something that frightens you. It frightens a middle-aged woman that her next step for recovery must include surgery. Her friends try and rally a stout-heartedness in her. But they know the feeling of, “What if that was me?” “What if I was the one wearing the surgical gown?” “What if I was the one who had to set the date with the surgeon and have the consultation?” “What if I had to lie on that surgical bed in a sterile room while they marked the appropriate limb with a sharpie?” She’s frightened and they agree with her sentiment.
Medical conditions and death are not the only part of life that demand some form of courage. People are frightened by political change and stock market slumps—where do you muster courage in those situations? Courage is for facing doubts. Courage is for moving to a new place or trying an unproven approach and hoping it won’t flop. Courage, for some, might simply involve getting out of bed on any given day. Courage is necessary for giving a speech, or going to the first day of school. Courage is for standing up for what is right. Life is full of moments and eras that require courage.
We all need courage.
In Matthew 17, Jesus impacts the life of three very close friends and gives them courage. The event is a private affair for Peter, James, and John to witness. And Jesus even tells them to bottle it up: they were not to share any of this until he rose from the dead.
What was the special event? Jesus picked the three of them to go up a very high mountain. When they were up there, his face and clothes became brilliant and as white as the light. He glowed in a fashion that they had never seen before. He was transformed to his full appearance as God.
How did Jesus give Peter, James, and John courage through this event? How does Jesus’ display of glory on the Mount of Transfiguration give us courage?
Eugene Peterson says, “Life is a realization of details that all connect organically, personally, specifically.” The Transfiguration was not a random event. Jesus was preparing each one of those three disciples organically, personally, specifically for their next steps and their next next steps. They were going to see Jesus brutally taken away from them; they could have assumed that he was powerless to stop it. But the Transfiguration revealed Jesus as God, and no one takes God away unless God wants it to happen. They would see Jesus nailed to a cross, and a part of them must have shuddered and wailed, “why!?”
Jesus knew why—his brilliance shown that day was not just for appearances, his brilliance demonstrated that God was present. They thought he was just Jesus. But he’s all-knowing God; he’s all-powerful God. The Transfiguration revealed that—revealed Jesus’ full identity.
We might wonder “why” when certain events rock our world. Jesus, as the exact representation of God, knows all the “whys” and the “whens” and the “wheres” and more. He prepares you for the times when you shudder and you ask frightened questions. He stacks up layers of courage in your heart and mind when you feel powerless. His transfigured presence is as much for you as it was for Peter, James, and John. Listen to Jesus’ words to them on the way down the mountain: “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Jesus wanted others to find out about this event. From the moment of his resurrection and going forward, this was to become public knowledge. Jesus wanted us to gain courage from what they experienced.
Come learn about Jesus this week from Matthew 17. You can even read it ahead of time. See Jesus impact Peter, James, John, … and you.
By the way, James was the first disciple to be martyred, and it happened not even six months after Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus knew how important this event would be to James. And he knows what you need to have the courage to face your tomorrows too.
Blessings to you.
Pastor Al