Ordinary Times

February 26, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 9:28-36

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. –Luke 9:28-43

When I was a child, I had a recurring dream that the school bus did not stop for me, and I ran and ran to catch up with the bus but never did in the dream. I am the youngest child in my family and for two years had to watch my siblings get on the bus when I could not. Some of my other dreams were not that easy to understand. I am not sure I have ever had a vision, but I have experienced anxiety that something bad was going to happen and it did. When my dad died, I called his siblings to let them know of his death. One of my aunts when I identified myself, said “Carl is dead isn’t he.” She had dreamed the night before that she and my dad were playing hide and seek and as hard as she looked, she never found him. I trust that since God knows each of us better than anyone that God communicates in the best way possible for us to receive God’s messages.

I just heard news interviews this morning with Ukrainian citizens both in Ukraine and living in the USA. Even with all the warnings from the US State Department of an imminent attack, the interviewees said they really did not believe it was going to happen. Humans often learn and grow through retrospect. The stories preserved for us in the Bible allow us to look back on the life of Jesus in retrospect and glean the wisdom it has to offer. This story when retold after Jesus’s resurrection reassured Peter, John, James, and the others with whom they shared it that God prepares us for facing the future.

Jesus told us that his plan for us was that we would be one and that he would overcome the world. Let it be so.

Prayer: Thank you for loving us enough to prepare us for the challenges of life. Guide us in being open to your plan and the implementation of our part in it.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.