Sunday, March 08, 2009

Second Sunday of Lent

I've lost track of what day of Lent this is! :o) Oh, well. That title was getting a bit monotonous anyway...

"This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him." Mark 9:7b

If you're not familiar with this passage, please take some time to look it up. (Mark 9:2-10) It is what is commonly known as the Transfiguration. Bear with me, because I truly love, love, love this account of an amazing event in Christ's life.

This is the story in a nutshell: Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a mountain with Him to pray. While He was there, He was "transfigured". Literally, He changed in appearance. They saw Him in His glory. (Yet another proof of His deity.) He was bright and shining, and His garments were white. Moses and Elijah appeared there with Him. The disciples fell on their faces. In the midst of all of it, God spoke to them, "This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him." Wow! What an incredible experience this must have been for Peter, James, and John!

Peter got a little confused in all of this. He wanted to build tabernacles for each of them: Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. But God set it all straight. Only Jesus deserved their worship. And how I do love this phrase, that when they looked up again, they saw, "Jesus only." Oh, my friends, may our lives be set on that course, too. That our focus is on Him alone. This world has so many distractions for us, but He alone deserves our praise.

And that is what Lent is truly all about. Regaining our focus. Setting aside worldly distractions to get back on track...

My offering to God: I will spend an hour today reading from Jesus' teachings in the Gospels and meditating on them.


2 comments:

Pat said...

Oh how easy it is to lose focus on God when this world wants to pull us in all different directions.
I don't know if I'm the only one following this....I think not, but you are doing a great job.
I would ask that if any one else is reading along, drop a comment, I know Joni would appreciate it.

Admin said...

Thanks, Pat, for continuing to read and comment. Even if you are my only reader, I appreciate that!