Matthew Pechanio's blog

Now there is even more to talk about isn’t there? They’ve seen so much and there is so much more to come – but Jesus commands the three disciples to remain quiet about all of this. Tell no one about this experience until after I have been raised from the dead. Perhaps the silence is necessary so the real work can begin now without distraction - Christ’s death on the cross – Jesus knew it had to be done, and this glorious transfiguration might obscure that which is just as great and necessary. The glory and the cross are two sides to the same coin.

It's as though Peter has said: "Let’s stop here! This is wonderful and there is no sign of trouble, none of that nasty betrayal and suffering and death business” After all, the revelation on this mountain top is far more preferable to the equally true revelation soon to come on some other mountains: the Mount of Olives, the place of Chirst’s betrayal; and Gologotha, the hill of death.

God will have none of this picking and choosing. Peter’s euphoria and exuberance is confronted by these two realities:

1. The reality of the horrors to come.

Just prior to the episode upon the mountain Peter gets it right. He identifies Christ as the Messiah. And Jesus commends Peter's observation:

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church…"

Peter gets it right: “You are the Christ, the Son of God”

Matthew 17:4..."Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ "

Lastly, a life of descent provides for the needs of others. Look at St. Matthew's gospel (chapter 25):

‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

A life of descent also requires that we put our own priorities 2nd:
From Philippians 2:

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God, or being in very nature God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Why does a person bend over, or stoop down? Obviously to reach something, or someone. It’s physically kind of tough, some people can’t do it very well (or at least cannot get back up after).

We’ve been talking about following Christ. By following Christ we experience freedom – a deeper freedom to be who we are, a freedom to trust and hope even in the midst of tough circumstances.

Last week we talked about following Jesus – keeping the taillights in view: repentance and believing the gospel.
And it is in following Jesus that we are truly free.

Repent. A wonderful word that is very difficult to define. One thing that cam be said is that we know it when we see it.

Repentance implies a turning away and a moving ahead.

When we find ourselves on the wrong end of the justice/injustice equation, or the peace and strife paradigm. We repent and turn towards the better way. For example, a greedy person comes to grips with their selfish hoarding and rather than just feeling bad about it, saying that they are sorry, something is done, something concrete and useful. Oh, and that’s the Kingdom by the way.