Day 6 - Matthew 17.4
Then 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.’
Jesus takes his three closest
friends, Peter, James and John, up a mountain to pray. While he is there, they
see him transfigured, glowing brightly with the glory of God, and two figures
appear – identified as Moses and Elijah, There are deliberate echoes here of
the stories of Moses on Mount Sinai, where God gave him the Ten Commandments,
and Elijah’s encounter with God’s “still,
small voice of calm” on Mount Horeb (which is probably another name for
Sinai). Peter, as usual, leaps in with what seems like a sensible suggestion to
him, to make some “dwelling places”,
temporary shelters, for them. He wants to hold onto this moment of glory. Perhaps
it is a way of denying the reality which Jesus has hinted at, that he will be
arrested and crucified. As soon as he
says this, though, Moses and Elijah vanish and the glory is gone.
·
Have you ever had an experience which you wanted to
last forever? Why might it be important for us to realise that this can’t
happen?
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