Reading: 2 Peter 1: 16-21

Verse 16: “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty”.

Peter writes of his experience seeing Jesus Christ transfigured before his eyes that day atop the mountain. Just as Moses had stepped into God’s presence on Mount Sinai long ago, Peter, James, and John are present in the Holy One’s presence. Peter writes, “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty”. They saw with their own eyes. The divinity or majesty of Christ was revealed to their very eyes. And not only that – God also spoke from the cloud, affirming Jesus as his Son, the Beloved. Peter saw and heard that Jesus is the Messiah.

As we have journeyed with Christ, we too have experiences where we have seen and heard the Lord. Jesus Christ continues to be active and present in the world and in our lives. The Holy Spirit continues to whisper into our hearts and to nudge our hands and feet into action. God continues to send people into our lives that make known the love and mercy of God. Peter had an experience that would have been impossible to ignore. Unfortunately, we can be pretty adept at ignoring or avoiding or procrastinating away the continuing efforts of the Lord in our lives and in the world around us. Too often we either limit what we think God can do or we refuse to see the possibilities before us.

We are creatures of habit and we love certainty. We rarely venture into the unknown. These tendencies lead us to just see what we expect to see, to just do what we normally do. Yet God is all around us. God is present in so many moments of each day. If we would just see with eyes of faith, if we would just let our eyes be in our heart instead of in our minds, then we would see God in so many ways. Then we would see God in the beauty of the sunrise or in the eyes of the elderly couple. Then we would recognize the love of Christ in the unexpected words of kindness from a stranger. Then we would maybe be brave and courageous enough to be the light of Jesus to someone who is broken or hurting.

This is the reason we experience God’s presence and work in our lives: so that we can share it with others. These experiences of faith are vehicles to use to tell the story of how Jesus works in our lives. We too can be “men and women carried along by the Holy Spirit”. May it be so!

Prayer: Loving Lord, you are present in so many ways in our world and in my life. Thank you for each moment that you touch my life. Help me to always have eyes to see you and a heart to feel you. Fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit so that all may see and experience you in me. Amen.