“Get up.”
“Get up.”
Matthew 17:7b
“Get up,” Jesus says to Peter, James and John after the trio drops face first into mountaintop dirt. The threesome had been climbing with Jesus and had just watched their leader’s face glow like the sun while his clothes became as white as light. Throw in the guest appearances of long dead Moses and Elijah who are talking with Jesus. Somehow the three disciples are still on their feet when Peter suggests an extensive building project—an idea not well received—but the three are still on their feet. They nose plant after they hear God say, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”
They do listen to Jesus, even though they DO NOT understand what just happened! Think about it. As young men, their greatest visual thrill was what? A birth of a farmyard animal? A shooting star? A closer than usual moon? A few entertaining finger shadows on a wall from the glow of a fire?
Imagine their experience. With dirt-covered faces, they must have wondered, “WHAT do we do with THIS?”
The answer is they did what Jesus calls us to do, too. They got up.
Matthew’s account of the Transfiguration is slightly different from Mark’s and Luke’s. He records Jesus touching them and telling them not to be afraid.
Maybe fear has you down, or failure, or shaky finances. Maybe it’s fatigue from your own long and tiring climb. Whatever has overwhelmed you or has put you down, wait for Jesus’ light touch on your shoulder as he whispers, “Get up.”
Interestingly, there are no more details in this account. This mountaintop experience, the Transfiguration, just happened. Just like the wonders of birth, shooting stars, evening phenomena and entertaining finger art on a dimly lit wall, Jesus just showed these three who he really was. He transformed himself. He transformed them.
Let Jesus do the same for you. How? Do what he asks you to do. Get up.
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PRAYER: Jesus, help me rise from my fall. Amen.
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