8 August 2016 - see the glory

[ Today's Readings ]

Heaven and earth are filled with your glory.

We need to believe in the glory of God because sometimes the world doesn't seem very glorious it all. In fact it seems so dark as to negate the possibility of any glory anywhere.

“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men,
and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.”
And they were overwhelmed with grief.

By all human judgment this is not what should happen to God's chosen one. The messiah is sent to fix the problems of this world, not succumb to them, isn't he? Yet fixing these problems is part of this promise, too, for he will be raised on the third day. The disciples are too overwhelmed with grief to hear this part of the promise. Indeed, they mostly cannot follow Jesus to the cross at first. But to ensure, at least, that they can return to him when they fail Jesus makes known his glory on the mount of transfiguration. A combination of that vision and this promise is not enough to prevent the denial of Peter. But it is enough to empower his repentance.

This morning the LORD wants us to receive a vision of his glory.

Above the firmament over their heads
something like a throne could be seen, 
looking like sapphire.
Upon it was seated, up above, one who had the appearance of a man.
Upward from what resembled his waist I saw what gleamed like electrum;
downward from what resembled his waist I saw what looked like fire;
he was surrounded with splendor.
Like the bow which appears in the clouds on a rainy day
was the splendor that surrounded him.
Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

We won't always have this vision before us. But if we act like Mary does, and treasure these things in our hearts, then the conviction the vision gives us remains even when the feelings fade. We treasure and celebrate these blessings from the LORD. We plant them deep within the soil of our hearts so that they can bear fruit and not be eaten by birds.

The way we plant glorious visions in our hearts is primarily by praise and thanksgiving.

Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights;
Praise him, all you his angels;
praise him, all you his hosts.

Jesus is generous. He pays the temple tax for Peter as well as himself even though he is not obligated to pay for either of them. We can be confident in the authority he gives Peter, making him a spokesperson for the kingdom. The voice of Peter is another thing we can trust when times get tough. We can be confident that Jesus loves us enough to plant us firmly in the truth of his message if we let him do so.

And he has lifted up the horn of his people.
Be this his praise from all his faithful ones,
from the children of Israel, the people close to him. 
Alleluia.