Lent Day 13 (March 18)
The Goodness of God
Psalm 27:13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Many times, in my life, I have heard people say or I have said, “You know It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This!” It may be while playing golf on a beautiful day on a beautiful course. It may be enjoying your family at the beach. It may be enjoying a great meal. Or it may mean a great worship service.
That was probably pretty much what Peter was saying in Luke 9:28-36as he watched Jesus meet with Elijah and Moses on the mountain. Surely it had to seem to him like being in the presence of angels
The issue is that we can’t stay at the golf course, the beach, or at the table or even in a great worship service twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. Like Peter we have to come down from the mountain and deal with everyday life.
In Charles Paolino Daily Devotions for Lent 2019. He tells the story of US Army captain Charles L. Badley who during WWII wrote home to California about how he and his colleagues had celebrated Christmas 1942. The highlight was that he had been chosen with four other American and British servicemen to have dinner on Christmas Day with Queen Mary—widow of King George V, mother of Edward VIII and George VI. In sumptuous surroundings, Badley received a personalized gift from Queen Mary plus a memento to send home to his mother and dined next to the queen. The contrast between that gathering and army life could not have been lost on him. Badley couldn’t be blamed if he had wished that the dinner would never end, but he would go back to army cots and army grub and an uncertain future.
When Peter, James, and John glanced momentarily at the glory of their Teacher, they were out of their element. All three might have wished that they would not have to climb down from that height and face the challenges of discipleship, but only the impetuous Peter said it out loud. But everyday life is what discipleship was about for them, as it is for us. That’s why we are urged to make Lent not only about ourselves, what we eat or don’t eat but about the world around us. Not to hide in the services but to go into a broken world with the healing message of the resurrected Christ
Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, we long to know you in the fullness of your glory as Son of God. But for now, we accept your invitation to share the ministry you passed on to your first disciples, caring for our sisters and brothers amid the challenges of everyday life. May we serve you now by serving our neighbors and come to live with you forever in heaven. Amen.