A Light Bulb Moment

It’s so frustrating when you’re trying to get a point across, or trying to understand the point someone else is trying to communicate, and the point is just not getting across! And, it’s such a relief when, the point dawns on you (or them!) and it’s like a light turns on! As we read the Gospel of Mark, chapter 9, it seems incredulous to us that even Jesus’ three closest disciples, Peter, James and John, just do not get it! Even when Peter correctly identifies Jesus title as Messiah, he still does not believe Jesus when he says how he’s going to be Messiah. Jesus lays it out plainly- he details his suffering as God’s plan to defeat evil. But they still can’t fathom how this Kingdom can come in such a strange, painful way.
Even when God comes in great light before them on Jesus, their minds are still in the dark!
Is it any different for us today? Unless we can see today’s suffering in light of how Jesus brought life, light, and the kingdom through suffering and overcoming, then we are still in the dark! We have so many ways in which we want to bypass pain, suffering, and persevering, that we also bypass the light and the solution. We bailout faltering banks. We pretend that as a nation we don’t have balance our ‘checkbook’ (this won’t fly for our personal bank accounts!) We want a medication for every pain.
But Jesus didn’t just give us words or political doublespeak or a pill to avoid our pain and suffering- he showed us that we can face the worst pain, suffering, and evil that the world can dish out, and come through alive and well!
As we soon begin this season of Lent, praying and listening to God in these 40 days before celebrating the Easter resurrection life; may we face our Lord and our sufferings fully expecting to overcome!

This blog is inspired by the Gospel reading for this Sunday’s Lectionary passages, Mark 9:2-9, which tells us of Jesus ‘Transfiguration’ a miraculous, revealing appearance of God’s presence, a great light.