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Fasting

Transforming (Church Fast Day 8)

Todays Reading: Matthew 17:1 – 18:14

 

Transforming

In the beginning of today’s reading we are given the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Verse 2 reads ‘’He was transformed in front of them, and His face shone like the sun. Even His clothes became as white as the light.” This is a small glimpse of to the revealing of His glory to Peter, James, and John.

Then it goes on to say in Verse 5 that suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” Of course, the disciples were terrified by this and fell on their faces. But then Jesus touches them and says “Rise and have no fear.” To me, these passages show us that we are to follow Jesus, confirmed by God the Father. Not in fear, but in faith.

While we may not transfigure as Jesus did, we do have transforming moments in our lives. God’s glory can be revealed in us if we allow it to.

Much like Jesus and the disciples climbed a mountain where God’s glory was revealed, Jesus will help us to climb “mountains” in our own lives. Think about what it would take to actually climb a mountain. It is hard and often dangerous! But once you are there at the top, the feeling of climbing the mountain and the view is like nothing else.

Another example of transforming we are given in today’s reading is in Matthew 18. The disciples were busy discussing amongst themselves (in another place in scripture it even says that they were arguing) who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus uses a child among them and says “Unless you turn and become like children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” He goes on to further explain that whoever humbles themselves like a child would be considered the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He is trying to teach us here that we must transform ourselves from the ways of this world.

We see in the world that people are often prideful, arrogant, and want everyone to know about their “accomplishments”. They consider themselves to be great. Jesus flips this way of thinking upside down. In contrast to the world’s view of what greatness is, we see that God desires us to be humble, willing to learn, and to be dependent on Him.

This type of transformation in our lives can only come from God. When you accept Jesus as your savior and decide to follow Him, you are also agreeing to allow Him to transform you. Whether it be helping us to climb the mountains in our lives, or by teaching us to look at life through the eyes of a child, Jesus transforms us to be more like Him so that we too can allow God’s glory shine through.

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