I Was There

Thursday, February 23, 2017

2nd Peter 1:17-18: For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
"I was there." Peter is saying. "I saw Jesus change. I saw Moses and Elijah. I heard the Voice. I am reporting the truth of it."

And more than just reporting the truth of what happened, Peter lived the truth of Jesus. Peter died for the truth of Jesus. Peter's life, especially after the day of Pentecost, was living with the truth of what he experienced and what he saw. Peter's actions are reported in the Acts of the Apostles and in his letters to the Church. Peter's life was all about living, breathing, and dying Jesus so that people would, and did, come to believe in Jesus and Jesus' life for them.

What about you? Now none of us were there on that mountain of Transfiguration. We didn't see it all happen. And we have the tendency to say, "How do I know what Peter says happened, happened? After all, it's just his word. He could have made it all up.

But he didn't. We believe Peter was there. We trust the truth of his account. We trust and believe in God the Holy Spirit who inspired Matthew to write the account in his Gospel and we trust and believe in Peter's recounting of the truth. 

The power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God brings the reality of the events to life in order to inspire our faith and life. And because we trust in the truth, we live our lives according to it. We now say, "I am there. I see the Transfiguration. I hear the Voice of the Father. He inspires me. He moves me to live my life by means of His grace and love." Let's pray.

Father God, thank You for Peter's eyewitness of Jesus. Thank You for leading us to the truth of Peter. Lead us through the truth to live the truth in our lives today. We pray this in Jesus' name. And all God's children say...