Peter said to Jesus,”Lord, it is good
for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles (sacred
tents) here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and
behold, a voice out of the cloud said,”This is my Beloved Son, with
whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” Matthew 17:4-5
You gotta love Peter. Just gotta. Here
they are, the three most intimate of Jesus' disciples. Jesus picked
them for a special revelation and took them up to a mountaintop to
see wonderful things. And Peter blows it. Here in front of him
stands, of all people, Moses, and the prophet Elijah. Imagine the
possibilities! Imagine what they could have said in Peter's
presence...the things that 3 holy men could have taught 3 disciples
(learners, students). If only they would have kept their mouths
shut.
We all know them and some of us are
them. We think we know a lot. We think we have something to teach, to
share, to inspire, to strengthen, and to serve. I'm sure Peter had
these thoughts. Wow, I can do something for Jesus and Moses and
Elijah. I can make them tents! Wahooo!
Really, Peter? Really? Is this the time
to go from being a fisherman to a tentmaker? To open your mouth and
offer to DO instead of to LISTEN. Instead of learning we offer to
serve. We know the right thing to do. To do! We have the answers when
we should be realizing the true miracle of what we are experiencing
and soaking it all in. We are, in essence, foolish. Really, really
foolish.
How many times do we act like Peter. We
offer to serve in the most inappropriate ways in the middle of what
is supposed to be our biggest opportunity to experience God Himself,
to be in His presence in awe and wonder and SILENCE. What does God
tell Peter? “Shut up and LISTEN, you silly man. This is the Son of
God whose presence you are standing in...LISTEN!” That did put the
3 disciples on their faces. I wonder if James and John chewed Peter
out later. They, too, were cheated out of the opportunity to stay in
the presence of the 3 greatest men in human history. Or were they
just glad that they were not the ones to open their mouths? They were
the Sons of Thunder. Big mouths. Boasting, bragging, and brash. But
these zealots were Christ's best friends. He knew that their passion
would someday change the world. And until then, they continued to
miss out on opportunities to see Jesus work, to listen to Him teach,
to absorb everything He had to say because their thoughts, too, were
on their own self-importance. They wanted to be at Jesus' right hand
so much that they had mommy pleading their case.
So what is your tent that you want to
build Jesus and the Law and the Prophets? What do you think you have
to offer God that His Son, His Word, and His Plan need help with,
need your protection or unscripted offerings? God had given the Jews
the blueprints for the tabernacle, and here Peter thinks He can come
up with one on his own. When are we busting in wanting our program,
our offering, our plan to change the world instead of sitting,
kneeling, and bowing to the plan of God revealed to us? As much as I
would like to think my offerings are going to somehow please God,
nothing will please Him more than listening to His Son. The Son makes
us acceptable to the Father. We tend to forget that. Without the Son,
we are separated from the Holy Father. We can walk with Him. Judas
walked with Him. And was separated from God because He did not accept
God's plan. Judas had another plan for Jesus. He was going to take
over Rome. And when that plan didn't happen, the betrayal began. He
was not content with Jesus, with not having stuff (dude, he STOLE
from Jesus as the treasurer...that would take some nerve), and with
not setting up a kingship. If he was going to sacrifice the creature
comforts of life, he wanted to see a return. He was discontent. Not
that the other disciples didn't have their moments. People left in
droves at times, and when Jesus asked Peter if they were staying,
Peter's response was pretty deflated. Where else can we go. You have
the Words of eternal life (even though right now they don't seem to
be bringing life, but hardship). We so like to think if we were God
that things would be different. We could do it better. Or that our
method of worship will bring better results than God's way. God's
house was a house of prayer, of worship, of sacrifice. Now we want to
make it a place of entertainment, of self-affirmation, and favorite
speakers. We forget that it isn't about US. It is about God. It's not
about drawing attention to Jesus, but to man. It's about how man
reaches up to God in his futile efforts instead of coming into God's
presence and Listening to Him. To learn Christ.
Ah, Peter, thank you for reminding me
about every time you are mentioned in scripture, that self-importance
is foolish, but forgivable. Thank you for cowering and lying and
hiding, and yet being used of God to preach boldly, and to write
letters that demonstrate how the Spirit can take a boaster and turn
him into a worshiper. And thank you, Lord, for forgiving me for being
Peter almost every day of my life. Transfigure my heart.
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