Photo by Juan Arreguin on Unsplash
A Reflection from the Fuel Daily Readings App for the Second Sunday of Lent. Click here to read the reading.
Where to even start! What a huge Gospel.
When I look at it this Gospel can be split into three key areas:
1. Seeing Jesus in all his glory
2. Having to come down the mountain
3. Listening to Jesus
All these are super important, and books and books can and have been written about each of them but I want to focus on one, in particular, the one that is often the hardest and most challenging, having to come down from the mountain and remain faithful in that time.
I relate to Peter so much, so often in the Gospels (for obvious reasons) but in this passage when he says, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters,” it is so human, he has seen Jesus in all his Glory and he doesn’t want it to stop, he wants to sit there, in a very real way he doesn’t want to come down from the mountain.
But he must and just like Peter we all must. I remember in 2020 I was in South Africa, and I had the opportunity to climb to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town at sun rise and I remember the view, it was just perfect, you could see for ever, I didn’t want to walk down, it was perfect. But I had to and now that I’m down that mountain I start to doubt if it really was as beautiful as I remember, I find myself having to look back at photos just to know if it was real.
This is so similar to how I often feel about those mountain top experiences, when I’m in the moment experiencing the love of Jesus and the glory of God I don’t want it to stop I want to “build a shelter” and stay at that summit but we can’t we have to come down that mountain and maybe during this time of Lent you are feeling like you are anywhere but on the mountain, that you have come right down and you are in a desert.
To remember the beauty of the view from Table Mountain I have to look at photo’s but to be reminded of the love Jesus has shown me in those mountain top experiences all I have to do is ask and he will remind me.
+Jesus reminds us of the love we experienced the first time we met you. Help us to experience you love and in this time of Lent help us come and speak to you and be filled with your love all over again. Amen