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IT IS GOOD WE ARE HERE (TRANSFIGURATION SUNDAY)

SCRIPTURE READINGS
2 KINGS 2:1-12
2 CORINTHIANS 4:3-6
MARK 9:2-9

Beloved in the Lord, in a world overwhelmed with wars, crime, economic instability and diseases, who among us won’t be excited when he or she is being invited to a place which is serene, safe and above all comfortable. Certainly, you will consider that place good and when you are asked to leave you will probably object and exclaim “It is good we are” Naturally, we are attracted to good places and when we find ourselves in such places, we wish to stay there as long as time can permit us. Beloved in the Lord our theme for meditation is, “It is good we are here”
We shall be looking at three important points in today’s Scripture readings;

1. Those who yearn to be with the Lord shall experience his glory.
2. Those who are perishing and are blinded by Satan cannot experience the glory of God shining through salvation in Jesus.
3. No one remains the same after having experienced the glory of God, there is spiritual growth and empowerment.

In the first and third scripture readings, we see the similarity between Elijah and his prophet-trainee, Elisha, and Jesus and his followers, Peter, James and John. The similarity is that these masters were about experiencing the glory of God in a supernatural and unprecedented manner and their disciples or followers were yearning to be with them. Elijah might have found it difficult to leave Elisha or perhaps envisaged how he will be taken, and its emotional effect on Elisha. He wanted him to stay back yet 2 Kings 2:1-12 tells us that Elisha was adamant and would not back down, he desired and was willing to receive from his master a double portion of his power and to witness the glory of the Lord. In the same manner, when Jesus Called Peter, James and John to follow him to the mountain, they willingly obliged although in their case they had no idea what they were about to experience but they were always at the service of their master. In following Jesus to the mountain, they experienced the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Mark 9:2-9 makes us understand that Jesus is indeed God and the fulfilment of the law and prophet of the Old Testament. This is made clearer when God said in Mark 9:7 “This is my beloved son; listen to him”. When Peter and the others experienced the glory of God through Jesus Christ, he exclaimed In Mark 9: 5 “Rabbi, it is good that we are here.” Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Peter was overwhelmed with the metaphysical experience and wanted to give it a physical approach. But on second thought, who wouldn’t want to experience such a sight for as long as time could permit. In a world full of war, pandemics, rivalry and mischief we must all desire to pitch a tent at where we experience the Glory of God and say with Peter, “It is good we are here.”

Beloved in the Lord, your willingness and passion to serve the Lord will lead you to experience the glory of the Lord. In our case we may not say it is good we are here but we will say it is good we are following Jesus because wherever Jesus’ name is mentioned God’s glory is revealed. Imagine Elisha had returned and Peter, James and John had given an excuse to go do some other things than follow Jesus to the mountain, they all would have missed the golden opportunity to experience the glory of God. Your willingness to be with the Lord will determine your spiritual experience, and your spiritual experience in the Lord will give you a testimony. The fundamental question is, are you willing to follow the master or do you want to continue giving excuses and therefore miss out on the opportunity to say with Peter that “It is good we are here” We are greatly encouraged to yearn for the glory of the Lord by remaining obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Beloved in the Lord, the second fact I want us to deliberate on is that those who are perishing and those who have refused to repent and have allowed the gods of this earth to blind them cannot experience the glory of God. That is the point Paul makes in his letter to the Corinthian Christians when he wrote “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6). We live in a world where many profess to be Christians and many people find themselves in chapels and giant auditoriums on Sundays with a similar purpose to worship God and to experience his glory in their lives but how many of us have accepted the Gospel of Christ and are truly living according to teachings and examples laid down by our Lord and master Jesus Christ. I dare say that, many Christians of our generation, see the church merely as a social centre for which they identify themselves with one another to form acquaintances. For most of us, our discipleship is not reflected in our daily dealings with our neighbours and the environment we find ourselves. Wickedness and corruption are on the ascendancy. We care less about the poor and underprivileged in our communities. We are insensitive to the plight of victims of poor economic structures and decisions. Let us remember that those who genuinely repent and allow the gospel to transform them will become the disciples of Christ destined to experience the glory of God. Roman 3:23 tells us that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” Paul himself is a classic example, he was a passionate Jew who fought Christians but when he met the Lord and repented he experienced total transformation and the glory of God was upon his life and ministry.

The third and final point is that no one serves God, experiences His glory and remains the same. Elisha in 2 Kings 2:1-12 had a double portion of Elijah’s anointing and empowerment and Peter, James, John and the other disciples received power from the Holy Spirit to do great exploits to win souls for the Kingdom of God after Jesus ascended into heaven. Paul puts it this way in our Second Scripture reading in 2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness”, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” In other words, if Jesus is in our hearts we shall experience the glory of God. You cannot remain the same after you have experienced Jesus Christ. There must be a noticeable transformation which is beneficial to others and yourself. May people encounter or experience the glory of God upon their life and declare that “it is good to be with you” Remember, wherever Jesus went people were following him because there was something unique and irresistible about him, he carried the glory of God with him everywhere he went. May you be empowered to go out there and be a light in the darkness, witnessing to the lost and causing the name of the Lord to be glorified through your testimonies.

In summary, our willingness to follow and serve Jesus Christ will enable us to experience the glory of God, it is through repentance and discipleship that we can experience the glory of God and when we have experienced the glory of God we are empowered and transformed to do great exploit for the Lord. May His glory continue to be with us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.