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Through the fall our nature was stripped of divine illumination and resplendence. But the Logos of God had pity upon our disfigurement and in His compassion He took our nature upon Himself, and on Tabor He manifested it to His elect disciples clothed once again most brilliantly. He shows what we once were and what we shall become through Him in the age to come, if we choose to live our present life as far as possible in accordance with His ways.
*St. Gregory Palamas
How often we hear people trying to excuse their sins and failure by saying, "I'm only human!" You are human, but God became human in Christ to show us what it really means to be human. To be human means to be able to share in God's life. To be human means to have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our bodies, making them temples of God. To be human means to have the Lord Jesus sitting on the throne of our heart, making us palaces of God's presence. To be truly human means to be able in Christ to transcend human weaknesses and frailties and to become like Christ in whose image we were created.
*Anthony M. Coniaris. "Achieving Your Potential in Christ: Theosis ~ Plain Talks on a Major Doctrine of Orthodoxy." Ed. G. A. Henry.
Today's Scripture ~ MATTHEW 17.1-9 (NRSV)
17.1Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Wisdom Quotes
“Undergoing Jesus must be the center of any Christian spirituality. Within Christian spirituality, long before we speak of anything else (church, dogmas, commandments, even admonitions to love and justice), we must speak about Jesus, the person and the energy that undergirds everything else; after all, everything else is merely a branch. Jesus is the vine, the blood, the pulse, and the heart.”
*Ronald Rolheiser. The Holy Longing
“We need a return, not so much to 'Christianity' ~ that complex of doctrines, organizations, liturgies, traditions and even social habits, which would always be partly a man-made thing ~ as to faith in, and personal commitment to Christ Himself as the Lord of all life, the revealer of man's meaning for God and God's meaning for man.” *The Times. Jan 5, 1963
Suggested Reflection
1. The Matthew Gospel reads: “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” What does it mean for you to listen to Christ? How do you listen to Christ?
2. What does the story of the Transfiguration say about Christ's nature? What do you consider the story of the Transfiguration might say about your potential in Christ?
3. Do you think Peter offering to set up dwellings for Christ, Moses, and Elijah is an example of his typical action mode of control as a defense mechanism? What defense mechanisms do you use to "defend" against the Word's Mystery and Power? How might you be more receptive of Mystery, rather than shutting down when the Word manifests?
*Palamas and Coniaris quotes are from www.mycopticchurch.com .
For replies and biographical information, and submission to "The Light Shines" daily devotionals ~ a ministry of Christ Community United Methodist Church, Punta Gorda, FL, see next page:
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