Transfiguration. Sunlight pouring from Jesus' face on the mountain with Peter, James, John, Elijah and Moses. "This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him." "Don't be afraid." right. I'll try? "Elijah has already come, but they didn't know him when they saw him. They treated him like dirt, the same way they are about to treat the Son of Man." Jesus metamorphosized, transformed--"the reality that was inside of Jesus got outside of him so the disciples could see it." (EP) Be changed from the inside out. Same words are used to describe our transformation as describe Jesus' transfiguration on the mountain. Awesome.
Disciples couldn't do anything for man's son who goes out of his mind. "No sense of God. No focus to your lives. How long do I have to put up with this?"
Why couldn't we do it? "Because you're not taking God seriously. If you did, there is nothing you would not be able to tackle."
Taxes.
Who gets the highest rank? "Unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me...Watch that you don't treat a single one of these believers arrogantly. You realize, don't you, that their personal angels are constantly in touch with my Father in heaven?"
Work it out between you. Conflict management. Gossip stopping. Relationship building. Hard.
"If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him--work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend. If he won't listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won't listen, tell the church. If he won't listen to the church, you'll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God's forgiving love." Too often we fail one another and we fail the community of believers when we allow gossip to go unchecked--when we fail to ask one who is talking poorly of another, "Have to talked to her/him about this?" Oh, that we might grow up and honor God with our disagreements! Unchecked gossip is a metastatic cancer in the body of Christ. Churches have to make allowances for weakness and sin. We will disappoint one another. Even tick each other off. It's how we handle those times that reflects on our understanding of and obedience to God's ways.
Forgiveness. King shows mercy. Debtor released. Released debtor turns around and imprisons one who owes him, failing at extending the same mercy that was extended to him. Released debtor "caught" by king and re-imprisoned for his lack of forgiveness and mercy.
Acts 25-27
New governor/ruler, new attempts to discredit our enemy, in this case, Paul. Festus tries to appeal to lower Jews and take trial back to Jerusalem. Paul petitions upward instead knowing the accusations are baseless, to Caesar. First Paul is brought before the visiting King Agrippa. The more Paul tells his story, the more details we get about his Pharisaic days, about his conversion, about his change in understanding.
"I'm sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I'm sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me." (Jesus to Saul/Paul) "What could I do? I became an obedient believer on the spot!" Oh, that it were that easy!
Jews are mad about this "whole world" dimension--they want to keep God for themselves. Festus tells Paul he's crazy. Agrippa is almost swayed: "Keep this up much longer and you'll make a Christian out of me." "There's nothing in this man deserving prison, let alone death...but now he's got to get his hearing before Caesar."
Paul invaded the court room with a message of the gospel--he preached, and attempted to persuade King Agrippa with the gospel.
EP: The best defense is a good offense. What the world needs is not evidence for the deity of Christ or arguments for the existence of God. What it needs, and what will bring it to its knees in adoration, is a confrontation with a man to whom Christ means everything. We don't need to defend God. God can handle that. What we do need is to live in obedience to God and enter the world with a confidence and enthusiasm that spring from having our lives centered on God."
27: 35-38--Paul has his own loaves and fishes miracle as he feeds the ship's crew after a 14 day fast filled with threats of capsize and death. Everyone made it to shore safely, despite hopelessness that had overtaken them. "Don't give up...take heart."
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