Dear Family,
Has anyone ever told you an incredible secret? I am not talking about a confession of dark, painful acts, but a secret that you just cant help but want to share because it is so amazing? How many of you have experienced this? Maybe a friend got that job they coveted, but they couldn't tell anyone, not yet, but they had to tell you, their best friend. Yes you were sad to see them leave, but you were sooo very happy for them, and they said, "Don't tell anyone until i have made it known, please." Or the couple that just found out they were pregnant? Or the company you work for just got that awesome contract that is going to ensure everyone keeps their jobs? These experiences pave the way for people smiling, laughing, and even crying tears for joy, and each time we are told, don't tell anyone until...
It's just not fair sometimes, especially when the people who ask us forget to let us know its ok to tell people, and we sit there, waiting to share, but honoring the trust of our friend. When the censure is off, and we can share, we can't wait to call and tell everyone, right?
As fast as bad news can spread, good news, great news, miraculous news spreads like wildfires, because we all want to celebrate and laugh and jump up and down with the person who is getting the good news. I think, at the core of our being, each of us want others to be happy, and when they get that news that makes them incredibly happy, we can't help but want to share that with any and all. Which makes the silencing even harder to embrace.
But what happens if what we have been given access to is of the Divine, what then? Or, as in the case of our text for today, God/Jesus/Holy Spirit has revealed to us part of a greater, more amazing plan, and we witness something beyond our ability to explain, and Jesus/God/Holy Spirit, after we have been made speechless, says to us, "Don't tell anyone, until the right time..."
We might take a step back and just stand there, with shoulders shrugged, mouths wide open, thinking, "Are you serious? We cant tell anyone about this? Not yet?" We celebrate the Transfiguration every year, on a special Sunday, and we honor this amazing event, but do we really take a step back and think about what Jesus was asking of Peter, James, and John?
Perhaps if i put it this way, because i promise you the others, as we are all prone to do, are going to ask what happened, right? When they join the others, the rest of the 12 are going to pull the three aside and say, with silent curiosity, "So what happened up there? What did the teacher say? Did he reveal anything about the plan? Do we know whats happening next? Come on Peter, you always tell us, what happened?"
Peter, James, and John, i envision, just look at each other and probably, maybe even in unison, just say, "Nuttin..."
Nothing? Really? They spent an evening, a full night, with Jesus, and we are to accept that "Nothing" happened? The three would just say, well you know, he talked about loving people, feeding people, justice, peace.. the usual Jesus stuff, you know, nothing new." And their eyes dart back and forth hoping that the others do not push for more revelation, but Scripture doesn't tell us what happened after, all we know is that they had to keep it quiet.
But why? What good could that serve?
I have wrestled with that question for a long time, and i think, i think, i might have a small glimmer of why, just a small explanation. When Kendra and I got pregnant with Daniel, something so small in the cosmos of the creation, but huge for us, we wanted to make sure all things would be ok before telling anyone, even our parents. We wanted to pass certain dates, before sharing, because we feared the 'what ifs..' And that's just our little cosmos, what if the 'what ifs' involve the very plan of God? Might it be necessary to keep it quiet until things were already in place?
What if Peter comes down and tells Judas, the Zealot, what they had seen? Might Judas, who betrayed Jesus because Jesus was not radically violent enough, might Judas have raised an army, battled the Romans, and got a lot of people killed, squelching the plan of God, if that were possible? What if James comes down and tells the Romans and the Religious leaders that they had witnessed something akin to Moses on Mt. Sinai, might the religious leaders had killed them all before the evangelistic work of Peter, James, and John ever got started? And what if John, the beloved and youngest of the followers, had come down and told his parents what had happened, might they force him to return? What ifs do a lot of damage in the hands of good intentioned people.
Perhaps waiting until it is time, truly illustrates two things: Gods timing is perfect and the faith and love of the three to wait for Jesus to give them the thumbs up. And for all we know they did it, right? They waited. They kept their mouths shut. And the movement exploded after Jesus rose from the grave.
It seems Jesus knows just what is necessary for any given situation, which gives me peace. Because as much as i want to get ahead of God, it does no good. It only leads to frustration and unfruitful work. I want to see results now, NOW! But all that does is squelch any inklings of faith that existed. So what i need is a Peter like faith and trust, right? What about you all?
I need the faith to witness something so beautiful and remain silent about it until i have been given the thumbs up. I need the faith that trusts Jesus' promise to walk with me, even to the end of the days, as long as i am faithful to His commandments to love, even as He first loved me. And i need a faith that doesnt shrink in the face of a minor adversity, like a budget shortfall or lower attendance, because these are simply trials that i/we must walk through in order to see the shower of blessings that come through a desert season. Yeah, thats the faith i need. Anyone else need that faith too?
Besides if a schmuck like Peter can keep his big trap shut, why can't i wait on Jesus too? Amen.
Shalom,
jerry
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