Dear friends in Christ at Peace and Grue,
To see God is to be changed.
During the season of Epiphany, we hear of those who first came to the realization that Jesus might actually be the Messiah. They watched as the heaven opened and a voice proclaimed, “This is my Son.” They tasted the water that had become “good wine” at a wedding in Cana. They listened as he taught in the synagogue and heard him profess that in him, that day, the scripture had been fulfilled. They watched—or possibly even participated in—the angry crowd which drove him out of the synagogue but could not destroy him. They obeyed him when he told them, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” They wrestled as he taught them to love their enemies and to “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Some were amazed, others became angry, multitudes found hope, and a handful left everything and followed him. But all were forever changed. How could they not be?
After Epiphany and before we start Lent, we hear of the Transfiguration of our Lord. Jesus and a small group of his closest friends had slipped away from the crowds to go up the mountain and pray. Peter, James, and John, who had heard his teaching, asked question, witnessed the miraculous and had already given up everything to follow him had their eyes opened to see Jesus the Christ in his true appearance giving them a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. They were changed. How could they not be?
When they descended the mountain, they were immediately confronted by a man whose son had been seized by an evil spirit. The demon dramatically dashed the boy against the ground, but Jesus was unfazed. He rebuked the spirit, healed the young boy, and returned him to his father. “And all were astounded at the greatness of God.” They had seen God and their lives were changed. How could they not be?
Interactions with others, change us and our perspective in irreversible ways. There is no way to un-know what we have seen, experienced, or participated in. This is perhaps why the old adage is that “ignorance is bliss,” because sometimes we don’t want to be changed. As the Philosopher wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:18, “In much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow.” Through our experiences, we gain knowledge, and knowledge stubbornly refuses to let us remain the same. If this is true—if we are changed by our everyday interactions with others—how could we not be changed when we come into contact with God?
Like Moses who saw God on the mountaintop or the disciples who couldn’t quite recognize the true identity of Jesus until he was transfigured before their eyes or the crowd who witnessed the demon-possessed boy restored and healed by an encounter with Christ, we too are forever changed in our encounter with God. How could we not be? To see God is to be changed.
Enjoy Epiphany,
Pastor Dan