Jesus, Abraham, and the Nature of God's Call

For each of us willing to take on the mantle of discipleship, there are tasks that God has for us to perform in our time.  That is the purpose of God entering into relationship with us.  We are not redeemed for our protection and safety.  We are redeemed so we can, like Christ, bring God's light to the world.

Discerning God's call requires wisdom and courage, just as carrying out God's call does.  Discerning God's call requires wisdom because God's call will likely require us to act and think differently than the world.  Those who are part of the Church might even think, in fact, that we are actually acting contrary to God's call.

This is evident in Jesus telling the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer, and be raised on the third day.  Peter gets upset; Jesus is acting contrary to what common sense dictates about security and safety.  Jesus rebukes Peter, and tells him that in order for us to be disciples, we must all take up our cross.  Not literally, but figuratively; just as Jesus agonized in the garden due to the difficulty of God's call, God will likely call us to go to those place where we would otherwise choose not to go, and say those things that the world doesn't want to hear.

Transfiguration and the the Lifting of the Veil

Today is Transfiguration Sunday, which ends the season of Epiphany.  The transfiguration story evidences and reveals the nature of God's light.  Paul says that since the beginning of the human race, there has been a veil over our eyes, preventing us from seeing God's light.  The veil is created and perpetuated by what Paul calls the "Spirit of the World," from the Greek word cosmos.  God's light has always been present and will always be present.  It is a misnomer to think that before Christ, God's light was not in the world; Christ enabled us to lift the veil that distorts our perception so we can see God's light.

The ancient Church saw that transfiguration story and the crucifixion story as indicative of the veil of darkness over our eyes.  Both stories involve Christ lifted up between two figures.  They are one and the same story.  The Church sees the Jesus story and seeks glory and majesty, because the veil is lifted.  The world sees death and humiliation.

The task of the Church is the practice of lifting the veil to reveal God's everlasting light