Matthew 21:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the palm trees and spread them on the road.

9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” 12 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.'” 14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. 16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?”

Throughout this 2017 Lenten devotional series, Light: There’s Nothing Like It, we’ve seen that light is an amazing creation and a very apt metaphor for everything from witnessing to righteousness, from the hope of the Gospel to the assurance of salvation, and from the Christian community’s relationship to the world to that same dark world’s relationship to Christ Himself.  Light’s relationship to darkness is as different as day and night.

In a passage of Scripture that’s often used in characterizing the relationship of people considering marriage, the Apostle Paul writes,

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

We’re approaching Palm Sunday and the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem.  The light of Christ was invading the very spiritual epicenter where the darkness of evil would stage its most desperate–and most futile– attempt at overcoming the Son of God.  That battle was waged at the Cross, but Christ would have the victory!

John 2:23 Now while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. 25 He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

Jesus knew that relationship isn’t about what others can do for us or what we can do for them.  True relationship of light to darkness is that light invades and permeates.  Light changes the darkness and when we encounter Christ, we come to understand the ground is level at the foot of the Cross.  No sinner could save himself; no sinner is beyond God’s ability to save.  Jesus is the Son of God and for us to have a relationship with Him, we must be changed, born again.

Fun Fact of Light:  It radiates, it refracts, and it reflects.  That is the principle behind sci-fi cloaking devices, something that is on its way to being reality at certain wavelengths of light.  According to the MIT Technology Review,  “To become invisible, an object must do two things: it has to be able to bend light around itself, so that it casts no shadow, and it must produce no reflection. While naturally occurring materials are unable to do this, a new class of materials called metamaterials is now making it possible.”

In fact, a firm in Israel has been working on such a metamaterial, a nanotechnology, a so-called “stealth paint.”  According to the Israel National News, it has far more uses than just military ones, but  “This is how it works. Any object coated with the paint is enveloped by the nanotechnology used to produce the material.  When electromagnetic waves are sent out by radar to sense whatever is entering its defense field, those radio waves are absorbed by the painted object, and then subsequently released back into the atmosphere as heat energy.

“The changed electromagnetic waves return to their source which would normally register the distance of the object, as with sonar in a medical ultrasound test, but there aren’t enough of them to make an identification on the radar screen.”

For Further Thought:

• In what ways will a Christian be different for encountering the Light?  In what ways are we the same?
• For insight, read Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is– his good, pleasing and perfect will.
• How does our ability to absorb and reflect the light of Christ make us no longer part of this dark world?

Father, thank You for knowing what’s in our hearts and loving us anyway.  Thank You for sending Jesus while we were still sinners, and because we were sinners without hope.  Thank You, Jesus, for Your death on the Cross, for paying the price of our redemption.  Thank You, for the transforming power of Your Holy Spirit, making us a whole new creation.  May we reflect Your Light and Your glory.  Amen.

Do you ever feel like giving up?  Just throwing up your hands and saying this whole Christian thing just simply isn’t worth it?  Maybe you’re under spiritual attack or even persecution. Maybe you’re just plain tired.  In those moments of temptation and feeling under pressure, I remember the journey Jesus embarked on.  Pressing on to Jerusalem.  Pressing on… into the crowds shouting ‘Hosanna!’ Pressing forward to the Cross.  Pressing into the will of the Father.  Pressing against death.  And pressing on His way to victory!  All the while preaching the Gospel by His actions and spreading His Light.

2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 

When we are pressed on all sides, we need to be pressing on into the Light! 

Fun Fact of Light:  Light can move objects.  Consider Crooks Radiometer-a gadget resembling a weather vane/ windmill of sorts inside a glass enclosure-which you can see in this video.  According to AweSci,  “The correct explanation was given by a  prominent Anglo-Irish innovator, Osbourne Reynolds. He explained …Due to a temperature gradient formed, the air starts moving along the surface from colder to the warmer side through the edges. The net pressure difference around the vane is created which pushes it in a direction that is away from warmer air and towards the colder air – makes sense for the apparatus.  This is the reason, if it is cooled, it moves in the opposite direction.”

Popular Science says about the sci-fi notion of tractor beams that “Moving objects with powerful light is not new — researchers have long been using optical tweezers to pluck bacteria-sized particles and move them a few millimeters. The U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, won his Nobel Prize for work with optical tweezers. But Andrei Rhode and colleagues at the Australian National University say their new laser device can move glass objects hundreds of times bigger than bacteria, and shove them a meter and a half (5 feet) or more. Rhode says the 1.5-meter limit was only because of the size of the table where he placed his lasers — he thinks he can move objects up to 10 meters, or about 30 feet…The system needs heated air or gas to work, so in its present incarnation it wouldn’t work in space — sorry, Star Wars fans.” 

For Further Thought:

• How might your light, sharing the Gospel, move people?
• Is oxygen required?  How?
• How is the life of Jesus revealed in us?

Father God, thank You for the message of the Cross.  A light shining in darkness so that we might attain the light of salvation through Your Son Jesus.  Thank You, for the hope we have and the hope You give, so that even though we are pressed in this world we can press on through the power You provide!  Amen.

Display on the outside what’s on the inside.  Consider it like truth in advertising.  No one prefers those chocolate bunnies at Easter that you bite its head off and there’s nothing but air inside.  We all like something solid, something true, something reliable, and something that communicates on the outside what is truly on the inside.  You know, authenticity.  Kind of like what the Apostle Paul says about love.

Romans 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

I think that’s what bothered me so much about the past year or so (during the election and now even afterwards).  Christians and Christian leaders—(YIKES!) all of whom are supposed to know that sinning is what everyone does and therefore it’s no surprise—pointing in judgment instead of offering counsel, grace, and forgiveness to our political leaders, not to mention our friends, and our contacts on social media.  We did an absolutely terrible job of displaying what we know to be true by faith:

No one gets into heaven on the basis of their own works. 

While we can judge deeds, pray, and vote, we didn’t let our light shine with authenticity.  We didn’t love our neighbor or display forgiveness…and that was a travesty.

Let’s aim to do better, okay?  Let your love light shine.

Fun Fact of Light: Bioluminescence.  National Geographic writes, “Bioluminescence is light produced by a chemical reaction within a living organism. …The appearance of bioluminescent light varies greatly, depending on the habitat and organism in which it is found. Most marine bioluminescence, for instance, is expressed in the blue-green part of the visible light spectrum. These colors are more easily visible in the deep ocean. Also, most marine organisms are sensitive only to blue-green colors. They are physically unable to process yellow, red, or violet colors.”

For Further Thought:

• Do people see on the outside of what you claim to believe on the inside?
• The church demonstrates our belief that the Son was sent by the Father…how?  By our unity (John 17:21). 
• The work ahead of us is to believe (John 6:29). 
• And we demonstrate our love (John 14:15) for God by our obedience (1 John 5:3). 
• How are we doing?  What sins can we give up in order to become more unified?

Father forgive us for being such terrible reflections of You.  Forgive us for being loveless, selfish, arrogant, and recalcitrant.  Forgive us for not forgiving others.  Teach us what it means to forgive and to leave no debt outstanding.  Help our Christian leaders to model Christ’s teachings with authenticity.  Thank You for not designing heaven to be something we could try to earn.  Thank You that it’s all by the grace of our Lord and Savior. Amen.

You may have heard the quote “We have three types of friends in life: Friends for a reason, friends for a season, and friends for a lifetime.” 

* * *

Jesus came for more than that. 

He came as the reason,

for a season on earth,

so that we could see God during Jesus’ lifetime,

and be with Him for eternity.

* * *

Jesus had resolutely set out for Jerusalem knowing the Cross was ahead of Him.  It was the reason He came.

John 12:35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. 37 Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: 40 “He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn– and I would heal them.” 41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. 42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. 44 Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Jesus came as a light, the Light of the World, so that the light would be for more than a season, it would be for a reason and we could enjoy the light of His grace and forgiveness eternally.

Fun Fact of Light:  Fireflies make their own light during their short season of life and give us a signal of summer.  In Scientific American ” Marc Branham, an assistant professor in the department of entomology and nematology at the University of Florida, explains.

Fireflies produce a chemical reaction inside their bodies that allows them to light up. This type of light production is called bioluminescence. The method by which fireflies produce light is perhaps the best known example of bioluminescence. When oxygen combines with calcium, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and the chemical luciferin in the presence of luciferase, a bioluminescent enzyme, light is produced. Unlike a light bulb, which produces a lot of heat in addition to light, a firefly’s light is ‘cold light,’ without a lot of energy being lost as heat. This is necessary because if a firefly’s light-producing organ got as hot as a light bulb, the firefly would not survive the experience.

A firefly controls the beginning and end of the chemical reaction, and thus the start and stop of its light emission, by adding oxygen to the other chemicals needed to produce light…

Fireflies appear to light up for a variety of reasons … Larvae use their glows as warning displays to communicate their distastefulness. As adults, many fireflies have flash patterns unique to their species and use them to identify other members of their species as well as to discriminate between members of the opposite sex. Several studies have shown that female fireflies choose mates depending upon specific male flash pattern characteristics.

For Further Thought:

Does your Jesus have nail scars?  Or when you visualize Him, are you more likely to see His face and not intentionally see the evidence of His season of suffering here on earth? 

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming, for Your incarnation, the Word becoming human flesh for the reason of being the Light of the World for a season so that we might be saved and enjoy Your presence, not just for a lifetime, but for eternity.  Amen.

Most people know John 3:16 exists if only from end zone placards.  The rest of this passage where Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the dark of night presents a clear case and a verdict.  If it were filmed, I’d picture it as film noir, but don’t worry, Jesus wouldn’t be chain-smoking with some femme fatale. 

Continuing to John 3:19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

“Nothing good happens after midnight” is a saying many people know.  Most acknowledge there’s an element of truth there even if Nicodemus came at night to hear the truth and see the light.  Jesus tells us who loves darkness and hanging out in the noir places of the world, but the light of truth will expose everything in the end.  I’m going to tell a longer version of our fun fact today since it spoke to me in conjunction with today’s passage.  If Light: There’s Nothing Like It is held as contrast to the noir of the world, there’s a spiritual insight we can gain from it.

Fun Fact of Light: Film Noir, the dark side of American film that began after WWII and replaced the cheery side of Hollywood in the 1940s.  Film Site explains, “A wide range of films reflected the resultant tensions and insecurities of the time period, and counter-balanced the optimism of Hollywood’s musicals and comedies. Fear, mistrust, bleakness, loss of innocence, despair and paranoia are readily evident in noir, reflecting the ‘chilly’ Cold War period when the threat of nuclear annihilation was ever-present. The criminal, violent, misogynistic, hard-boiled, or greedy perspectives of anti-heroes in film noir were a metaphoric symptom of society’s evils, with a strong undercurrent of moral conflict, purposelessness and sense of injustice.”

Roger Ebert wrote a column identifying ten characteristics of film noir including

2. A movie which at no time misleads you into thinking there is going to be a happy ending.

3. Locations that reek of the night, of shadows, of alleys, of the back doors of fancy places, of apartment buildings with a high turnover rate, of taxi drivers and bartenders who have seen it all…

8. Movies either shot in black and white, or feeling like they were…

10. The most American film genre, because no society could have created a world so filled with doom, fate, fear and betrayal, unless it were essentially naïve and optimistic.

Screen Junkies gets to the heart of the spiritual aspect:  “Film noir movies have fatalistic attitudes. A character will often feel like their life is pre-ordained and that free will is an illusion. This film noir characteristic was influenced by the international conflicts of the time and the powerlessness to avoid them many Americans felt.

Fatalism is expressed by one transgression that spirals out of control.  The average citizen character makes a mistake that snowballs into much greater problems. Every attempt at correction just makes everything worse. This is often called a spider web of deceit in film noir. It can suggest hysteria and panic.

Voice-overs are common. This is due to the popularity of Freudian thought at the time. The voice-over narration film noir characteristic represents psychological reflection and introspection by a character.”

For Further Thought:

• How does a transgression get out of control?  Read James 1:13-15 for thoughts.
• How does faith in Christ promise a happy ending?  What can change the world’s fatalism to the hope of Christ?
• Do people living in a pattern of evil stop for reflection and introspection?  Why or why not?  How does the concept of noir seem like the world we live in? Read Isaiah 53:6 and 2 Timothy 3:1-9 for insight

Thank You, Lord Jesus, that hope can be ours because of what You did in reconciling us…even while we were still sinners.  It is Your death, and Your death only, that can change our circumstances and powerlessness.  We praise You for Your victory over death!  Hallelujah for your Triumphal Entry and steadfastness through the Cross and all the way to the tomb!  Thank You, for conquering death and giving us eternal hope of glory in Your presence!  Amen.

I hate buying light bulbs these days.  I miss the good old days of energy ignorance and the carefree joy of my incandescent 100 watt bulbs that were easy to identify, always made me happy, and were highly affordable.  Light is good whether a spotlight or a floodlight.

Knowing who belongs in the spotlight and who doesn’t is even better. John the Baptist had that all figured out.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

When it comes to witnessing to the light, what are people seeing in you?  Someone who goes to church on Sunday but clams up about Jesus when given the opportunity to tell people?  Lifestyle evangelism only goes so far in helping people to know about Jesus.  Inviting them to church, the modern pastors’ favorite parishioner copout, puts the spotlight on church and passes the buck to the pastor when Jesus wants each of us to witness to the Light.

Fun Fact of Light: Spotlights and Flood Lights in Stage Lighting.  You have no idea how hard it is to find information on how spotlights and floodlights work.  Everyone has a bulb to sell and if you find the hardware store’s lighting aisle annoying, this search would do you in.  All I wanted to know was whether the reflectors in the spotlight caused the focus or whether it was the lens.  It’s apparently both since most have a lens and reflectors.. 

Lighting instruments “can be broadly separated into two categories: floodlights, which illuminate a wide area, and spotlights (sometimes known as profiles), which produce a narrower, more controllable light beam. The distinction has to do with the characteristics of the light produced by the instrument. Spotlights produce a potentially tightly focused light, while floodlights produce a much more diffuse light… A beam projector is a lensless instrument with very little beam spread. It uses two reflectors. The primary reflector is a parabolic reflector and the secondary reflector is a spherical reflector. The parabolic reflector directs the light into nearly parallel beams, and the spherical reflector is placed in front of the lamp to reflect light from the lamp back to the parabolic reflector, which reduces spill. The result is an intense shaft of light that cannot be easily controlled or modified. The beam projector no longer is used to the extent that it once was, as newer fixtures and PAR lamps have created easier ways to produce the effect.”

For Further Thought:

• When witnessing about the Light of the world (John 8:12) as the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), where does the spotlight belong? 
• How does John the Baptist show us the spotlight and the floodlight of witnessing about Christ? 
• How does this help explain how Jesus is the Light and we are the light?

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the amazing privilege You bestow in allowing us to share Your good news with other people.  Please bring opportunities to speak of Your mercy and grace.  Give us words to speak and the courage to speak them.  Thank You for this marvelous gift of salvation and may we never take it for granted.  May we always keep the spotlight on You as You help us to be a light in a world of darkness.

Jeremiah 17:7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

A supernova, the end of a sun:  “Astronomers have spotted a mysterious flash of X-rays coming from a galaxy 10.7 billion light years away.  The phenomenon, discovered by NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory in the deepest X-ray image ever obtained, has baffled scientists after it suddenly erupted in brightness and then faded from view just a day later.  Experts suspect it may have come from a ‘completely new type of cataclysmic event,’ with gamma-ray bursts and even destruction of a white dwarf star thought possibly to blame.” (Cheyenne Macdonald)

In the snarky comments associated with this article  people wrote about the end of a sun,

• Scientists detect speck of light and go into wild speculation. 
• Another sign from God? Oh wait, this is 10.7 billion years ago and we all know the universe was created 6000 years ago. 
• Looks like the Empire just blew up Alderaan with their Planet Killer. 
• As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
• Zzzzzz.

Sleep away and mock and dismiss, but they’re signs—yeah from the Bible—of the end of the world as we know it. 

Quoting Isaiah 13:10, Jesus says about the end times,

Immediately after the distress of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ (Matthew 24:29)

It’s also in Mark 13: 23 “So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. 24 “But in those days, following that distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ 26 “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.”

Jesus tells us not to be found catching our Zzzzzz’s, but to be on our guard.  He’s coming and a darkened Sun–this time ours–is but one of the signs of the end.

Fun fact of light: Supernovas. Science and health journalist, Erin Brodwin writes that scientists were “sampling the atmospheres of two dead stars in the Hyades Cluster…This is what they think happened: When stars begin to give out, the contraction and expansion they undergo causes their masses to fluctuate wildly. When one mass of one planet in a solar system changes, it throws off the precarious gravitational balance of surviving planets and the asteroids between them. When the asteroids swing towards the dead star, they are shattered by its pull, and their scattered remains may settle to Saturn-like rings that circle the inert star.

Here’s why it matters: … By piecing together the birth and death of stars in other solar systems, scientists hope to understand how our solar system formed — and what will happen when our Sun perishes. “ 

For further thought:

• No offense to Ms. Brodwin, but once our Sun is darkened and the stars fall from the sky, is it really going to matter for this life, or is it the end, game over? 
• Are you ready for the day of Christ’s return?

Lord Jesus, we thank You that You have told us ahead of time so that we might be prepared for Your return.  Grant that we would be found watching, not sleeping…found faithful, not rebelling…and found hopeful regarding the New Heaven and New Earth and not just trying to hold onto this one.  Amen.

One of the most intriguing stories of the Bible is typically referred to as “The Transfiguration.”  Up on a high mountain, Jesus was revealed as the Son of God by none other than the Father Himself.  It’s a glory story recorded in all 3 Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:1-9, and Luke 9:28-36).  That ought to clue us in to how important an event this was.  And it’s not the first time the Father proclaimed Jesus as His Son.  Like bookends, the proclamation by God at Jesus’ baptism (Luke 3:21-22), and as Jesus begins His journey to the Cross is meant to encourage our faith.  Jesus’ glory was veiled when the Word was made flesh…from His incarnation to inauguration of His ministry and all the way to the tomb.  He still had the glory.  We just couldn’t see the light of glory contained within Him.

Luke 9: 23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.” 28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters– one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.

The passage in Luke shows how light and the glory are connected and identifies the purpose of The Transfiguration in the lives of disciples.  It’s meant to encourage us that even though Christ was veiled among us, He won’t be when He returns.  Jesus connects the glory of His return, seeing the Kingdom of God, following Christ Jesus into suffering with a glimpse of heavenly reality in His Transfiguration.

Fun fact of light:  Light can transmit information!  Fiber optic cables take communications and data, turn it into light pulses so it can travel vast differences. According to Life Wire, “Compared to wired cables, fiber optic cables provide higher bandwidth and can transmit data over longer distances…[and] support much of the world’s internet, cable television and telephone systems.” 

Professor Bill Hammack of the University of Illinois-Urbana explains how they work in this interesting video. 

For further thought:

Read Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.”  How did the transfiguration reveal God’s glory with the light of God spanning the distance of heaven to earth perfectly through Jesus?

Read Philippians 2:3-11 and 1 Peter 4:13 “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”  Why might the Father have proclaimed Jesus as His Son at Jesus’ baptism and before Jesus went the Cross?  How can suffering be a pathway for light, through which we see God’s love, mercy, and glory?

Father God, how we praise You for Your plan of salvation and the perfect way You communicated Your love and mercy in Jesus Christ our Savior.  Thank You for loving us, Lord Jesus.  Thank You for the Holy Spirit so we can understand Your power and righteousness through glimpses of Christ who is the radiance of Your glory and the Light of the World.  Amen