Judy from A Thoughtful Woman's Book of Blessings tagged me for this special edition meme. This meme was created by Michael at Reach Paradise and asks: If you could witness 3 moments in Christ's life, what would they be? To make this a bit easier, you can choose one hour time periods. To make things harder, you cannot choose his birth or any time period from the last supper on. If you have a blog, post this question and rules, tag 3 people to do the same and go to Reach Paradise and leave Michael with a link to your post.
The first moment I would choose is when Jesus healed the deaf man. Whenever I hear this Gospel read I always put myself in front of Jesus and imagine Him looking up toward heaven and saying "Ephphatha!" I am the deaf person and my spiritual ears need healing so that I may more clearly hear and understand His Word . I always ask the Lord to open my ears and to plant His Word deeply and richly within me.
The second moment I would choose is when Jesus walked on water. This is one of my favorite meditations. When the winds and storms of life hit, this is the passage I turn to. I imagine Jesus reaching out his hand to me and saying "Come." And I step out of the boat of life and in faith walk across the water, never taking my eyes off of Him, until He grasps my hand. The truth is, when I keep my eyes on Jesus all is well; when my eyes are on myself I fail every time. This passage reminds me to have faith and trust that the Lord will not let the waves of suffering and trials overcome me. His hand is always upon me and all who trust in Him. The only thing I have drowned in is His Mercy. Thank you, Jesus!
The third moment I would choose is the Transfiguration. The unimaginable glory of this moment! To see Christ transfigured, radiant as the sun! And to hear the voice of the Father say, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him." We, too, shall be transformed someday and hopefully will hear these words spoken to us when we enter heaven. I try to listen to Jesus in the hope that one day my Father in heaven will be pleased with me, also.
I am tagging Julia at Pondering His Goodness
Mary B at Me Myself and Mercy
and Barb at Suffering with Joy
Mary B at Me Myself and Mercy
and Barb at Suffering with Joy
I have read each of your blogs and think that the 3 of you would be good at this one... if you have time.
Walking on water. I love that one! I always remind myself to "get out of the boat!" and take that risk. If I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus there's no way I can drown!
ReplyDeleteAnne,
ReplyDeleteIt's one of my favorites. I was going to cheat and do one on His Agony in the Garden but I noticed nobody else cheated so I didn't want to be the only one [lol]. What a great meme, I'm surprised no one thought of it till now!
I enjoyed reading your choices, especially your second one. Your meditation on it was beautiful and very true. And I was waiting for someone to choose the Transfiguration - aside from the spiritual importance, the visual impact must have been awe-inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI have to be honest: I've never "gotten" the transfiguration. I've done the rosary daily for a long time now, and whenever I get to the transfiguration, I'm confused as to why it's necessary because Jesus never shows his power visibly that way at any other time.
ReplyDeleteAnd again, after watching a hundred SFF movies and Star Trek episodes and anime, and reading countless SFF books, someone glowing seems like a cheap special effect, and as a jaded American, again I wonder why it's necessary. So many of Jesus's miracles take place as if they had already happened. Not, "Your hand is healed," or "I HEAL YOUR HAND!!!!" but "Show me your hand." And look, it's a whole hand, beautiful and flexible and as if it was always so. Or, "Go show yourself to the priests," and on the way they discovered they were whole and clean.
So I freely admit: I am too stupid as a Christian to fully get the Transfiguration, so maybe it would be good if I joined you in that moment so I could understand why it's so pivotal and so necessary.
Thanks, Michael! It was a great meme to do :)
ReplyDeletePhilangelus,
ReplyDeleteFunny! I probably don't really get it either, but I would like to :) I think I need to meditate on it some more.
Hi Mary333...I love this post and I am not ignoring you. But I think it will be next week before I have the time to do this exercise like I want to do it. Thanks for the challenge!
ReplyDeleteMary B.,
ReplyDeleteYour blog has great meditations and I was curious to see what you would come up with :) If time is a factor you don't have to do it, your insights on the Lord are beautiful already!