Thought for Today
Job 23:16 God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me;
Daniel 4:5 I saw a dream that frightened me; my fantasies in bed and the visions of my head terrified me.
Matthew 14:26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear.
Mark 9:6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
Are you ever afraid? I don’t mean mild angst; I mean weak-kneed, mind-numbing fear, trembling in dread. Do you fear the things that go bump in the night? Have you ever felt the need to pray that ancient prayer, “From goulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties/And things that go bump in the night/Good Lord, deliver us!”?
This coming Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday. The verse above from Mark will be part of the New Testament reading for our worship service as it will be in many churches throughout Christendom. It is the focus verse for the These Days devotional today.
Terror is defined as “extreme fear” (MSWord search). Suggested synonyms include horror, fear, panic, fright, dread, and trepidation. For me, the word implies the extreme degree of the fear, especially the unknown element of what we are facing. Many of our ancestors did find terror in “goulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties/And things that go bump in the night.”
The first phrase I learned in New Testament Greek was “μὴ φοβοῦ,” in English, “do not fear.” In my first seminary class, the professor would say that to us before each test. Jesus repeatedly said the same thing to his disciples, “do not fear.” And yet, we still do fear.
I suspect that despite the popularity of movie franchises like the Halloween series and all the stories of hockey-masked, crazed killers, few of us today still fear “goulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties/And things that go bump in the night.” But, for all of us, there are still those things that do go bump in the night. For all of us there are new and never before faced situations and people, things we have never encountered and with which we have never before coped.
That can be scary, may even reach the level of dread or terror. I have never personally experienced war; but, I can imagine any sudden attack, any unexpected violence might engender terror in me. It has been more than 10 years since that first exam in New Testament Greek. I’m no longer terrified by the koine Greek of scripture. But, I’m fairly certain that I was terrified before that first test.
Are you ever afraid? Are there situations and people who cause you terror? If you are honest with yourself, there are. Had you been with Peter, James and John on that high mountain, would you have been terrified? When you saw Jesus transfigured and speaking with Elijah and Moses, how would you have reacted? Ignoring the question of how they recognized those figures as Elijah and Moses, what would you have thought about that experience?
Jesus often told his disciples, “μὴ φοβοῦ,” “do not be afraid.” On that mountain, God said, “This is my Son, the Beloved: listen to him!” When we are afraid, when we fear the “goulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties/And things that go bump in the night,” we need to listen to God’s Son and not be afraid. Simon and Garfunkel wrote the pop song Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Although it is not a hymn, not a religious song, it begins “When you're weary/Feeling small/When tears are in your eyes
I'll dry them all/I'm on your side/Oh, when times get rough/And friends just can't be found/Like a bridge over troubled water/I will lay me down/Like a bridge over troubled water/I will lay me down.”
That is exactly what our Creator God has promised us. That is exactly what our Creator God has done for us; Jesus laid down his life for us. Jesus told us, “do not be afraid.” We need to follow God’s command and listen to Jesus. Peter, James and John saw God’s affirmation of Jesus, they witnessed the Transfiguration. They witnessed the Glory of God’s Son. We live in Christendom, the afterglow of Jesus’ Transfiguration.
Stay safe, do not fear, trust God,
Pastor Ray