In the Gospel of Mark, God’s voice was heard twice. The first time was during the baptism of Jesus when God said to Jesus, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” The second time is during an event called Transfiguration, in which Jesus led his disciples up to a high mountain and there they saw that “he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.” After Peter tried to fix the moment by proposing to build 3 dwellings for them, the voice of God said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!"
At the beginning of the year when Christians celebrated the Baptism of Jesus, I invited my readers to affirm each person they encountered (in their family, neighborhood, workplace, school, etc.) as beloved child of God by silently saying, “You are a beloved child of God with whom God is well pleased.” Affirming the individual we meet as a beloved child of God is the beginning of a sacred relationship. To deepen the relationship, we need the second affirmation that this beloved child of God deserved to be listened to. Only by truly listening, we stop ourselves from “fixing” the person in a particular time and place ignoring the fact that everyone changes with time. Like Peter in the Transfiguration story, they wanted to capture and fix that moment because it was “good.” Listening will help us discern the truth of the others as they change and reveal themselves to us.
For this week, as you encounter different persons in your daily life, say silently to that person, “You are a beloved child of God and I will listen to you.” In some cases, it might be appropriate to say it out loud!
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Upcoming Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist and learn more about Holy Conferencing: March 19-24, 2015 April 21-25, 2015 July 20-25, 2015 November 1-5, 2015 |
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Reflection Questions for last Sunday after Epiphany (Year B) 2 Kings 2:1-12 Psalm 50:1-6 1Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9 |
Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org
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