"...He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11
Often times our Christianity becomes so familiar to us that we begin to sin presumptuously in the sight of God. We presume, for instance, to proclaim what His will is without seeking it fervently with prayer and fasting. We presume upon His grace to forgive our sins even as we have allowed ourselves to grow feeble or apathetic in our struggle against unrighteousness. We presume to constrain Him to bless or to heal us by quoting the word of God to the One Who was God the Word incarnate. In countless ways we have become all too familiar with the God that we serve and it is then that the prophet fittingly rebukes us and reminds us of our place. "With whom did He take counsel and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge and showed Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket and are counted as the small dust on the balance.....Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers....." Isaiah 40:12-24. Or in the words of Solomon which begin our meditation, God restores His people by putting again a measure of eternity in our hearts. For just such a reason was the Lord Jesus Christ transfigured before His closest disciples.
Consider the setting for this miraculous event. It records in Matthew 17:1 "Now after six days...." and we must ask ourselves, six days after what? There are many candidates in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew for the starting point that we seek, but one which stands out is Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ. It was undoubtedly the high point of the disciples' growth in faith, but the scripture well exhorts us "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." ( I Corinthians 10:12) For shortly after this mighty confession, the Lord rebukes Peter for taking a heavenly vision and turning it so easily into an earthly viewpoint. "You are an offense to Me for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." (Matthew 16:23) And it is just here that He once more sets eternity in their hearts as He proclaims "Assuredly I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." Now this prophetic word has been applied to many events, but certainly there is no conflict in ascribing it in the most present sense to the Transfiguration which took place almost immediately afterwards.
The actual events of the Transfiguration are recorded for us in the synoptic gospels (Matthew 17:1-8a, Mark 9:2-10 and Luke 9:28-36). It would do us good to read all three accounts to get a fuller picture of what occurred that day. Matthew tells us that Jesus took Peter, James and John up on a high mountain by themselves. The early Church Fathers believed that this was Mount Tabor, other commentators have identified it as Mount Hermon. Regardless of the location, Luke adds the note that Jesus chose this location in order to pray. To pray about what? Certainly about the future, for only a week before this Jesus "began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer...and be killed and be raised again the third day." And as He prayed He was transfigured before them, His clothes becoming white as light, His countenance changing with glory shining out as the sun. This word transfigure is the Greek word "metamorphuo" from which we easily recognize our English word metamorphosis. It was a change not just in appearance, but in type and substance. One moment the Son of Man stood before them praying, the next the Son of God was clearly revealed. And as He stood there resplendent in glory, Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets, or to use Jesus' words the truth and the spirit, conversed with Him. Luke tells us that they spoke of His "decease", His death, resurrection and ascension which was to take place in Jerusalem. The Apostle Peter responded to the vision before Him, and each of the three gospel writers records a different title which formed upon his lips as he beheld His glory...."Lord....Rabbi....Master...it is good for us to be here". Jesus was all those titles in that moment and more beside. Peter's is a classic understatement, perhaps because, as Mark records, they were greatly afraid; or as Luke concludes simply, because he did not know (to which we add, could not know) what he was saying. Upon them, then, came the cloud of Yahweh's presence, even as it had descended upon Sinai at the giving of the law. And as Moses and Elijah parted from Jesus Christ, from that cloud came the declaration of eternity that pierced their hearts, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear Him." We can gain an appreciation for the significance of this proclamation in light of what we read in Hebrews 1:1-3 "God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past ....by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son."
And as suddenly as it began, so it ended, and they were alone with Jesus and He was speaking words of comfort to their fearful hearts. As they came down from the mountain, the Lord commanded them to tell the vision to no man until He had risen from the dead, thus securing the work of salvation for all time. And when they finally had leave to speak, what was it that they said? In John 1:14, John declares "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Or in I John 1:2 "...the life was manifested and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us...." Peter is even more straightforward in II Peter 1:16-19 "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [in the glory of His kingdom], but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain..."
God puts eternity in the hearts of His people that they might have, as Peter says, the prophetic word made more sure. It is a light that truly shines in a dark place until, as Paul says, "the veil is taken away...[and] we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed [transfigured] into the same image from glory to glory..." (II Corinthians 3:17-18). Such a dramatic change in our character comes to pass as "the day dawns and the morning star [Jesus Christ] rises in our hearts.”
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Remembrance Day August 24)
"And at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon's portico...and all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number....." Acts 5:12-14
Christianity is a religion of power. If it were not so, then it could in no way contend with sin, Satan and death for dominion over the human soul. Truly the weapons of Christ's warfare are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses, as Paul says in II Corinthians 10:3-5. So true is this that Jesus proclaimed that the Church had been founded upon the rock, and the gates of hell would not prevail against her. But power of this sort can deceive the unregenerate heart. Thus we read of Simon Magus (known to the common people as the Great Power of God) , a practitioner of earth magic, who, when confronted with the true power of God the Holy Spirit, thought that such power was available for purchase and was pronounced by Peter to be "in the bondage of iniquity." (Acts 8:9-24) Even to the regenerate heart, such power is a temptation. For power focuses attention, and attention sows the seed of pride, and pride brings forth ambition, and ambition seeks to turn the things of God into that which can be bartered (we get the word "simony", the buying or selling of sacred things from Simon Magus). We can see such abuses in the circus atmosphere which sometimes surrounds charismatic-type gatherings. You almost feel as if you were watching a performer rather than a minister of Jesus Christ. And the popularity of so many television ministers that seem more intent on building up an earthly empire rather than the kingdom of God seems a perversion of the gospel. But the ministry of divine power does not always have to focus upon the one presuming to hold it. If a soul is transparent enough it is incapable of taking to itself any honor or benefit, and the divine power associated with the preaching of the gospel becomes only the glory of God shining forth unto salvation. We see that trait of transparency recorded of the apostles in our opening scripture. And in that circle of apostles was one man surnamed Bartholomew.
So transparent was this apostle that we can scarcely find anything recorded of his life in either the New Testament or Church tradition. We know simply that he is named in the lists of those called apostles by Jesus Christ in Matthew 10:1-5, Mark 3:16-19 and Luke 6:12-16 as Bartholomew, a surname which is literally Bar Tolmai, or son of Tolmai. His proper name is never clearly given, but many biblical commentators feel that he is one and the same with Nathanael whom we read about only in the gospel of John (John 1:43-51). The evidence for this is compelling, but not conclusive. Three main points can be made for this identification. First, the calling of Nathanael as recorded in John 1:43-51 is certainly of the type which is recorded of other of the apostles. Second, it was the apostle Philip who sought out Nathanael to bring him to Jesus, and in each of the three apostolic lists mentioned above, Philip and Bartholomew are always paired together. Finally, the second mention of Nathanael is at the end of the gospel of John (John 21:2) where he is present with other of the named apostles on the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In the account of John 1 noted above, we get the impression of a man who studied the scriptures and earnestly sought for the manifestation of the Kingdom of God as promised within its pages. He was of the same genre as Simeon in the account of Luke 2:25, a man who was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel. To such a one came Philip with a startling declaration "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth...." It was not unbelief which tempered his response, but a knowledge of God's word. Could the Messiah come forth from Nazareth? The invitation of Philip laid aside any speculation at that point, "Come and see." And it is at this point that we hear the Lord's assessment of this man's heart. "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." Here was a Jew indeed circumcised in the heart, as Paul teaches in Romans 2:28-29, whose praise is not from men, but from God. And hear what praise comes from the Son of God! Here is one in whom there is no guile, no hidden traps, no deception, no subtlety. In a word, here was one who was transparent. Nathanael Bar Tolmai's response is forthright "You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel." Jesus acknowledges his response of faith and notes that it was based on the smallest of signs. Then He promises that he would see even greater signs than those, and He implies in such a promise that Bartholomew's faith will also thus be increased to the glory of the Son of Man.
Here the scriptural record stops, and we must turn to what little Church tradition we can gain from the historian Eusebius. In his History of the Church (Book 5, Chapter 10) it is recorded that Bartholomew preached in the barbarian east, traveling as far as India in his preaching (for in the third century another missionary traveled to India and found a copy of the gospel of Matthew in use in that region, supposedly having been carried there by Bartholomew in his evangelistic travels). He is credited with spreading the gospel in Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Armenia, Lyaconia, Phrygia, and along the shores of the Black Sea. Tradition tells us that he died at Albanopolis in Armenia being flayed alive and crucified by a nobleman related to the king. His crime worthy of death?.... being persuasive enough in his witness for the Lord to bring the king of Armenia into the fold of Christ.
The gospel reading for St. Bartholomew's day in Luke 22:24-30 reminds us that even the apostles of the Lord were subject to wrongly place ambitions. They argued amongst themselves as to who was to be accounted the greatest. I believe it was one argument in which Bartholomew took no part, for his heart could hide no such inclinations in the presence of His Lord. He coveted no honor, he desired no titles save one, apostle, one sent out at the hand of and to the work of a greater Lord. He will always be to us an example of that man of God who has no veil over his heart, but beholds, as Paul says in II Corinthians 3:18 the glory of the Lord, and is thus transformed into the same image from glory to glory....in a word, he becomes transparent. May we also resolve to leave behind any false ambitions which we may have picked up concerning our own spiritual worth to the kingdom of God and pray only as the psalmist does in Psalm 51 "Create in me a clean heart, O God...", that is, a heart which can hold no guile. Once that is true of our life, then we, with Bartholomew can continue on in the declaration of that Psalm "then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You." (Psalm 51:10-13)
Christianity is a religion of power. If it were not so, then it could in no way contend with sin, Satan and death for dominion over the human soul. Truly the weapons of Christ's warfare are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses, as Paul says in II Corinthians 10:3-5. So true is this that Jesus proclaimed that the Church had been founded upon the rock, and the gates of hell would not prevail against her. But power of this sort can deceive the unregenerate heart. Thus we read of Simon Magus (known to the common people as the Great Power of God) , a practitioner of earth magic, who, when confronted with the true power of God the Holy Spirit, thought that such power was available for purchase and was pronounced by Peter to be "in the bondage of iniquity." (Acts 8:9-24) Even to the regenerate heart, such power is a temptation. For power focuses attention, and attention sows the seed of pride, and pride brings forth ambition, and ambition seeks to turn the things of God into that which can be bartered (we get the word "simony", the buying or selling of sacred things from Simon Magus). We can see such abuses in the circus atmosphere which sometimes surrounds charismatic-type gatherings. You almost feel as if you were watching a performer rather than a minister of Jesus Christ. And the popularity of so many television ministers that seem more intent on building up an earthly empire rather than the kingdom of God seems a perversion of the gospel. But the ministry of divine power does not always have to focus upon the one presuming to hold it. If a soul is transparent enough it is incapable of taking to itself any honor or benefit, and the divine power associated with the preaching of the gospel becomes only the glory of God shining forth unto salvation. We see that trait of transparency recorded of the apostles in our opening scripture. And in that circle of apostles was one man surnamed Bartholomew.
So transparent was this apostle that we can scarcely find anything recorded of his life in either the New Testament or Church tradition. We know simply that he is named in the lists of those called apostles by Jesus Christ in Matthew 10:1-5, Mark 3:16-19 and Luke 6:12-16 as Bartholomew, a surname which is literally Bar Tolmai, or son of Tolmai. His proper name is never clearly given, but many biblical commentators feel that he is one and the same with Nathanael whom we read about only in the gospel of John (John 1:43-51). The evidence for this is compelling, but not conclusive. Three main points can be made for this identification. First, the calling of Nathanael as recorded in John 1:43-51 is certainly of the type which is recorded of other of the apostles. Second, it was the apostle Philip who sought out Nathanael to bring him to Jesus, and in each of the three apostolic lists mentioned above, Philip and Bartholomew are always paired together. Finally, the second mention of Nathanael is at the end of the gospel of John (John 21:2) where he is present with other of the named apostles on the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In the account of John 1 noted above, we get the impression of a man who studied the scriptures and earnestly sought for the manifestation of the Kingdom of God as promised within its pages. He was of the same genre as Simeon in the account of Luke 2:25, a man who was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel. To such a one came Philip with a startling declaration "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth...." It was not unbelief which tempered his response, but a knowledge of God's word. Could the Messiah come forth from Nazareth? The invitation of Philip laid aside any speculation at that point, "Come and see." And it is at this point that we hear the Lord's assessment of this man's heart. "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." Here was a Jew indeed circumcised in the heart, as Paul teaches in Romans 2:28-29, whose praise is not from men, but from God. And hear what praise comes from the Son of God! Here is one in whom there is no guile, no hidden traps, no deception, no subtlety. In a word, here was one who was transparent. Nathanael Bar Tolmai's response is forthright "You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel." Jesus acknowledges his response of faith and notes that it was based on the smallest of signs. Then He promises that he would see even greater signs than those, and He implies in such a promise that Bartholomew's faith will also thus be increased to the glory of the Son of Man.
Here the scriptural record stops, and we must turn to what little Church tradition we can gain from the historian Eusebius. In his History of the Church (Book 5, Chapter 10) it is recorded that Bartholomew preached in the barbarian east, traveling as far as India in his preaching (for in the third century another missionary traveled to India and found a copy of the gospel of Matthew in use in that region, supposedly having been carried there by Bartholomew in his evangelistic travels). He is credited with spreading the gospel in Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Armenia, Lyaconia, Phrygia, and along the shores of the Black Sea. Tradition tells us that he died at Albanopolis in Armenia being flayed alive and crucified by a nobleman related to the king. His crime worthy of death?.... being persuasive enough in his witness for the Lord to bring the king of Armenia into the fold of Christ.
The gospel reading for St. Bartholomew's day in Luke 22:24-30 reminds us that even the apostles of the Lord were subject to wrongly place ambitions. They argued amongst themselves as to who was to be accounted the greatest. I believe it was one argument in which Bartholomew took no part, for his heart could hide no such inclinations in the presence of His Lord. He coveted no honor, he desired no titles save one, apostle, one sent out at the hand of and to the work of a greater Lord. He will always be to us an example of that man of God who has no veil over his heart, but beholds, as Paul says in II Corinthians 3:18 the glory of the Lord, and is thus transformed into the same image from glory to glory....in a word, he becomes transparent. May we also resolve to leave behind any false ambitions which we may have picked up concerning our own spiritual worth to the kingdom of God and pray only as the psalmist does in Psalm 51 "Create in me a clean heart, O God...", that is, a heart which can hold no guile. Once that is true of our life, then we, with Bartholomew can continue on in the declaration of that Psalm "then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You." (Psalm 51:10-13)
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