Time to Return to Normalcy: Mark 9:14-15
We must be especially vigilant until the Lord’s return. It is easy to fall into sin when we think nobody is watching. It is easy to fall into bad habits when we are given time to relax (like summer vacation for students across the country). In those moments when we seem to be able to let our guard down, that may be the most prudent time to remain vigilant.
Jesus and His innermost trio return to the rest of the disciples. Remember what Peter said up on top of the mountain? He asked Jesus if they could build some tents and stay. Jesus said no. Jesus needed to continue and fulfill the work of the Father. Jesus also makes a more generic point. Jesus and His disciples needed to return to normal life.
The mountaintop is great, but the mountaintop is just that. It is a pinnacle: something that cannot be continued forever. It is a highlight whose memory sustains us through normalcy. If we lived on the mountaintop, how would we ever make an impact upon the world?
In doing some research for this post, I came across a great quote. Solitude is a useful tool for the Christian, but solitariness is not a quality to seek out. It is good to be alone and mediate and recharge. It is good to get away from the distractions and temptations of the world so we can be grounded in the Father and His will for us. But we must return to the crowd. We must return to those who need us. What is the point of being filled by the Father if we do not go somewhere to be poured out?
That is what happens here. Jesus comes down the mountain and the crowd seeks Him out. He was transfigured and Peter and James and John all got to be filled by the experience. The time has come for Jesus to be poured out. The time has come for Peter and James and John to be poured out and see the meaning of sacrificial love.
As Jesus comes down and meets up with the rest of the disciples, He sees the religious leaders still at work. There is a second lesson here. When Jesus leaves to go up the mountain, the religious leaders turn on the disciples. Instead of taking the fight to Jesus, as they no doubt wanted, when Jesus cannot be found they bring the fight to those closest to Jesus. The world may reject God and His ways, but often in their anger against God the world takes it out upon God’s followers because they cannot find God. Jesus’ disciples became the target because Jesus was nowhere to be found; so do we become the target when the world takes up issue with God and His ways. We must be especially vigilant until the Lord’s return.
