(Mt 17:11-8; Mk 9:2-8, Lk 9:28-36)
A gentle touch on the hand
Or a reassuring arm around the shoulder
That’s how I imagine Jesus might have reassured his terrified friends
As he told them not to be afraid
That day on the mountain top when the voice came from the cloud
They heard You that day God
Asking them to listen to Him
You ask us to listen to Him too
It’s hard
There’s no voice from a cloud
(Scary and all as that would be)
At home and at work, there’s a multiplicity of demands
A myriad of screens and an endless list of to dos
And in our world, lots of dark, hard voices speaking loudly and preying on people’s fears
So how can we listen to you God, in midst of all of this?
Touch…
Maybe it’s just as true for us as it was for Peter, James and John
The things, people, moments that touch us, move us, strike us
In the middle of the daily rush
Could just be the gentle hand of God on our arm
Inviting us to stop and Listen
Listen to that which is reacting within us
And encouraging us not to be afraid
Of what we might truly be feeling
And of being open to hearing what God might be trying to say to us in response.