THE QUIET HOUR

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 81, 10 August 1929, Page 3

THE QUIET HOUR

& SUNDAY READING, (B? REV. HL LV ELAMIRES.) ■When our Lord, in the midst of ! asfa riiaii ofi earth, • was t&Wfiltir&Hfl the" presence of Sis ttfree intimate disciple's, Peter wris it' J? good" f6r us* to be here, ns'eter'remain here on the-mountain side, with, Thee and t»^heav'ehly : visitors, and leave the tforid andits Cares behind." Peter, liif#fp(any '&' modern disciple wishthe* crown, arid not first cfoss. Orir Lord soon diliiltfslOneli him', arid went down to >3 ttie"' nliiititridea arid their needs, atfofto 'Oettisemarie's ago'ny arid Qbigotfia's' crops', before' returning to lii' v^ath: Throne arid. Crown of Glory. Stilt # was good for them on' the mountain top, as wondering, witnesses of the Saviour's gioryj attd amazed listeners to thd ctfnvWsatten of Jesus with the ang«ii«f visitor's; We, too, can' be w!ftl'theffl in vision' arid thought, and can have offir* seasons' Of f ellowB^i^^(t^tS^ : s 6 behbid'Wtbb change from' grace to grae|; gating on that traUsFa&"'' ;

It ?8?, evident that the Trans'figuhad. as its purposes, the itten|theaiiig 'of Jesus Himself, tot thereinamiiig and most, important * pa*t rdf ; His mission, and also streiittHeniriir' of the faith df iff" view of His' a 1 ?- jfrlitfeMttr'suffefltfgs ahd' death; T 6 and'patriotic!: JeW it seemHe; whom' they as' the Christ the. Son of the living God, should the. sliamefui death of Rom^lcrfminals^': iand be hung on a cross. Yet Jesus.had warned them that so it would work out. And this .wdtild'be a\ staggering- blow to their faith. The Cross was to 'ssf'Q,xsss, 'fdidiisfiriess; to tW RoW2r benea'th contempt. One could never be a llwgl and "conquer the world. It is lite tjsame w ~£b-day!' And belief in ntcessity and efficacy of Christ's*" death on the Cross is the of;.the*.new s 6 called religions of culture. > They- - recognise Jestfs as 1 iffi* ldeal?Man! Yes,' and 1 as the" teacher and' |th"e ChaMfetfer in history '&W(l th*e J, r'evea'ig r 0 f the love of God. But. the Cross, and that the death or Jesiis was a sacrifice- for sinners and, the hope of man's-salvation, as each accepted it for himself —No. Jegus, tbey say was simply a man as We are, .And each of us is a SoW ok God" as Jesus was: And thus they reject the Jesus of the Gospels' and .■' the" central fact of his-' td¥y> ■ , /.,' JESU& AnW' go*'the 4 Transfiguration Scene ffilells 1 JesM f ih" His Unique Divinsinless Humanity, and His matchless love. As we read St. Mark, cnapter 9, and the kindred passages in St.- Luke's Gospel,;' we bare-tibe" witness of heaven" to our Ixfrd's .Divinity. In the" presence visitofs, MdSe s ahd' Elijah, the nios't nb'tewdrth'y figures of the' '(Mh Testament; reprlesentatives* of) iff 1 which the Jews trusted, ana' of the' prophets who proclaimed jfcnff? feign" oi righteousness, the Voice came out of the overshadowing "cloud. "This* is My beloved Son; hear Him." The law told of sin and the requirement of obedience. The prophets proclaimed the coming of a', Deliverer from sin! But when Jesus' came, He pointed to no on^;. bht llimseif. "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." "I am come that y© might have life and that >ye, might have it more abundantly." "Come unto Me. . . and

I wili give you rest." Our Lord's sinless humanity appears in the fact of His transformation on the mountain. He appeared in a glorified fdrm before His disciples; and prior to His death and resurrection. This was possible because He alone'Avas sinlesS, and needed not to die, but' for the sins of others! But for the purpose of redemption for which He had come, this would have been the form and the time of His return to the right hand of His Father on high, i And His love is manifested in that He did not depart when His angelic visitors departed. It was only His love for humanity that kept Him here. His mission was not yet completed. "He came to give His life a ransom for many!" And so from contact with heaven He descended to contact with humanity. From the mountain He came down to the valley, wtih its sinful and suffering throng. He renounced the fellowship of, angels that He might suffer and die for sinfiers. He had received strength' in conimhhion with His Father as we may receive it, and thus He went from the Mount of Transfiguration along the sorrowful way Until He came to that "green hill far away, Without a city wall; Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all."

The' Transfiguration sheds its light also upon the form, the nature, the abode, the occupations Of those who have passed onward to the better life. Moses and Elijah appeared "in glory" and yet resembled the bodies of, earth, and were recognised as "two men." They were not sleeping in unconsciousness, but keenly alive to the needs of humanity and the events of our Lord's mission on earth. They spake with Him of the decease (or exodus) which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. The' interest of heaven centred upon the Cross of Christ—the world's most shameful and yet most glorious tragedy. "Forbid it Lord, that I should boast Save in the death of Christ my God. ,i'i | All the vain things that charm me most I sacrifice them to His blood."