Transformative Encounters

Has it happened to you that you’ve experienced certain moments in your life and knew immediately that you’d forever be changed? Okay, maybe not always in HUGE ways, but even on some subconscious, internal level, you knew that moment would stay with you a long time. 

The first time I saw a dance show put on by the performing arts school at Southern Methodist University was one of mine. I’d never before seen anything so wholly stunning and moving before, nor seen people so fully embody their love for what they were doing. It literally changed the course of my education and, resultantly, the rest of my life.

I’ve also had encounters that felt far more mundane that shifted my path, too. Making a friend who waited tables forever altered how I treated (and tipped) service staff in restaurants. Having the truth of my behavior reflected back to me by a trusted mentor or counselor gave me self-awareness and the capacity to break old, unhelpful patterns. The first oyster I ate proved to also be the last.

This week, we’ll read again the story of a pretty powerful encounter Jesus’s disciples experienced with him high on the top of a mountain—one they likely never forgot. I presume God’s intent in making that experience possible was so that they would forever feel changed. Perhaps more assured, more convicted, more faithful to follow Jesus. 

But our discipleship doesn’t always provide those encounters, and especially not frequently. More often we might need to be open to and looking for the ways God is meeting us in the mundane, but also providing insight and illumination so that we shift our path to continue in the way that Jesus is leading.

So, whether it may feel monumental or just reassuring, I pray we may encounter Jesus again this Sunday, trusting that he will not leave us where he found us, but invite us to the transformation we seek.

See you Sunday,