The last few weeks have been dark for me. My health has been very touch and go and my family continues to struggle financially, health-wise, and with attacks from very hateful “Christians”. I have struggled with the darkness that creeps up when you have CPTSD, depression, and anxiety. This Sunday’s readings are a reminder that even in the darkness there is light.
Jesus was facing the coming darkness of Holy Week and his ultimate crucifixion. And in that preparation for the darkness to come, in the dark moments of the attacks from the Pharisees, Jesus took time to climb the mountain and we have the great miracle of the Transfiguration. Moses and Elijah come to comfort him in his time of need. And the disciples are reminded that Jesus was the coming messiah prophesied about for hundreds of years when they heard the voice of God.
As clergy we do one of the hardest jobs in the world. We rarely see happy moments. Rather we are called on when people are dying, when marriages fall apart, when people are sick, and when they are facing the hardest, darkest times of their lives. Rarely do people call us when they are having a good day, when they have won the lottery, or when they have had joyful event happen.
In the midst of my darkness, my dear brother Bishop Jim sent me a photo. It was a simple act. He took a moment out of his very busy day and during his joyful event to send me a picture of his brand new daughter Ellie. I cried. It was a reminder that even in the dark moments, light still exists. Transformative moments still occur. God is still working in the world.
This week take a moment to stop and call a friend just to say hi. Share a joyful moment with someone close to you. Give someone a hug. As a dear friend of mine says all the time, “Give someone a hug because it may the thing that gets them from now until the next time you see them.”
Show love and help transform the world!
Pax et bonum,
Bishop Greer