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| Volume 22 Number 12 December 2020 | Page 6 |
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| Volume 22 Number 12 December 2020 | Page 6 |
Editor's NoteMarilyn LaStrape
Our lives were changed forever in March of 2020. I was listening to a Bible TV program one Sunday morning, and one of the minsters mentioned realizing the importance of the moment in connection with the point he was making. Being a writer, I instinctively write down phrases, sentences and thoughts that I hear from any number of sources.
March 8, 2020, my family was at my home for our usual gathering for lunch each week after morning worship services. This was a practice that was started just a couple of weeks after my husband went to glory seven years ago. I can count on one hand how many times there were none of us at that lunch date.
On that afternoon, my younger son and I and all four of my grandchildren were in my backyard. My son decided to take a picture – a candid shot of the four of them. Like so many other pictures of the four of them, I loved this one as well! I have pictures of them all over my house. I have already told my family I will have that picture enlarged and hung on a wall because it is so special to me!
However, the following week and every time I look at that picture, it has taken on more significance as the days turned into weeks and now months since the nine of us have been together for any reason. We did not realize the importance of the moment in time when my son took that picture. We had no earthly idea that the second Sunday in March would be the last time we would be able to freely hug and kiss one another! We all live in the same city; we all worship at the same congregation. Indeed, we are thankful for being blessed in this way for emotional and physical support. However, that is a doubled-edged sword. We still must wear our masks, stay distanced and use hand sanitizers or wash hands regularly. That is “tough and tuff,” but we want to keep each other safe and healthy.
The apostle Peter had some noteworthy moments in his life that have been revealed to us for our learning. Luke’s account of our Lord’s transfiguration includes details that are so human in the way Peter responded to this most spectacular event. Jesus took Peter, James and John and went upon the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, His robe became white and glistening, and Moses and Elijah talked with Him. They appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke 9:32-33 says, “But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’— not knowing what he said.” This was typical of Peter to speak first and do his best to repair any damage afterwards. This occasion was quite different. A voice came out of the cloud that overshadowed them and said, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” Verse 36 reads, “When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.” None of the apostles apparently realized the importance of the moment – most of all Peter, since we are told he did not know what he was saying.
Another noteworthy moment in Peter’s life was when:
…he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object of a great sheet, bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals… wild beasts, creeping things, and birds. And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” This was done three times, and the object was taken up into heaven again.
Acts 10:19 states, “While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise, therefore, go down and go with then, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.’” Peter went down to the men that Cornelius had sent and asked them why they had come. They told Peter that Cornelius the centurion was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon him to his house and to hear words from him. Cornelius had gathered his relatives and close friends. Then Peter said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean” (Acts 10:28). Initially, Peter did not realize the importance of the moment.
Acts 12 is the account of yet another noteworthy moment in Peter’s life. King Herod had killed James the brother of John with the sword, and because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he seized Peter. Acts 12:4 reads, “So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.” God’s hand was already at work; verse 5 says, “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” Verse 6 continues, “…That night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.” “Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, ‘Arise quickly!’ And his chains fell off his hands” (Acts 12:7). The angel told Peter to get dressed, tie on his sandals and follow him. Peter did not know that what was done by the angel was real but thought he was seeing a vision. When they passed the first and second guard posts, the iron gate to the city opened of its own accord. They went out, went down one street, and immediately the angel left him. Acts12:11 says, “And when Peter had come to himself, he said, ‘Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.’” It only took Peter a short time to realize the importance of this moment.
Since March, the year 2020 has been anything but what I had expected. I had made so many plans about what I wanted to accomplish, especially around my home and such. So many things are exactly the way they were seven years ago. This year was to be my year to bring all of that under control. If it is the Lord’s will and I live, I will try again next year, and will be most aware of realizing the importance of the moments. “Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, just as we hope in You” (Psalm 33:22).
[Editor’s Note: All of us face our own challenges, many of which are not gone in a day or even after weeks, months or years. Nevertheless, we go on – moving forward the best we can, while relying certainly on our Dear Lord and those around us for whom we care and who care for and love us. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Unfortunately, the restrictions and precautions pertaining to the worldwide pandemic have hindered and interrupted the interaction whereby we ordinarily comfort and sustain each other. However, the children of God will persevere. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]