|
“Fulfiller of the past And hope of things to be, We hail Thy body glorified And our redemption see.
“‘Tis good, Lord, to be here! Yet we may not remain; But since Thou bidst us leave the mount, Come with us to the plain.”
Past, present, future—these divisions of time may bring both blessings and regrets. We rejoice in some past events, but wish we had done other things differently. Many people have great hopes for the future while others feel hopeless. We live in the present, with its daily blessings and challenges. Jesus Christ is Lord over the past, the present, and the future. Before His death and resurrection, Jesus told His disciples that He would suffer, die, and rise from the dead. Everything foretold about Him in the law of Moses and in the writings of the prophets had to be fulfilled. When He was transfigured in glory, the Lord Jesus discussed His coming death with Moses the lawgiver and Elijah the prophet. Everything foretold of Him would soon happen. As our hymn declares, Jesus is the “fulfiller of the past.”
Jesus is also the “hope of things to be.” In Jesus’ transfigured, glorified body, we have a glimpse of our future. Jesus, by His death and resurrection, defeated death. When our risen Savior returns on the Last Day, our bodies, buried in weakness and frailty, will be raised to eternal life and clothed in glory. As the apostle John writes, when Jesus appears in glory on that final day, “we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2b). Jesus is the fulfiller of the past and in His glorious transfiguration we see the hope of things to come.
As the disciples left the mountain top where Jesus was transfigured, they may not have fully understood the startling event they had just witnessed. Jesus told them not to reveal what they had seen on the mountain until He rose from the dead, but the disciples did not yet understand what rising from the dead meant. Before long they would face confusion and fear when Jesus was crucified, but the risen Lord came to them, bringing His peace. As we leave the joyful, mountaintop experience of worship, we go down to the plain, that is, to the ordinary work of our daily lives. Our risen Savior goes with us and leads us down the mountain just as He led His disciples that day. He is the fulfiller of the past, the hope of things to come, and our ever-present Lord. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), and He holds our past, present, and future in His hands.
WE PRAY: Lord, fulfiller of the past and hope of things to be, as I leave the mountain-top experience of worship, walk with me throughout the week. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, “’Tis Good, Lord, to be Here,” which is number 414 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
- Do you see the future as bright with hope, or do past regrets weigh you down in the present? Please take some time to pray about these things, mindful of the forgiveness we have in Jesus.
- Seeing Jesus transfigured in glory must have been a mind-boggling experience for the disciples. How do you think it changed them, going forward?
- What practical things can you do to stay closer to Jesus throughout the coming week?
|
