Advent Day 8

When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. (Matt 17:6-8)

On the mountain of Transfiguration, Jesus, in all God’s glory, spoke with Moses and Elijah as three of his disciples stood nearby. Like them, he was a prophet, but unlike them, he was also the message they proclaimed––the Bible is a book about him, after all. Moses and Elijah knew this. And so, like the frightened Peter, James, and John, they, too, looked to him for answers on this day.

The apostles had seen many things in their time with Jesus: the blind given sight, the deaf given hearing, the dead given life, and more. Today, though, they had the most splendid sight of all: only Jesus. When they were overcome with fear at the sight of the transfigured Lord, Jesus calmed them with his words. Then they saw the Jesus they had walked, talked, and eaten with. They saw the Jesus they knew well who was fully human, and yet not like the rest of them. They saw Jesus and only him.

It’s hard to see Jesus in this life, let alone only Jesus. There is just so much to hear and see. And yet, the most blessed thing of all is to see Jesus and to see Jesus only. And that happens solely when he calms us with his words. And so we do well to open our ears to focus our eyes. And when we see Jesus only, we see everything else rightly again. We see a world given to us in Christ; we see Christ in our neighbor; we see Christ as our beginning, our present, and our end.

Jesus is never “only.” Jesus is everything! In the depths of our fear, confusion, and distraction, only Jesus can focus our eyes on him and speak a word of comfort, for he still speaks today. He is your savior, promised by prophets and born in Bethlehem, and because he has come for us, we can “Rise and have no fear.”

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