The glory of God

"In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul indicated that he believed that each of us has the same brilliant light of the glory of God present within us. The glory of God is shown in goodness. The glory of God within us is shown in our goodness. While it is unlikely ever to shine from us to the degree that it did from Jesus that day on the mountain, never- the –less it still can and does show in us, in every living creature and in all creation when we are being who we were created to be and when we are loving and caring. In Genesis 1 we are told that as God completed different parts of creation, God declared them good and when God had created humans, God declared they were very good. All creation and especially us, reflect God’s glory.

For centuries our mantle of goodness has been shrouded by the cloak of emphasis on sin that has been laid on us all as the church has only been interested in us seeing ourselves as sinners and not as blessed prophets of God in the line of Moses, Elijah and Elisha.

The appearance of the light of the glory of God within every person has been dimmed because of this. Like the disciples, we haven’t been listening carefully to what Jesus has been trying to tell us. Like Peter, our own agendas often obscure the true reality of Christ. And when we don’t listen to God, we probably don’t listen to those around us either. We may fail to hear their anguish and to follow Jesus’ example in trying to eliminate the causes of pain and suffering in our communities and the world.

We, like Elisha have been blessed with the Spirit that was in both Elijah and Jesus. We are in effect, witnesses to Jesus death and Jesus told his followers that they would do greater things than he did. The mantle of Jesus has been passed on to us. In grief and in joy, we have been blessed. Let’s listen to Christ and work to show people and all creation, the Good News of God."

Rev Julianne Parker

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