- Alexandre Bida
TO CHEW ON: "Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"—because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid." Mark 9:5,6
Tradition says that the Gospel of Mark is actually Peter's version of the life of Jesus. ("The earliest witness to Marcan authorship stems from Papias bishop of the church at Hierapolis [about A.D. 135-140] .... Papias describes Mark as 'interpreter of Peter'" - J. Lyle Story, "Introduction to Mark," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1346).
That is borne out by the little aside we are focusing on today. It's as if Peter was recalling to Mark, his scribe, 'I remember saying this (about the tabernacles...) but I was just blathering, not knowing what I said or why I said it, because I was so frightened.'
The Bible talks about many kinds of speech. Peter's here might fall into the category of "vain words" of the sort spoken of in Job 16:3: "Shall words of wind have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer?"
What these words of Peter's illustrate is that sometimes it's better to say nothing than to fill the uncomfortable silence with proof of our ignorance. After the vision ended and the disciples were descending the mountain, Jesus said as much: "He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen till the Son of Man had risen from the dead" - Mark 9:9.
I think there are things that we would also be wise to hold our counsel about till we see them in their larger context. As the writer of Proverbs said: "Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue" - Proverbs 17:28
PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to consider the necessity and appropriateness of my words before I say them. Help me to be comfortable with uncertainty, questions, silence. Amen.
MORE: What about these?
In recent years a lot of stories about heavenly visions or experiences have been written and published e.g. 90 Minutes in Heaven, Heaven is for Real, Flight to Heaven, Adventures In Heaven.
These books get a mixed reaction. For example, Heaven is for Real has spent many weeks on the best-seller list. But it has also met with criticism. Assuming such stories don't contradict what the Bible says, there is a variety of ways we can respond to such writings. Included are:
a] Take them as 'gospel truth.'
b] Reserve judgement, i.e. take a wait-and-see approach.
c] Criticize with a view to debunking them giving reasons for why they must be false (of course I'm not equating considered, thoughtful criticism with Peter's impulsive outburst).
My reaction to such stories is usually b]. What is yours?
1 comments:
I'm with you on "b." I also have a never ending need to be reminded to avoid "blathering words."
Many might think of me as circumspect but I know how much I blather and it is almost worse when people do pay attention to what you say. Yikes.
Thank you for adding to the growing mountain of reminders I've had today--a sermon a friend's devotional emailed to me, and now another friend's blog post. :)
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