Pay Attention!

“We have been eyewitnesses of His majesty.” 2 Peter 1:16

Here Peter is reminding us that he was present when Jesus took him, James and John up a mountain and witnessed with his own eyes, Jesus together with Moses and Elijah. Jesus’ clothes were dazzling white, a cloud enveloped them all and a voice said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” 

That kind of mountaintop experience can change your life and it did change the life of the apostles. We can believe this unbelievable story of theirs, because they followed Jesus, obeyed Him, preached His teachings, persisted till they were martyred. They never said, “We made a mistake!” or “We lied!” or “We made it up!” 

Instead, Peter emphasizes in his letter to the Jewish Christians, which he wrote NEAR THE END OF HIS LIFE, that he was an eyewitness, and had “insider information” that was altogether reliable. “You would do well to be attentive to it!” Peter emphasized. 

How urgent can it be? The message was so compelling that Saint Peter wanted to spread the message far and wide until he was martyred in Rome in the year 64 AD. Saint Peter said “Pay attention to what the prophets wrote.” Why? Saint Augustine said, “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.”

Are we paying attention? Are we listening?