After Euphoria

Any sense of spiritual euphoria was quickly dashed when Jesus made it to that Samaritan village.  Mountaintop moments are special.  They have a way of energizing us to think beyond what is normal.  They inspire us to move toward the deeper things of God.  Sometimes they can even have such sending power that decisions are made which alter the direction of our lives.  It is hard not to think that some of this must have been going on in the mind and heart of Jesus after that moment on the mountain where heaven opened up bringing Him into the presence of Moses and Elijah.  And then came the village of Samaria which was an opening salvo of Satan declaring that no easy road was ahead.

 

It is actually hard to tell if the Samaritans even laid eyes on Jesus.  The scripture says Jesus sent some of the disciples ahead to make ready for Him.  What is obvious is that those Samaritans wanted no part of the disciples or their Master.  They had long since forsaken the idea that Jerusalem was an important place of worship and they wanted no part of anyone who was so obsessed with the journey there when God could better be worshipped in Samaria on Mt. Gerizim, a holy mountain in their region of the world.  Even while the memory of the moment of Transfiguration was fresh, it became clear that the road of obedience was not going to be a popular road and certainly not an easy one.

As we consider the life of Jesus, we should never be surprised that spiritual difficulties arise in our lives soon after some moment of spiritual euphoria.  It is the nature of the journey.  What is often forgotten, or perhaps, simply not considered, it the reality of the spiritual battle that goes on around us and sometimes in us.  Paul reminded us that we are not struggling against powers that we are able to defeat in our own strength.  Only the power of the Holy Spirit will enable us to make it which once again speaks to our need to be one attune to God through presence moments provided by spiritual disciplines.