Planned Departure

UV 4161/10000 Planned Departure Who appeared in glory, and were speaking of His departure (from earthly life), which He was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem. Luke 9 v 31 The face of God shone on Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and thereby, His appearance and clothes became radiant and glorious. When the Lord’s face shines on us as it is promised in Numbers chapter 6, our faces would also radiate the shekinah (unfading, effulgent) glory of God. For this to happen our times of prayer need to be intense and deep like Jesus. Our lives need to receive the full approval and approbation of the Lord. As Jesus fulfilled the will of God and not His own, He became the recipient of such approval. When He obeyed the waters of baptism when John the Baptist baptized Him, He fulfilled the will of God concerning the initiation of His public ministry. The Holy Spirit descended on Him, manifesting as a pure white dove, reflecting the purity of the Giver and the Receiver. At these points in time, Jesus was in complete communion and extreme intimacy with the Father. The end of the ministry of Jesus on earth was a planned event, foreseen circumstances, not accidental or unforeseen. It was a planned departure from this earth back to heaven, to sit at the right hand of the Father. Jesus spoke just before the transfiguration of His need to suffer, to be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes and be put to death, and of His resurrection on the third day. It was not a surprise or a shock sprung on Him suddenly. His departure was painful but His comeback, His resurrection was to a much greater extent -glorious and joyful. In this current second wave of the covid pandemic, many believers known to us have also departed. Was it a planned departure? Yes, they could not have died but for the will of God. The Lord decides the time and the manner of our departure. It is not, therefore a cause for shame or disappointment though it certainly entails much grief, sense of loss, loneliness, suffering for the bereaved families. The comeback, the resurrection of the lost loved ones like that of Jesus is also glorious and joyful. Hence, Jesus referred to the dead invariably as sleeping persons with the sole exception of His weeping at the mouth of the cave grave of Lazarus, perhaps to admit the pain that the temporary separation caused to humans. As ordinary and mortal humans, we cannot plan our departure but we can rest in the knowledge that the Lord has planned it for us. He may not give us a clue ahead of the appointed hour or time. But we need to be prepared, ready at any moment with our lamps full to the brim with oil, our hearts filled with hope and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Paul reflected this readiness to depart at any time in his writing, “For me to die is gain, to live is Christ.” In other words, living is profitable, productive,beneficial, useful, joyful on account of our faith in the Risen Saviour and dying is profitable, gainful, joyful as we are united with the Risen Lord. Our faith in Christ alone equips us, enables humans to overcome the greatest fear, the most painful sting- the fear of death.