2 Peter 1:16-21

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer for the Day

Father of All, allow us not to mock you with metaphor, analogy, sidestepping, transcendence, making of your glory mere parables, signs painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages: let us walk through the door of your Word, and put our faith in the one whom the disciples saw transfigured, crucified, and resurrected for the salvation of the world. Amen. (Based on John Updike's Seven Stanzas for Easter)

One of the accusations leveled against Christians is addressed bluntly in Peter's second letter. That accusation is that Christianity is simply a cleverly devised myth, a legend that took the memories of distressed disciples and turned them into an account of a God-man who came to save the world by his death and resurrection.

Myths can be powerful things. They are stories that shape what we teach our children ("...so nothing ever comes from nothing"), our political views ("...and that's why we don't want those people in our country"), and how we live our own lives ("...which is why I'll retire at 60.") But if they are not based on data or historical facts, we can find ourselves living lives that are based on lies.

British Christian Dorothy Sayers once wrote the following:

"Jesus Christ is... unique among gods and men. There have been incarnate gods a-plenty, and slain-and-resurrected gods not a few; but He is the only God who has a date in history... There is no more astonishing collocation of phrases than that which, in the Nicene Creed, sets these two statements flatly side by side: “Very God of very God. He suffered under Pontius Pilate...” Christians recite the name of a rather undistinguished Roman pro-consul – not in execration...but merely because that name fixes within a few years the date of the death of God."

The historical truth of Jesus' crucifixion for our sins is no myth, but the surest thing in the world. We do well to pay attention to it.