🕀 The Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Feast of our Lord.
2 Peter 1:10-19; Matthew 17:1-9.
Read 2 Peter 1:10-19
There was an interesting story given by the Orthodox Clergy Club from the talk on “What Truly Builds a Parish” (Talk #98). The story comes under the subtitle: “Let us change ourselves, and the life of the church will change.” It continues to write: “No one would deny that shortcomings exist within the life of the church. The question is where their deepest causes lie. More often than not our problems arise not from defective structures, but from the passions that still rule our hearts.”
The story comes from Ivan Krylov. “His famous fable is about the monkey, the donkey, the goat, and the bear. Dissatisfied with their performance as musicians, they imagine that simply changing seats will improve the music. Yet, as the Nightingale tells them: ‘However, you rearrange yourselves, you will never become musicians.’ No rearrangement can substitute for what is lacking within. Conversely, genuine musicians will continue to make music no matter where they are seated. The same same principal applies to us.”
Wikipedia states this about the nightingale: “The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), is a small passerine bird which is best known for its powerful and beautiful song, often described as one of the most beautiful sounds in nature.”
The message of words of Christianity that St Peter speaks of are like the beautiful sound of the “nightingale.” When the “nightingale” sings we do well to listen. And when we listen, we do well to place our attention to what we listen to in great humility and submission.
The ways of the world? … just changing seats thinking it can become something that it is not…
Blessed feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the revelation of the “Eternal Nightingale”!