Vessel & Altar

"You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." - 2 Peter 1:19

We were eyewitnesses. Peter says this without apology. He was on the mountain. He saw the face that shone like the sun. He heard the voice from the cloud. He fell on his face and was touched and stood up and the only one left was Jesus.

He carried this for the rest of his life and he wrote it down so that others could carry it through the dark stretches he would not be there for. The prophetic word - the Scripture, the testimony, the thing handed down - is a lamp shining in a dark place. Not the daylight. A lamp. Enough to see by until the morning comes.

Many women know the lamp-time. The long season when the full light has not come, when the prayer is still waiting, when the faith is being maintained rather than felt. Peter is not describing a deficiency. He is describing the condition of anyone who has not yet seen the Son of Man coming in his glory, which is most of us, which is all of us, in this life. You are in the lamp-time. The lamp is reliable. Be attentive to it.

When the disciples were on their faces in terror, Jesus came to them and touched them before he spoke. The touch preceded the instruction. Rise, do not be afraid - but first the hand on the shoulder of the person in the dirt.

Sister, whatever has put you on your face lately - the touch has come, or is coming. Be attentive to it.

Where are you in the lamp-time right now - tending the light in the dark rather than standing in full daylight? Name the dark place honestly. Then say Peter's word over it: the prophetic word is reliable. It is a lamp shining in this place. Be attentive to it.

Lord, I am in the lamp-time. I am being attentive. I trust the lamp is reliable even when I cannot see more than a step ahead. When you come to touch me, let me recognize the hand. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Amen.