Category Boston

The tragedy of the space shuttle, Challenger, and the loss of seven lives grieved us all very deeply. Certainly there arose many questions, not the least of which was: What do we put our faith in — God’s truth or man’s technology? Unlike the first astronauts into space, these seven crew members had a high degree of faith in the success of their mission. Their training had been thorough. The same space shuttle’s past performance record had been flawless. Back-up systems and ground control crews assured the astronauts of early detection of any malfunctions.
Something went wrong, and the disaster left us in unbelief and shock. At the moment it happened one person exclaimed, “It didn’t explode! It didn’t explode!” Another said, “I just can’t believe it.”

There were a number of highlights in the ministry of Christ — the transfiguration definitely (and literally) was one of them. Accompanied by His three closest disciples, Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah concerning what would take place in Jerusalem. It must have been encouraging for the Son of God to fellowship these two great prophets and men of faith — what a contrast to return to the other nine disciples left behind. The narrative continues in Mark 9:14-19: “When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them . . . ‘What are you arguing with them about?’ Jesus asked. A man in the crowd answered, ‘Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech . . . I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.’ ‘O unbelieving generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.’ ”