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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me take the plunge, try new things and worry about it later! Amen.

Jesus took Peter, James and John up a mountain. As they watched, He began to change. His face and clothes got brighter and brighter, until they couldn't even look at Him! Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus, and God's voice said, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him." Then the light went out and they were alone with Jesus again. "Don't tell anyone about this yet," Jesus said.

Many, many kids don't like to try new things. Why, you think, would you want to taste chicken with mushrooms? You like McNuggets; you'll stick with that. Why try skiing when you already know you like staying home and playing games on your smartphone? It's cold outside!

Jesus' Apostles - His closest friends - were adults, and even they didn't like new things. The events in this week's Gospel (Mark 9:2-10) must have made them uncomfortable, because Jesus was expecting them to deal with something really new and different!

For a kid, the only thing worse than something new can be something that's both new and unexpected. At least if you know you're going skiing next week, you can tell yourself it will be OK. If your family suddenly says, "There's snow! Let's go skiing today," it can upset you.

Jesus' sudden change probably made the Apostles nervous, too. They were hanging out, praying and talking about Jesus helping people get closer to God, and suddenly, Jesus looked like God Himself! It must have been hard to deal with that new idea.

Sometimes, the best way to deal with something new is to take the plunge: Taste the chicken or head for the ski slopes, and worry about it later! If you don't like it, you can always say you don't want to do it again.

Peter, James and John "took the plunge." When they saw Jesus' "transfiguration" - His change to looking like God - they didn't run away; they listened to God the Father's voice from heaven and worshipped Jesus for who He really was: the Son of God.

The Apostles could worry about all of it later. For now, they just accepted this new thing![[In-content Ad]]

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