When In Doubt- Say Nothing
From the Word:

Luke 9:28-33 - About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)

For some reason as I read that, the line that jumped out at me was not the transfiguration, the presence of Moses and Elijah. It was the line about Peter that Luke inserts with good editorial license. Peter, he says, did not know what he was saying. Well, you know you can't blame Peter. He was only human and most of us, when in doubt, speak what's on our mind. We don't stop to think. We react.

It actually reminds me of an old quote from Mark Twain:

"It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt?"

Peter of course had a great idea- at least he thought so. Why hold back? Why not go ahead and say it? Jesus should feel honored that his disciple finally gets it, sees who he is, and wants to build a place to worship. (Short note: Booths were part of the harvest festival to worship God in thanksgiving.) When something this awesome occurs we want to guarantee that it will happen again. Or perhaps box it in so it at least appears to happen again.

This is where we get that old phrase about a Mountain Top Experience. It also shows how we want to keep going back to it instead of moving forward to what God has in store next. If we manage to control it, if we put it in a box, analyze it, and recreate it we can have it again. It is easy to forget that when we do that, God is no longer the God of the future, or even of today. He is the God of what used to happen that we want to happen again.

Rather we should remember, I should remember, that God is the God of today. We know that he is not the God of the dead but of the living (Mark 12:27). Instead of trying to re-create yesterday, even the greatest feelings and emotions of yesterday, I should be open each day to the new and special experiences he has in store for the day.