When Is The Last Time You Got A Gold Star?

Dear Reader, When is the last time you got a gold star?  Well, to paraphrase the Wolf Brand Chili ad, that’s way too long. The Star shown above is for you. More about this later.

The Transfiguration

God our Papa gives us everything we need to do His will. Everything we need to love Him. Everything we need to love our neighbors. Everything we need to get to be with Him forever in heaven.  Three of the apostles, Peter, James, and John, while still alive, were not given a gold star, but they did receive a gift of light, the gift of the Transfiguration of Jesus.

After the Confession of Peter that Jesus is indeed the Messiah – “You are the Christ” – Jesus takes only Peter, James, son of Zebedee,  and James’s brother John the Apostle up on a mountain and is there transfigured in blazing light (Matthew 17:1–8 Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36). This event confirmed Peter’s Confession that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus was “transfigured before them; his face shining as the sun, and his garments became white as the light.” (Matthew 17:2). Then God the Father’s voice is heard from a cloud: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Mark 9:7).

God did not gift all the apostles with the Transfiguration. He knew that these three – later to become three of His first twelve priests – would need this glorious vision to get them through all that they would encounter in telling the world about His Son. So He gave them a hint, a taste of the heavenly glory they would have after their lives of service to His children.

Peter and James would die the death of martyrs.  John would have the care of Mary, suffer in exile, and live a very long life before he entered heaven. In addition to all the miracles of Jesus, in addition to all they saw and heard while Jesus was here on earth, God in His wisdom knew that the gift of the Transfiguration, and its memory throughout their lives, would help them to keep on keepin’ on and continue to do His will.

Theology Of Light

Over the centuries, the Transfiguration, among other events, has been the basis for scholars, thinkers and theologians to develop a “theology of light.”

Early Church Fathers dealt in detail with the Transfiguration.  Irenaeus (born 130 A.D.) was fascinated by it and wrote: “the glory of God is a live human being and a truly human life is the vision of God”.  In the 4^th century A.D. Gregory of Nyssa and later Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite developed a “theology of light.” Thomas Aquinas referred to the Transfiguration as “the greatest miracle” because it complemented baptism and demonstrated the perfection of life in Heaven.

The Transfiguration is one of the major focal points of the New Testament. One scholar writes:

In Christian teachings, the Transfiguration is a pivotal moment, and the setting on the mountain is presented as the point where human nature meets God: the meeting place for the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus himself as the connecting point, acting as the bridge between heaven and earth. (Gardner, Paul D.  New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters. Zondervan; p. 218;2015.).

Light is one of the primary images, symbols, and themes of numerous books and passages in the bible.

Genesis begins with:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1: 1-5).

The Gospel of John:

Again therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying: I am the light of the world: he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12).

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. That was the true light, which enlighteneth Tevery man that cometh into this world. (John 1:4-9).

The Book of Apocalypse

The last chapter of the book of the Apocalypse (also called Revelation), written by John, a witness to the transfiguration, ends with:

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. . . . “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” (Apocalypse 22: 3-5; 6).

Gold Star

It is no accident that Jesus’s declaration – “I am the light of the world” –  in  John’s gospel comes immediately after He saves the woman caught in adultery. It seems very probable that she heard Him say these words. In essence, He was telling her “I am your star.”

Each of us can shine the light of the Jesus star on those we encounter every day in our daily lives. Not only is this God’s will for us as we go through the routine of each day but often each of us is the only divine presence for those we get to live with and be with – even if some of these persons will never enter our lives again. This is what Jesus wants us to do. This is why He said both “I am the light of the world” and “You are the light of the world.”  We are His light, the Jesus light, for others.

With this in mind, I made some “star cards” each about the size of a business card so they fit easily in a purse or wallet. One side had a gold star sticker, like the ones we got in elementary school when we did something well in class. On the reverse side, I had wording like this:

You is good.  You is strong. You is generous.  You is wonders-full. You is loved. You is sunshine. You is smart. You is special. You is beauty-full. You is smile. You is giving.  You is friend.  You is love.  You is precious. You is unique. You is Smile. You is You. 

I have asked many people, “When is the last time you got a gold star?” and when they say, ”It was a long time ago”, or “in kindergarten,” or even “I never got a gold star,” I hand them one of the cards.

Reactions have been, to put it mildly, amazing. No one has ever refused a card. Grown men have started to read it and tear up. Young women and older women have started to read, clutched the card to their hearts, and started to cry. Children have looked at the card and smiled sweet childlike smiles.

Keeping in mind we never know what those around us may be suffering, or what cross they are bearing silently, several persons have accepted the card and told me that “You have no idea how much I needed this now, today” and thanked me. Once after giving them to some teachers, later in the day another teacher came up to me and asked if she could also “get a gold star.”

Of course, some have noted my grammar is incorrect. I tell them it is poetic license, but more importantly, I want this to stand out in their mind and memory. It is also to make clear that the use of this form of the verb “to be” is the real word, akin to when Moses asks God His name and He replies “I am.”

And, Yes, this is like the nanny in the movie, The Help, telling the little girl, Mae, “You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important.”

For those whom I perceive to be religious, I have cards with these words:

Dearest Child of Mine, You is good. You is strong. You is generous. You is wonder-full. You is unique. You is sunshine. You is giving. You is smart. You is special. You is beauty-full. You is star.  You is friend. You is smile. You is precious. You is love, You is loved. You is mine. You is You. You is my daughter, My Princess. Love you Infinity, God, who am your caring Papa.

No one you come in contact with has been gifted with a transfiguration of Jesus. But whether you give them a gold star or simply tell them “You is good . . . ,“  you will be for them the beacon of the stunning, brilliant, warm light of the divine care of their loving Father. You will provide them with a point where human nature meets God, a meeting place for the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus himself as the connecting point, and the star or your good words will serve as a real-world, here-and-now bridge between heaven and earth.