Does it Sound Like Jesus?

In our daily lives we are inundated with words, words on TV, on the internet, from our radios, in papers, from friends and coworkers.  Our world is awash in information and opinions.  It's hard to know which pieces of information are true and which ones are not.  It's even harder to know whose opinions to listen to and whose to ignore.
 
The areas of religion and spirituality are not immune to this influx of words.  Everyone has a religious opinion it seems, even those who claim to not be religious but only "spiritual."  The source of religious authority that would seem to be most dominant in our world today seems to be feelings.  The logic goes like this, "If God is causing me to feel this way, then it must be right."
 
God has a different message for us.  This coming Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday, when we hear the account of Jesus going up the mountain with Peter, James, and John.  There, He is transfigured before them, with his face shining like the sun, His Divine glory on full display.  The disciples see Him having a conversation with Moses and Elijah.  What a sight that must have been to behold.  What feelings must have welled up in those disciples.  But perhaps the most important aspect of that event was the voice of God the Father saying about Jesus, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" (Matt 17:5).
 
We must measure the words of the world and the feelings of our hearts by what Jesus says.  We are to listen to Him.  That is, we gauge the soundness of new ideas, the importance of the opinions of men, and the thoughts of our minds by the sure and certain words of Jesus that we find in Holy Scripture.  We can be sure what God says is true, and His Word is life-giving.