Ordinary 16A – Sermon based upon Isaiah 44:1-8
Good morning. Today’s scriptures from Isaiah and Romans are an interesting complement to one another. On the one hand, we have God speaking in Isaiah about being the One true God so there is no need to fear. The core of those verses are 6-8 which read, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I'm first, I'm last, and everything in between. I'm the only God there is. Who compares with me? Speak up. See if you measure up. From the beginning, who else has always announced what's coming? So what is coming next? Anybody want to venture a try? Don't be afraid, and don't worry: Haven't I always kept you informed, told you what was going on? You're my eyewitnesses: Have you ever come across a God, a real God, other than me? There's no Rock like me.’”
From the reverse perspective, we have Paul in Romans telling us to not fear because God’s resurrection and release from bondage live boldly within us. The core of those verses, 15-16, read, “This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike ‘What's next, Papa?’ God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.”
So we have this message to live without fear and to live boldly at that. But is that how we experience our lives? Is it possible to be fearless? Are there things we should fear? Does the repeated counsel of the bible to “fear not” mean that fear is bad? Well, we can’t possibly begin to unravel those questions during this time, but I think God has a message for us nonetheless.
First of all, we do fear, whether or not we want to. There are all kinds of biblical stories of fear and the way that fear either did them in or helped them out. We still have the same stories today. In my job as a chaplain, I meet families who receive unspeakable news of their child’s illness and an uncertain future. There is no way for them in that moment to not feel fear because in that moment, they are keenly aware of all they can’t control and the depth of what they could lose. And what about when we are at risk of losing or actually lose our job? Fear is a natural response that reinforces our understanding of how vulnerable we are. And when we are walking down a stretch of street that is dark and unfamiliar, can we get rid of that fear that wells up in us? No, we cannot. That fear heightens our ability to engage our most primal instincts by becoming ultra-aware of our surroundings and also the resources within and around us that we may tap into should something dangerous happen.
So I would never stand here and say that fear is a bad thing nor do I think God is saying such a thing. Fear can be a true gift that brings out the very best in us by reminding us what is important to us and connecting us to resources that we wouldn’t have recognized before. So maybe that is the point. Fear is a response that God pretty much hardwired into us for our own good. But the trick is to take that moment of fear and move forward with new hope rather than being mired in it.
See, I think these passages are about just that. Of course we are going to fear otherwise God, Jesus, and so many prophets and disciples would not have addressed it. Just as the examples from earlier speak to how fear can help us, fear can also hurt us if we are in bondage to it. Just this week, I met a patient’s mom who was so locked up by the fear of what might happen that it kept her from experiencing all the love around her and the child. That love could have been so healing for all of them. Or what about when someone loses their job or is walking down that dark road and becomes too paralyzed by fear to make any decision? They become a victim of their circumstances rather than empowered by the learning fear gave them and the hope of such strength. But what do we do to keep from getting mired in it and becoming a slave to fear?
Well, I think we all know from experience that letting go of fear is easier said than done. So what do we do? I think this is a place where scripture has much to offer us. These passages tell us something that we can keep with us to help us move from fear to fear-usefullness and maybe even fearlessness.
The Isaiah passage reassures us that God is true and with us so we are never alone no matter what happens or is to come. Romans tells us that when we keep our focus on what is Holy by listening to that inner calling, we will always find meaning and direction. Both of these passages tell us that fear need not bind us if we receive the reassurance found in scripture and live by it’s guidance.
But still, this is easier said than done. So, I want us to pause for a few minutes and think in some really practical ways about how we already do use this guidance and how we might use it better and more fully to let go of the fears that bind us.
First, what ways to we use trust in God and focus on the Holy to help us move past fear? Well, prayer is a common one. Prayer is a ritual that creates comfort because we believe in its power or find it familiar. Another way we let go of fear is by seeking the refuge of our holy community. Fear also often dissolves when we engage in actions which we know will produce goodness and love. By working for love, we forget the fear and feel stronger. What else works? Reading scripture or other texts that cultivate the Holy, opening ourselves to the body of Christ as it reaches out to us, immersing ourselves in creation whether it is a sunset or our families… all these things are practical ways we seek to let go of fear and move forward with hope.
What ways might we adopt that we aren’t already doing to help us shed the chains of fear? Maybe it’s watching out for others who are struggling and reaching out to them. We’ve mentioned rituals that are familiar but perhaps sometimes letting go of an old fear is about trying something new. What might that be in each of our lives? What if letting go of a fear is about redoubling our efforts? Maybe it’s a matter of focus. Could it be about listening to the yearnings God implanted in us as Romans suggests? The important thing is that we find what will help us take the fear that wells up in us, use what it has to teach us, and move forward without being caught in its bondage.
Now, what fears bind us? Think about what specific fears make your chest tighten and pulse rise when you think of them? Most of us have many fears but for now, let’s just trust that what comes to each of us is what God wants us to look at in this moment. Some of us are afraid of losing people close to us. For others it is being left. Still others of us fear being out of control while some of us fear pain and suffering. No matter what is coming to our minds, God wants us to find a way from fear to hope.
So, how can we use God’s calling and find release from these fears? Where is our comfort? What steps do we need to take to find release and healing from the things that bind us now and the fears that will come along later? It’s hard work and takes intentionality on our part. How will we find stamina to do this? Our desire alone for release and healing from fear just isn’t enough. What steps will we take to live the life of expectancy and hope that God is calling us to?
Sisters and brothers, these few minutes of looking at our fears and our resources are just a beginning and we can’t begin to answer these questions but the questions are worthy and need to be challenged. Nevertheless, one thing is for certain. The bible would not address fear so frequently if God didn’t know we would need extra support to find a path through it.
But we are not helpless. We have the body of Christ to help us along the way, God’s Spirit with us to give us stamina and hope, and God’s promises to guide and hold us along the way. May God guide our path, heal our wounds, and lead us in a more excellent way each and every day. Amen.
Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Walking Witnesses
Walking Witnesses <-- Audio link – A sermon based upon Luke 24:13-35
Good morning. I bring you greetings from the Sisters of Bon Secours at their retreat center outside Baltimore, MD. I’ve been there this week with a group of pediatric chaplains on retreat and was much blessed by my time.
The sisters of Bon Secours, which translates to “good help” from its native French, are a vibrant community of living faith. They live into their original mission of providing good help to the poor and the sick. In the early days of their ministry, I imagine poor families didn’t know what to think when a nun showed up on their door to live with and care for them until they returned to health. I imagine it was like walking along and suddenly having Christ in their midst.
And that’s where today’s gospel lesson takes us too. As we’ve walked in the footsteps of Jesus through Holy Week and Easter, we’ve seen him make his presence known in so many ways. Whether it was riding a donkey into Jerusalem or standing up to admit his identity to those who would arrest him, this Jesus guy is not one to stay hidden for long… but also not one to be pinned down. So, let’s look again at our scripture passage.
What we have are two of Jesus’ followers walking to Emmaus. Now, this was a well-known village and we don’t know why they were going there nor do we need to. All we need to understand is that it’s a common place to them. Then, Jesus appears to them but they didn’t recognize him. They told Jesus about all that had happened in the past week including the empty tomb that day. But Jesus could tell that they were not able to see the big picture of his resurrection yet so he illuminates the ways his life was represented in ancient scripture. Then he started to walk away but his two followers invited him to spend the night.
This is where the story turns. They go to into a house and share a meal. The scripture doesn’t say it’s the Eucharist… it’s just a meal. Jesus then blesses and shares the bread. At this point, they suddenly recognize him and he vanishes. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” Finally, the two takeoff back to Jerusalem to share this with others.
So what does this scripture have for us? Well, there’s definitely more than one moral to the story in this passage but what do we need to hear today?
First of all, I think God is telling us that it is okay when we don’t recognize Christ in our midst. This scripture tells us that followers were “kept” from recognizing him. Now it could have been their own inattention or grief or it could have been Christ himself who preferred to be unrecognized. The scripture does not tell us. But regardless of the cause, Jesus was obviously not offended by this. He interacted with them in whatever form they could receive.
This seems important because how often do we really recognize those God moments when we’re in them? Sometimes we do. However, quite often we are going about our day to day lives unaware that we were even part of meeting someone else’s deep and sacred need. Frequently, we hear from someone a few days later that they are grateful for our presence and how desperately they needed the eyes of compassion and hands of caring that we offered. Or how about those times when we feel so lost and something seemingly random happens that gives us new direction and focus? We could not see God working but we sure did reap the rewards of God’s presence in our lives.
So, we need to hear that it really is okay to not recognize Christ or those God moments at the time. There’s no need to feel ashamed or like we weren’t what God wanted us to be. We still took part in the work of the Body of Christ, even if we were unaware of what the whole body was doing.
Which brings me to the second point that recognizing when we’ve encountered the living Christ is fleeting and complicated and awe inspiring all at the same time. When Christ’s followers’ eyes were opened to who he was, they instantly realized that they were in the midst of a holy moment and then he disappeared. Can you imagine what that must have been like? They were being hospitable and then they caught a glimpse of Christ and then he was gone. It’s like the way Moses only caught a glimpse of God’s backside.
But our lives are the same way. When we do get that phone call thanking us for being there, the wind of the Spirit sweeps through our heart showing us God’s presence. When we look back at those seemingly random events that gave us what we truly needed to move forward, we feel the awe of God’s presence. You see, we catch glimpses of God but can’t capture the moment. This recognition of the living Christ leaves us knowing that God was working in the world but it’s not something we can pin down.
It reminds me of the song the nuns sing in the Sound of Music. When referring to Maria, arguably a Christ figure in the movie. They sing, “How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?” and “How do you keep a wave upon the sand?” You can’t and that’s the point. That upon recognizing the living Christ among us, we can’t capture it in a moment because Christ lives in movement.
This brings us to the final point which is that upon recognizing moments of the holy we are changed and are compelled forward. When Christ’s followers realized who had been in their midst, they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” They realized that that burning of joy, hope, and love that was welling up within them was the first proof of Christ’s presence with them. Then they immediately took off to tell others and spread this good news.
Now, let’s look deeper at this for a few moments. “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road…?” This is a powerful shift in the passage and it could be easily missed. They had just seen with their own eyes the risen Christ but what they immediately went to was how he had made them feel even when they didn’t yet recognize him. To me, that says something.
Poet Maya Angelou said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I think the same can be said for Christ. Oh sure we share stories of all that he did and said. Those stories really touch people and are important for our faith formation and growth. But when we really start talking to people about their faith and share our own, what people talk about are very personal encounters they had… God moments… moments of Christ in our midst. And they talk about the emotional experience of being touched by it.
And when we talk further with one another about our faith, we inevitably get to how those moments became the force for movement in our lives. We encounter the living Christ in some way or ways. The experience speaks to our hearts by whispering love, healing, joy, and hope to us. Then we are compelled forward to act more fully and boldly in the body of Christ. We may not use those words, but the meaning is the same. Christ reaches in and touches our lives. But it’s not in the recognition that we find blessing. Rather, it is in the part that stays with us that we are blessed and can then in turn bless others.
Sisters and brothers, I’ve been saying now for two and a half weeks that we need to be looking for Christ in our midst and that is truly a valid calling. However, more important than looking for Christ in our midst, we need to be reaching out and living as if we are encountering the living Christ every moment. We never know when it will happen. I even suspect that nearly all our moments are really Christ moments if we’ll truly open up to them. And if we do approach life with that attitude, I bet we would catch even more glimpses of Christ in our midst that would impact us even more deeply. And this would in turn compel us forward in even more exciting ways because living in the movement of the Spirit through the Body of Christ is never-ending in that way.
So, as we leave here today, I think the challenge is to be open to what these moments are doing to change us and how we can be open to the movement they create. How are we taking that experience of how Christ makes us feel and moving forward with it? What is Christ calling us to? Is it that we need to get to know new people? Maybe people different from us? Is it that we need to be involved in some form of ministry? Write a note to people God places on your heart? Is it that we need to open our own hearts to be touched more deeply by others? To be open to healing? Maybe we need to reach across the aisle and forgive to rebuild a relationship? Maybe we need to reach around the globe and heal relationships there?
I don’t know where the movement that God calls us to individually and collectively will take us. But I do trust that growing, loving, and living in the Body of Christ will bless us and spread beyond us in way ways we will never be able to count. And just like Jesus’ followers that encountered him on the walk to Emmaus, we will be forever better for the experience. Amen.
Good morning. I bring you greetings from the Sisters of Bon Secours at their retreat center outside Baltimore, MD. I’ve been there this week with a group of pediatric chaplains on retreat and was much blessed by my time.
The sisters of Bon Secours, which translates to “good help” from its native French, are a vibrant community of living faith. They live into their original mission of providing good help to the poor and the sick. In the early days of their ministry, I imagine poor families didn’t know what to think when a nun showed up on their door to live with and care for them until they returned to health. I imagine it was like walking along and suddenly having Christ in their midst.
And that’s where today’s gospel lesson takes us too. As we’ve walked in the footsteps of Jesus through Holy Week and Easter, we’ve seen him make his presence known in so many ways. Whether it was riding a donkey into Jerusalem or standing up to admit his identity to those who would arrest him, this Jesus guy is not one to stay hidden for long… but also not one to be pinned down. So, let’s look again at our scripture passage.
What we have are two of Jesus’ followers walking to Emmaus. Now, this was a well-known village and we don’t know why they were going there nor do we need to. All we need to understand is that it’s a common place to them. Then, Jesus appears to them but they didn’t recognize him. They told Jesus about all that had happened in the past week including the empty tomb that day. But Jesus could tell that they were not able to see the big picture of his resurrection yet so he illuminates the ways his life was represented in ancient scripture. Then he started to walk away but his two followers invited him to spend the night.
This is where the story turns. They go to into a house and share a meal. The scripture doesn’t say it’s the Eucharist… it’s just a meal. Jesus then blesses and shares the bread. At this point, they suddenly recognize him and he vanishes. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” Finally, the two takeoff back to Jerusalem to share this with others.
So what does this scripture have for us? Well, there’s definitely more than one moral to the story in this passage but what do we need to hear today?
First of all, I think God is telling us that it is okay when we don’t recognize Christ in our midst. This scripture tells us that followers were “kept” from recognizing him. Now it could have been their own inattention or grief or it could have been Christ himself who preferred to be unrecognized. The scripture does not tell us. But regardless of the cause, Jesus was obviously not offended by this. He interacted with them in whatever form they could receive.
This seems important because how often do we really recognize those God moments when we’re in them? Sometimes we do. However, quite often we are going about our day to day lives unaware that we were even part of meeting someone else’s deep and sacred need. Frequently, we hear from someone a few days later that they are grateful for our presence and how desperately they needed the eyes of compassion and hands of caring that we offered. Or how about those times when we feel so lost and something seemingly random happens that gives us new direction and focus? We could not see God working but we sure did reap the rewards of God’s presence in our lives.
So, we need to hear that it really is okay to not recognize Christ or those God moments at the time. There’s no need to feel ashamed or like we weren’t what God wanted us to be. We still took part in the work of the Body of Christ, even if we were unaware of what the whole body was doing.
Which brings me to the second point that recognizing when we’ve encountered the living Christ is fleeting and complicated and awe inspiring all at the same time. When Christ’s followers’ eyes were opened to who he was, they instantly realized that they were in the midst of a holy moment and then he disappeared. Can you imagine what that must have been like? They were being hospitable and then they caught a glimpse of Christ and then he was gone. It’s like the way Moses only caught a glimpse of God’s backside.
But our lives are the same way. When we do get that phone call thanking us for being there, the wind of the Spirit sweeps through our heart showing us God’s presence. When we look back at those seemingly random events that gave us what we truly needed to move forward, we feel the awe of God’s presence. You see, we catch glimpses of God but can’t capture the moment. This recognition of the living Christ leaves us knowing that God was working in the world but it’s not something we can pin down.
It reminds me of the song the nuns sing in the Sound of Music. When referring to Maria, arguably a Christ figure in the movie. They sing, “How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?” and “How do you keep a wave upon the sand?” You can’t and that’s the point. That upon recognizing the living Christ among us, we can’t capture it in a moment because Christ lives in movement.
This brings us to the final point which is that upon recognizing moments of the holy we are changed and are compelled forward. When Christ’s followers realized who had been in their midst, they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” They realized that that burning of joy, hope, and love that was welling up within them was the first proof of Christ’s presence with them. Then they immediately took off to tell others and spread this good news.
Now, let’s look deeper at this for a few moments. “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road…?” This is a powerful shift in the passage and it could be easily missed. They had just seen with their own eyes the risen Christ but what they immediately went to was how he had made them feel even when they didn’t yet recognize him. To me, that says something.
Poet Maya Angelou said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I think the same can be said for Christ. Oh sure we share stories of all that he did and said. Those stories really touch people and are important for our faith formation and growth. But when we really start talking to people about their faith and share our own, what people talk about are very personal encounters they had… God moments… moments of Christ in our midst. And they talk about the emotional experience of being touched by it.
And when we talk further with one another about our faith, we inevitably get to how those moments became the force for movement in our lives. We encounter the living Christ in some way or ways. The experience speaks to our hearts by whispering love, healing, joy, and hope to us. Then we are compelled forward to act more fully and boldly in the body of Christ. We may not use those words, but the meaning is the same. Christ reaches in and touches our lives. But it’s not in the recognition that we find blessing. Rather, it is in the part that stays with us that we are blessed and can then in turn bless others.
Sisters and brothers, I’ve been saying now for two and a half weeks that we need to be looking for Christ in our midst and that is truly a valid calling. However, more important than looking for Christ in our midst, we need to be reaching out and living as if we are encountering the living Christ every moment. We never know when it will happen. I even suspect that nearly all our moments are really Christ moments if we’ll truly open up to them. And if we do approach life with that attitude, I bet we would catch even more glimpses of Christ in our midst that would impact us even more deeply. And this would in turn compel us forward in even more exciting ways because living in the movement of the Spirit through the Body of Christ is never-ending in that way.
So, as we leave here today, I think the challenge is to be open to what these moments are doing to change us and how we can be open to the movement they create. How are we taking that experience of how Christ makes us feel and moving forward with it? What is Christ calling us to? Is it that we need to get to know new people? Maybe people different from us? Is it that we need to be involved in some form of ministry? Write a note to people God places on your heart? Is it that we need to open our own hearts to be touched more deeply by others? To be open to healing? Maybe we need to reach across the aisle and forgive to rebuild a relationship? Maybe we need to reach around the globe and heal relationships there?
I don’t know where the movement that God calls us to individually and collectively will take us. But I do trust that growing, loving, and living in the Body of Christ will bless us and spread beyond us in way ways we will never be able to count. And just like Jesus’ followers that encountered him on the walk to Emmaus, we will be forever better for the experience. Amen.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
A Moment, A Life
A Moment, A Life: <-- Audio file of Transfiguration Sunday sermon based upon Matthew 17:1-9.
Good morning. Today is transfiguration Sunday and if you’ve spent much time at church in your life, you’ve probably heard more than a few sermons from the gospel texts that recount this event in Jesus’ life. It’s a dramatic scene of Jesus, Peter, James, & John climbing to the mountain top. Then Jesus’ face shines with brilliant light and his well-worn robe suddenly glistens with a brilliant whiteness. As if this isn’t startling enough, suddenly Moses and Elijah appear and start talking with Jesus. Now, I don’t know how Jesus stayed so calm in the midst of all this but Peter, James, & John were filled with awe. Peter wanted to stay there and live in the glory of the moment forever. But he had barely said that before the voice of God booms from a cloud affirming Jesus as his son that he is so proud of. At this, Peter, James, & John were absolutely overwhelmed and fell to the ground. Then Jesus comforted them and led them back on their journey… and a remarkable journey at that.
So what is it we’re supposed to get from this story? What is transfiguration? Miriam Webster dictionary defines transfiguration as “a change in form or appearance; a metamorphosis; an exalting, glorifying, or spiritual change.” So transfiguration Sunday marks a moment of spiritual change in Christ. Something big happened on that mountaintop and we mark and honor it. But just as Peter wanted to stay and the moment and found out he couldn’t, we must also recognize that transfiguration Sunday is but a moment that points to something bigger going on. Transfiguration Sunday is about a moment in Christ’s life. But I think it tells us something about our lives as well.
To be transfigured is a moment in time that changes us. It’s a moment that stays with us in ways that we remember. It reveals something of who we are, who we’ll become, or sometimes even what we don’t want to be. To be transfigured is to be open to the moment and letting what that moment has touch us and leave us forever transformed. To be transfigured is but a moment in time but a moment that we can use to push us forward and compel us onward as we gather the energy and direction that it gives us. And I want to suggest that transfiguration happens in our everyday lives.
So as I thought about transfiguration this week, I spent some time looking thinking about how we’ve tried to capture this biblical moment, the transfiguration of Christ as well as how we experience transfiguration in our everyday lives. So, I want to share with you a PowerPoint of some images that capture the transfiguration in many different forms.
I could fill a whole afternoon with artwork where we’ve tried to capture the transfiguration of Christ. But here is just a sampling of a few… like this one from the 1300’s were we see the climax of the scene.
… or this one from the 1800’s
… or this one from a more modern time.
Even look at the cover of your bulletin. Artwork from this event has captured our minds and imaginations for a long time.
But capturing the transfiguration of Christ is only worthy if we can also capture it in our own lives. So here are some images that may resonate with you on a more personal level. Images of moments that transform and give our lives deeper meaning.
See, sometimes we have moments were we realize that we are but small players in something so much larger than us, yet we’re called to be a part of them…
we look on not sure what this moment will bring but we know it will forever change things.
Some moments speak for themselves.
There are moments we never imagined but once we’re there, we rise to the occasion
… there are the moments made in the midst of sorrow
… and the sorrow made better by a comforter.
There are the moments that a whole country will never forget
… and the moments that a family would not be the same without.
There are moments we could not have imagined
… and connections that will have meaning for a long time to come.
Transfiguration is about the experience, the understanding.
Some moments call us to something bigger and hold out a vision
… while others make dreams come true.
There are moments of liberation and pure joy
… and joy
… and joy
… and joy. Joy that takes hold of us and makes us the people we want to be, children of God.
There are moments of triumph to get where we’ve never been
… moments of getting back up when we’re down.
Moments made beautiful by the friends around us.
Moments of attaining what we always wanted
… worked for
… ran after.
Moments no one imagined for us
… moments only before held in our imaginations.
And there are times when no one thought it could be done.
And as we prepare to go into Lent, we should consider all the moments of self reflection where we see beyond the shadows into who we are
… We take who we are to God
… And we climb to new mountaintops literally but mostly figuratively.
We wait for new dawn to show us something new
… something amazing
… or sometimes something quiet yet bold.
And from those Lenten experiences we have new found curiosity about God’s creation
… we wonder what could be or become of our lives.
And we take these moments with us, setting out on a journey, not knowing what will happen and not always realizing that we’ve been in the midst of something transforming.
We journey not knowing what moments will come
… and not always having the answers in those moments
… but always knowing that those moments will forever be with us compelling and moving us forward.
Sisters and brothers, Jesus went to the mountaintop and was transformed in that moment but he came back down the mountain and used the blessing of his father and energy of the experience to compel him forward. We must also do the same. Our lives are filled with moments that impact us and change us spiritually. Our job is not to build houses and try to live in that moment but rather to make a life where the moments lead us and let God lead us to something even more extraordinary. Amen.
Good morning. Today is transfiguration Sunday and if you’ve spent much time at church in your life, you’ve probably heard more than a few sermons from the gospel texts that recount this event in Jesus’ life. It’s a dramatic scene of Jesus, Peter, James, & John climbing to the mountain top. Then Jesus’ face shines with brilliant light and his well-worn robe suddenly glistens with a brilliant whiteness. As if this isn’t startling enough, suddenly Moses and Elijah appear and start talking with Jesus. Now, I don’t know how Jesus stayed so calm in the midst of all this but Peter, James, & John were filled with awe. Peter wanted to stay there and live in the glory of the moment forever. But he had barely said that before the voice of God booms from a cloud affirming Jesus as his son that he is so proud of. At this, Peter, James, & John were absolutely overwhelmed and fell to the ground. Then Jesus comforted them and led them back on their journey… and a remarkable journey at that.
So what is it we’re supposed to get from this story? What is transfiguration? Miriam Webster dictionary defines transfiguration as “a change in form or appearance; a metamorphosis; an exalting, glorifying, or spiritual change.” So transfiguration Sunday marks a moment of spiritual change in Christ. Something big happened on that mountaintop and we mark and honor it. But just as Peter wanted to stay and the moment and found out he couldn’t, we must also recognize that transfiguration Sunday is but a moment that points to something bigger going on. Transfiguration Sunday is about a moment in Christ’s life. But I think it tells us something about our lives as well.
To be transfigured is a moment in time that changes us. It’s a moment that stays with us in ways that we remember. It reveals something of who we are, who we’ll become, or sometimes even what we don’t want to be. To be transfigured is to be open to the moment and letting what that moment has touch us and leave us forever transformed. To be transfigured is but a moment in time but a moment that we can use to push us forward and compel us onward as we gather the energy and direction that it gives us. And I want to suggest that transfiguration happens in our everyday lives.
So as I thought about transfiguration this week, I spent some time looking thinking about how we’ve tried to capture this biblical moment, the transfiguration of Christ as well as how we experience transfiguration in our everyday lives. So, I want to share with you a PowerPoint of some images that capture the transfiguration in many different forms.
I could fill a whole afternoon with artwork where we’ve tried to capture the transfiguration of Christ. But here is just a sampling of a few… like this one from the 1300’s were we see the climax of the scene.
But capturing the transfiguration of Christ is only worthy if we can also capture it in our own lives. So here are some images that may resonate with you on a more personal level. Images of moments that transform and give our lives deeper meaning.
See, sometimes we have moments were we realize that we are but small players in something so much larger than us, yet we’re called to be a part of them…
There are moments we never imagined but once we’re there, we rise to the occasion
There are the moments that a whole country will never forget
There are moments we could not have imagined
Some moments call us to something bigger and hold out a vision
There are moments of liberation and pure joy
There are moments of triumph to get where we’ve never been
And as we prepare to go into Lent, we should consider all the moments of self reflection where we see beyond the shadows into who we are
We wait for new dawn to show us something new
And from those Lenten experiences we have new found curiosity about God’s creation
And we take these moments with us, setting out on a journey, not knowing what will happen and not always realizing that we’ve been in the midst of something transforming.
We journey not knowing what moments will come
Sisters and brothers, Jesus went to the mountaintop and was transformed in that moment but he came back down the mountain and used the blessing of his father and energy of the experience to compel him forward. We must also do the same. Our lives are filled with moments that impact us and change us spiritually. Our job is not to build houses and try to live in that moment but rather to make a life where the moments lead us and let God lead us to something even more extraordinary. Amen.
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