Pastor Bob and the Seed Group singers
Today is Transfiguration Sunday. The Seed Group is back again. They open our
service with some songs. Concluding with Jeremy leading us in Light of the Lighthouse by Blind Willie Johnson
We read Psalm 99 and then LUKE 9:28-36
(37-43) . Following the gospel, Jeremy leads us in the original camp meeting version of
Glory, Glory Hallelujah. "Oh! Brothers will you meet me(3X)/On
Canaan's happy shore?"[1] and chorus "There we'll shout and give him
glory (3x)/For glory is his own";[2] this
developed into the familiar "Glory,
glory, hallelujah" chorus by the 1850s.
And then Jenna
does a reading from Zora Neal Hurston’s Their
Were Watching God where the town celebrates the arrival of the first street
lamp in a colored (sic) town.
and we all sing
Jesus the Light of the World…
And then time for reflection
TRANSFIGURATION SUNDAY is one of those “gateway” Sundays…like Christ the King
(Advent), Ascension (Pentecost) It marks the culmination of a season, a time,
before a new one begins…
This marks the end of the
season of light…began with
epiphany…the star, the aha! moment…the
moment of getting it… the narrative
since Christmas has followed Jesus’ journey of self-discovery, and in parallel,
our journey of discovery of our own
calls…so we pause here…before a time of self-reflection, self-examination that
will come with Lent..
And the topic is transfiguration, which defined is ….
a complete change of form or
appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state.
Well,
alright then…
Transfiguration…words
like
Shining and Glory
(from the latin Gloria ) that word
alone has seven meanings…from high praise to God to magnificent beauty…
What is in the story?
Jesus on a mountaintop with Moses and
Elijah…the law and the prophets…also Moses “shines” …Elijah is carried
up into the heavens …(Elijah still has the capacity to come around…at brises…and Passover , we save a seat for him..and well, any time…)
How do the friends respond? Peter, always
impulsive, wants to make the moment last…build three booths, so the guys can
hang out…stay on the mountaintop…but they have to go back to work and
immediately, Jesus has to deal with a demon…
When March madness ends in April with the
national basketball championship, the song they always play with the
tournaments’ video highlights is…one
shining moment..
SO what?
1. We all
have those moments of glory. At least I hope we do…we don’t want to let go…the
last night of Antigona, I almost
cried as I watched each moment for the last time..wanting to hold on…I’ve had
services here where I just wanted it to
end there…some recent Christmases., eg…but the next day, there;s work to be
done,…you have to go back and start again…whoever wins the Suoer Bowl, next July
will have to start all over again.
As I watch the videos of my first grand child,
I remembered the birth of his father, that Is my first child…I want to tell him hold onto these moments, they’re
gone so fast… for just a moment, think
clearly in your head of your moment…what did that feel like?
2. This
story is in 3 of the gospels…but only Luke speaks of the apostles weighed
down with sleep….why? These guys
are not tired, they are exhausted..physically,
mentally, emotionally….and Jesus keeps trying to tell them the worst is still ahead…
Luke is saying what it’s
like…you solve one problem another one comes up..you fix one part of this old
building, another issue appears..just when you think a moment of financial peace Is here, something always happens….you
come back for a great family trip to
Dublin,with two full week s of August
left to get ahead …and you fall and break five ribs…your day is carefully
planned and one thing after another goes
wrong…you just want to sleep..or stay in bed…I almost feel Luke is thinking
about depression…
But because they manage to
stay awake, they catch this moment of
glory…
When you feel like you can't
go on…,.open your eyes wider…see what you
see…
3. Glory
and transfiguration
Glory, glory halleliujah!...Jeremy gave us the ur source. of that familiar song.and I
can tell you no one knows more about that sing than Jeremy…I still remember his
play…all the variations, and the deviled eggs…but that’s another story….
Julia Ward Howe used this song fpr the battle
hymn….I raised eyebrows the first time I used it on this Sunday….it was this
verse..
In the
beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free*,[14]
While God is marching on.
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free*,[14]
While God is marching on.
We’ve moved away from it’s
militarism, no longer in our hymnbooks…but…for
her the apocalyptic moment was apotheosis of the abolition movement and her
sense of an apocalyptic moment in the struggle for human freedom…
Did you know Lincoln suffered
from depression? What they called melancholia? Only when he saw a cause beyond
himself, when slavery moved from a political issue to a sense of call
could move beyond his depression….
Once we have seen or
experienced those transfiguring moments,
they are always there…their memory keep
us going…and that going becomes more than
going, which can only leave us exhausted, if we have a vision to move to
…our personal dream or a cause beyond ourselves…
So …preparation for Lent…this
week, before Ash Wednesday, write down your shining moment…see it clearly…have
your own mardi gras, or celebrate with others…and then on ash Wednesday,
make list of the things that weigh you down, exhaust you, make you want to stay
in bed…. And pray about them or meditate on them for 40 days…and then I’ll tell
you what happens next….
Following the reflection, we
share Eucharist together. And the service concludes with another selection of songs
by our group, it's good to feel them moving closer to us. And then time for a benediction and Amen.
****
FIRST READING EXODUS 34:29-35
29Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came
down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses
did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with
God.30When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his
face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 31But
Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation
returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. 32Afterward all the
Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had
spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33When Moses had finished
speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34but whenever
Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off,
until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had
been commanded, 35the Israelites would see the face of Moses,
that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face
again, until he went in to speak with him.
GOSPEL LUKE 9:28-36 (37-43)
28Now about eight
days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter
and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29And
while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes
became dazzling white. 30Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and
Elijah, talking to him. 31They appeared in glory and were
speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32Now Peter and his companions
were weighed down with
sleep; but since
they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two
men who stood with him. 33Just as they were leaving him,
Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make
three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" — not
knowing what he said. 34While he was saying this, a cloud came
and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35Then
from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen
to him!" 36When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found
alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things
they had seen.
37On the next day, when they had come down from
the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38Just then a man from the
crowd shouted, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only
child. 39Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he
shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will
scarcely leave him. 40I begged your disciples to cast it out,
but they could not." 41Jesus answered, "You faithless
and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?
Bring your son here." 42While he was coming, the demon
dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit,
healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43And all were
astounded at the greatness of God.
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