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| Eugene got out the good China |
Back in New York City.....cold morning walk to Beverley. Snow on the ground. On the edge of Lent. Today's reflection....
A week ago, I left New York City at 7:30 AM...it was 40' and steady cold rain. At 12 noon I was at a ball park in Florida in 80' sunny weather. Late yesterday afternoon, it was 80' and sunny when I got to the airport and when I landed here...well, you know...
Its a little hard keeping up with the changes. A couple of days ago, in Florida, I forgot what month it was. .Felt like spring was over already.
Time. Seasons. The cycles by which we pass through a year. Our liturgy of time, we might say. And I've always been fascinated by the church year. It begins in Advent, preparing for Christmas. Goes through Christmastide and passes into Epiphany, then Lent, then Easter, then the long season of Pentecost til we've arrived at Advent once again.
There are some special gateway days that open a door to a new season like Reign of Christ Sunday (Christ the King) into Advent or today, Transfiguration Sunday, the Sunday that opens the door to Lent...
We've been in the season of light...of epiphany, the season of light...so we need one more burst of light before we enter into the quiet, darker season of Lent...
So what's going on in this story? What does it mean for us? Today?
SO Jesus goes up the mountain, to pray, with his 3 man crew, his besties, Peter, James and John...and all of a sudden they see Jesus transfigured....interesting word...not just changed ... that would be transformed...but changed into something more special, more beautiful, more spiritual, more holy....
...and it was sooo beautiful Peter didn't want to leave...He wants to build 3 booths.. I love Peter, like no impulse control whatsoever..can you blame him? Have you ever had your own mountain top experience? You just don't want it to end...Hey, it was no mountaintop, but I didn't want to leave Florida..just build me a booth on the beach...
And then that voice appears again...that voice from the Baptism..this is my son, my beloved, do what he tells you to..and then, there is ONLY Jesus....and they head back down...and IMMEDIATELY Jesus has to confront the power of evil ...you just can't stay on the mountaintop..Now that he's got his job description, it's time to get to work..and all they see is Jesus because he now, like I said, embodies it all...
And what does any of that mean for us?
Well, we could use a blast of light, that's for sure....I don't need to tell you these are troubling times, disturbing times...it feels like it's late and getting darker everyday...and so we need to be transfigured ourselves ... to look up and see only Jesus shining on and be transfigured ourselves..
nice as it feels, we can't stay in the church...we've got to get back to the world....
and? the other place I remember transfigured from is from Juliet Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
...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;
While God is marching on.....
Written in the dark days of the civil war...she is says that Jesus has a glory that transfigures US...I would change one word...
As He died to make men holy,
Let us LIVE to make all free;
That helps me understand how we make transfiguration real...
I mentioned Abraham, Martin and John at the beginning...each of them was transfigured...
Lincoln had to see ending slavery not as a political problem to be solved but as a moral calling to which he was responsible...(ultimately this is what saved him from his bouts of melancholia, what we now call depression..)
All Martin King wanted to do was be a scholar...he figured there were a lot of black preachers...he wanted to be respected for his intellect...well, God had other plans...
And John? Like Abraham before him he had to see the Civil Rights movement as not representing a political problem but a moral calling...it would take Lyndon Johnson to finish the job..even at the consequence ending the support of the south for Democrats for at least a generation..
We have to, like the voice says, Listen to Jesus, do what he says...listen for the work that is our work and be about doing it..
and that's good reflection material for Lent...
what is my calling? what so yours? how can we help each other?
That's transfiguration..
Like the old song says....
Shine on me, yes shine on me...shine on me, shine on me, let the light of the light house shine . on me..
We share our communion, Make our prayers. In the social hall, Eugene has set out the good china. Geraldine tells me the story of the beloved pastor Kissoon, immigrant from the Indies, who gave over 20 years of his life to the church. Most of them "unofficial" while Presbytery's gatekeepers struggled over his status. Sometimes institutions just have to recognize what God had already done....
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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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