Year A
\u00a0Exodus 24:12-18
\u00a0Psalm 2
\u00a02 Peter 1:16-21
\u00a0Matthew 17:1-9<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We began our Epiphany journey on January 6\u2026 with the coming of the Wise Men\u2026 and the journey we’ve been on since then\u2026 has been one of increasing light\u2026 and it culminates today\u2026 in light that is dazzling\u2026 ] and while the focal point of today’s story is a transfigured Jesus\u2026 it’s actually less about Jesus’ identity\u2026 and is more a story about what it means to be a disciple\u2026 ] symbolically\u2026 the high mountain represents the human ascent to God\u2026 and\u2026 spoiler alert<\/em>\u2026 if a cloud descends while you’re high up on a mountain\u2026 then it usually means that you and God have connected\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so Jesus invites Peter\u2026 James\u2026 and John\u2026 his inner circle\u2026 to accompany him\u2026 not just to a set of geographic coordinates at a certain altitude\u2026 but to experience an inner truth about Jesus\u2026 ] Jesus’ inner reality\u2026 his relationship with the Father\u2026 permeates his entire being\u2026 and when he is transfigured\u2026 this invisible and spiritual relationship\u2026 radiates out and becomes visible in dazzling white clothes\u2026 and Jesus’ face\u2026 the part of his body which can be seen\u2026 shines\u2026] it may be\u2026 as the H1982 in hymn #423 and the ELW in hymn #834 claim\u2026 that God dwells\u2026 in light inaccessible\u2026 hid from our eyes<\/em>\u2026 but in Jesus\u2026 this light becomes approachable\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today’s conversation takes place on the mountaintop\u2026 but what is talked about… is God’s mission down on Earth\u2026 ] and Moses and Elijah are associated with mountains too\u2026 in the course of their lawmaking and prophetic careers\u2026 they return to the mountain more than once\u2026 to find both illumination and inspiration\u2026 they ascend the mountain to learn of God’s direction for human affairs down on the plains\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our reading from Exodus\u2026 and at God’s call\u2026 Moses goes up on the mountain to receive the Law and Commandments written on tablets of stone\u2026 to help guide what happens among us\u2026 and God’s presence\u2026 God’s cloud\u2026 covered the mountain\u2026 for six days\u2026 and on the seventh day\u2026 God called Moses from within the cloud\u2026 and Moses entered the cloud and remained there for forty days and forty nights\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n And then there’s the story about Elijah\u2026 who after his triumph over the priests of Baal\u2026 is running for his life because Jezebel is out to kill him\u2026 and after being fed twice by an angel\u2026 he makes his way to Mt. Horeb\u2026 also known as Mt. Sinai\u2026 where God says\u2026 go out\u2026 and stand on the mountain\u2026 ] and it’s not in the wind\u2026 or the earthquake\u2026 or the fire\u2026 that Elijah perceives God’s presence\u2026 but in the sheer silence\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n And as Peter\u2026 James\u2026 and John\u2026 experience Moses, Elijah, and Jesus talking together\u2026 they experience Jesus’ seamless continuity and embodiment of the Law and the Prophets\u2026 and it has made them more insightful and more amenable \u2026 and so Peter defers to and asks Jesus\u2026 if Jesus would like Peter to build three dwellings\u2026 three lightweight tents\u2026 in which the three of them might continue their conversation\u2026 but Peter is directed towards outer activity\u2026 and not inner silence\u2026 and even before he’s finished speaking… a bright cloud overshadowed them\u2026 and a voice from the cloud said\u2026 This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ll remember that this is what the voice from heaven said at Jesus’ baptism\u2026 except this time\u2026 God said\u2026 Listen to him\u2026 ] Listen to him\u2026 and in order to really listen\u2026 you can’t be thinking about what you want to say next\u2026 you must be quiet\u2026 so you can hear God\u2026 you must\u2026 as Ps. 46:10 says\u2026 Be still and know that God is God<\/em>\u2026 you must be receptive to the inner workings of the Spirit\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n It used to be that people on different sides of any aisle\u2026 could hold opposing positions on certain policy issues\u2026 and not only discuss them\u2026 . but still go out for a beer afterwards\u2026 or invite each others’ families over for a cookout\u2026 that’s become more difficult in our time\u2026 we don’t really want to listen\u2026 and speaking broadly\u2026 too many have come to believe that their opinion matters as much as someone else’s scholarship\u2026 for many of us\u2026 there’s an unconscious belief\u2026 maybe an underlying fear\u2026 that even just listening to you\u2026 validates your perspective\u2026 and since I dislike your perspective\u2026 I don’t think you deserve my ear\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Windsor Report was published on October 18, 2004\u2026 it was a report of the Anglican Communion\u2026 and expressed concern over the consecration of openly gay priest Gene Robinson\u2026 as Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire\u2026 ] what followed were a few years of pretty contentious diocesan conventions\u2026 and at one local forum held in the Diocese of Southern Ohio… in the spring of 2006\u2026 a month or so before General Convention was held there\u2026 the Rev. Ron Baird\u2026 a theologically conservative priest\u2026 who served a pretty theologically conservative congregation\u2026 got up during open mike time… and expressed his frustration at not feeling heard\u2026 at not being seen\u2026 at having his position summarily dismissed\u2026 and later on\u2026 as people were milling about and leaving\u2026 I went over to Ron\u2026 and said that as a gay man\u2026 I didn’t always feel heard or seen either\u2026 that too often my position felt dismissed\u2026 and so maybe it would be a good idea if we listened to each other\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n What followed were three conversations in June\u2026 August\u2026 and December 2006\u2026 and as Matthew 18:16 suggests\u2026 there were two others who accompanied Ron\u2026 and two who accompanied me\u2026 and became part of the conversation\u2026 and we each learned more about why the other thought and felt as they did\u2026 in the end\u2026 Ron and his congregation left the Episcopal Church\u2026 but it was good to become vulnerable\u2026 and to tell our truths\u2026 even if our voices shook\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n And it can be daunting to have this kind of conversation\u2026 but since we believe that it’s through the work of the Holy Spirit that hearts and minds are changed\u2026 then if we don’t have and invite the Spirit into these conversations\u2026 it becomes that much harder for God’s will\u2026 whatever it is\u2026 to find expression in our lives\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the mountaintop\u2026 Martin Luther King, Jr\u2026 saw the potential of Transfiguration\u2026 of how God\u2019s word\u2026 and redemption\u2026 and love\u2026 could change the course of history\u2026 but since the church\u2026 which is supposed to lead by example\u2026 is capable of this\u2026 it can be no surprise that this other kind of siloing\u2026 is but one of the systemic evils against which we must contend\u2026 ] we all want that mountaintop view\u2026 but sometimes we want to get there without any of the climbing\u2026 sometimes we want to take a cablecar to the top so we can be Transfigured without any effort\u2026 so we can be changed even while we hold on to ideas and beliefs which keep God’s light from shining through us\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while baptism is an ancient\u2026 water purification rite\u2026 and provides a kind of membership into the church\u2026 it doesn’t make us disciples\u2026 that is a choice we must make\u2026 to mature in our faith and become spiritual adults\u2026 discipleship opens us up to Truth\u2026 and Truth changes us\u2026 it\u2019s blinding light can scare us so much\u2026 that we too become frozen by fear\u2026 as the three disciples were\u2026 but then God\u2019s warm touch comes\u2026 and says\u2026 Get up\u2026 and do not be afraid<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we enter Lent\u2026 I pray we seek forgiveness for having resisted the prophet\u2019s voices\u2026 and turn back to doing what God calls us to do\u2026 that we kindle a fire in our hearts and in our bones\u2026 so that Christ\u2019s grace may soften any of the rigid positions we hold in our heads\u2026 and that we invite and welcome God\u2019s touch\u2026 so that we may be Transfigured too\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year A\u00a0Exodus 24:12-18\u00a0Psalm 2\u00a02 Peter 1:16-21\u00a0Matthew 17:1-9 May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026 We began our Epiphany journey on January 6\u2026 with the coming of the Wise Men\u2026 and the journey we’ve been on since then\u2026 has been one of increasing light\u2026 and it culminates today\u2026 in light that is dazzling\u2026 ] and while the focal point of today’s story is a transfigured Jesus\u2026 it’s actually less about Jesus’ identity\u2026 and is more a story about what it means to be a disciple\u2026 ] symbolically\u2026 the high mountain represents the human ascent to God\u2026 and\u2026 spoiler alert\u2026 if a cloud descends while you’re high up on a mountain\u2026 then it usually means that you and God have connected\u2026 And so Jesus invites Peter\u2026 James\u2026 and John\u2026 his inner circle\u2026 to accompany him\u2026 not just to a set of geographic coordinates at a certain altitude\u2026 but to experience an inner truth about Jesus\u2026 ] Jesus’ inner reality\u2026 his relationship with the Father\u2026 permeates his entire being\u2026 and when he is transfigured\u2026 this invisible and spiritual relationship\u2026 radiates out and becomes visible in dazzling white clothes\u2026 and Jesus’ face\u2026 the part of his body which can be seen\u2026 shines\u2026] it may be\u2026 as the H1982 in hymn #423 and the ELW in hymn #834 claim\u2026 that God dwells\u2026 in light inaccessible\u2026 hid from our eyes\u2026 but in Jesus\u2026 this light becomes approachable\u2026 Today’s conversation takes place on the mountaintop\u2026 but what is talked about… is God’s mission down on Earth\u2026 ] and Moses and Elijah are associated with mountains too\u2026 in the course of their lawmaking and prophetic careers\u2026 they return to the mountain more than once\u2026 to find both illumination and inspiration\u2026 they ascend the mountain to learn of God’s direction for human affairs down on the plains\u2026 In our reading from Exodus\u2026 and at God’s call\u2026 Moses goes up on the mountain to receive the Law and Commandments written on tablets of stone\u2026 to help guide what happens among us\u2026 and God’s presence\u2026 God’s cloud\u2026 covered the mountain\u2026 for six days\u2026 and on the seventh day\u2026 God called Moses from within the cloud\u2026 and Moses entered the cloud and remained there for forty days and forty nights\u2026 And then there’s the story about Elijah\u2026 who after his triumph over the priests of Baal\u2026 is running for his life because Jezebel is out to kill him\u2026 and after being fed twice by an angel\u2026 he makes his way to Mt. Horeb\u2026 also known as Mt. Sinai\u2026 where God says\u2026 go out\u2026 and stand on the mountain\u2026 ] and it’s not in the wind\u2026 or the earthquake\u2026 or the fire\u2026 that Elijah perceives God’s presence\u2026 but in the sheer silence\u2026 And as Peter\u2026 James\u2026 and John\u2026 experience Moses, Elijah, and Jesus talking together\u2026 they experience Jesus’ seamless continuity and embodiment of the Law and the Prophets\u2026 and it has made them more insightful and more amenable \u2026 and so Peter defers to and asks Jesus\u2026 if Jesus would like Peter to build three dwellings\u2026 three lightweight tents\u2026 in which the three of them might continue their conversation\u2026 but Peter is directed towards outer activity\u2026 and not inner silence\u2026 and even before he’s finished speaking… a bright cloud overshadowed them\u2026 and a voice from the cloud said\u2026 This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him! You’ll remember that this is what the voice from heaven said at Jesus’ baptism\u2026 except this time\u2026 God said\u2026 Listen to him\u2026 ] Listen to him\u2026 and in order to really listen\u2026 you can’t be thinking about what you want to say next\u2026 you must be quiet\u2026 so you can hear God\u2026 you must\u2026 as Ps. 46:10 says\u2026 Be still and know that God is God\u2026 you must be receptive to the inner workings of the Spirit\u2026 It used to be that people on different sides of any aisle\u2026 could hold opposing positions on certain policy issues\u2026 and not only discuss them\u2026 . but still go out for a beer afterwards\u2026 or invite each others’ families over for a cookout\u2026 that’s become more difficult in our time\u2026 we don’t really want to listen\u2026 and speaking broadly\u2026 too many have come to believe that their opinion matters as much as someone else’s scholarship\u2026 for many of us\u2026 there’s an unconscious belief\u2026 maybe an underlying fear\u2026 that even just listening to you\u2026 validates your perspective\u2026 and since I dislike your perspective\u2026 I don’t think you deserve my ear\u2026 The Windsor Report was published on October 18, 2004\u2026 it was a report of the Anglican Communion\u2026 and expressed concern over the consecration of openly gay priest Gene Robinson\u2026 as Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire\u2026 ] what followed were a few years of pretty contentious diocesan conventions\u2026 and at one local forum held in the Diocese of Southern Ohio… in the spring of 2006\u2026 a month or so before General Convention was held there\u2026 the Rev. Ron Baird\u2026 a theologically conservative priest\u2026 who served a pretty theologically conservative congregation\u2026 got up during open mike time… and expressed his frustration at not feeling heard\u2026 at not being seen\u2026 at having his position summarily dismissed\u2026 and later on\u2026 as people were milling about and leaving\u2026 I went over to Ron\u2026 and said that as a gay man\u2026 I didn’t always feel heard or seen either\u2026 that too often my position felt dismissed\u2026 and so maybe it would be a good idea if we listened to each other\u2026 What followed were three conversations in June\u2026 August\u2026 and December 2006\u2026 and as Matthew 18:16 suggests\u2026 there were two others who accompanied Ron\u2026 and two who accompanied me\u2026 and became part of the conversation\u2026 and we each learned more about why the other thought and felt as they did\u2026 in the end\u2026 Ron and his congregation left the Episcopal Church\u2026 but it was good to become vulnerable\u2026 and to tell our truths\u2026 even if our voices shook\u2026 And it can be daunting to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[224,86],"class_list":["post-1983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","tag-discipleship","tag-transfiguration"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1983"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1984,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983\/revisions\/1984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}