Year B
2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When my daughter was about four-years-old\u2026 she had one of those orange and yellow\u2026 foot-propelled\u2026 Little Tikes toy cars\u2026 she loved it\u2026 because she was able to pretend to drive\u2026 she was able to pretend being grown-up\u2026 doing what grown-ups did\u2026 drive like her mom and I did\u2026 and she’d go up and down the sidewalk\u2026 back and forth\u2026 honking its make-believe horn\u2026 and using its make-believe turn signals\u2026 or sometimes\u2026 she’d stand in the driver’s seat of the car we drove\u2026 and would pretend to steer\u2026 and go around corners\u2026 and speed up and slow down\u2026 it was learning by imitation\u2026 learning by seeing and learning by doing\u2026 in small moves\u2026 and really\u2026 as they get older\u2026 there’s some real delight in seeing our children learn to walk\u2026 to speak\u2026 to tie their shoes\u2026 learn to tell time and spell\u2026 and read\u2026 learn to help in the kitchen\u2026 keep their rooms clean and help around the house\u2026 learn to contribute to their community in other ways\u2026 learning the many things they’ll need to do\u2026 as they become young adults\u2026 and then just simply adults\u2026 able to be in healthy relationships with others\u2026 able to be role models\u2026 and teachers\u2026 and mentors\u2026 to others\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prophet Elijah\u2026 a Tishbite\u2026 is first introduced to us not in today’s reading\u2026 but in 1Kings 17:1\u2026 and Elisha\u2026 the son of Abel-meholah\u2026 is first introduced to us a few chapters later in 1Kings 19:16\u2026 Elijah does not anoint Elisha as God commands\u2026 but instead throws his mantle over Elisha while he plows\u2026 the meaning is the same though\u2026 you have been chosen by God for this ministry\u2026 selected as my student… my prot\u00e9g\u00e9\u2026 as my successor<\/em>\u2026 but Elisha says\u2026 Let me kiss my father and my mother first\u2026 and then<\/u> I will follow you<\/em>\u2026 and Elijah replies\u2026 in effect\u2026 Oh no\u2026 what have I done<\/em>\u2026 Elisha’s request indicates that he does not yet have the determination to be Elijah’s successor\u2026 and Elijah’s response suggests that he wants nothing to do with disciples who are not completely focused on the task at hand\u2026 but when Elisha slaughters his animals\u2026 and cooks the meat\u2026 it’s an irrevocable act\u2026 indicating that he is willing to make a decisive break with his past life\u2026 the text doesn’t specify that he made those goodbyes\u2026 but after he feeds the people\u2026 Elisha follows Elijah\u2026 and for at least ten years\u2026 he studied with and learned from him\u2026 and in today’s reading\u2026 they travel from Gilgal\u2026 to Bethel\u2026 to Jericho\u2026 and to the Jordan river\u2026 where in a whirlwind\u2026 which signifies God’s presence\u2026 Elijah is taken up bodily\u2026 into heaven\u2026 and v. 13 tells us that Elisha picked up the mantle that had fallen from Elijah\u2026 now on the surface level\u2026 a mantle is like a shawl\u2026 but in this case\u2026 Elijah’s mantle more deeply represents empowerment\u2026 a growing into one’s calling\u2026 and a mantle from God conveys that one has been given a holy assignment\u2026 and that they have the authority to carry it out\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so Jesus takes three disciples\u2026 who had been with him\u2026 watching and learning\u2026 up a high mountain\u2026 away from their daily distractions\u2026 to what we call a thin place\u2026 which according to Celtic Christianity\u2026 is one of those places\u2026 where the distance between Heaven and Earth collapses\u2026 and there\u2026 Moses and Elijah appear as disciples\u2026 they are talking to Jesus\u2026 Jesus is not consulting them\u2026 and while the disciples don’t overhear the conversation\u2026 it’s enough for them to know that the Moses of the Law\u2026 and the Elijah of the Prophets\u2026 who represent the whole Jewish tradition\u2026 are involved\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while Peter gushes that it’s good for them to be there\u2026 at the same time\u2026 it may be that he’s not quite sure what they’ve gotten themselves into\u2026 Peter may be thinking they’re in over their heads\u2026 but also\u2026 like Elisha\u2026 wondering whether some proverbial bridges need to be burned\u2026 because what was unfolding around them was beyond the comfortable boundaries of their consciousness\u2026 while this thin place offered something unique\u2026 a tremendous mystery\u2026 it was also shot through with trepidation\u2026 and in this experience of divine awe\u2026 he doesn’t quite know what to say\u2026 ] and while being there then\u2026 might sustain his and the others’ commitment to Jesus\u2026 while it may be like a mantle placed around their shoulders\u2026 it does little\u2026 in the moment at least\u2026 to increase their comprehension of all that it implies\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n One tradition says that Jesus allowed Peter\u2026 James\u2026 and John to see his glory\u2026 in order to strengthen their faith against the dark days ahead\u2026 and because Jesus refers to his resurrection from the dead in v. 9\u2026 and ordered the three disciples to tell no one about what they have seen\u2026 it has a direct bearing on the upcoming events of Holy Week and Easter\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n We’re on a cusp today\u2026 on the cusp of Epiphany and Lent\u2026 of light and penitence\u2026 of revelation and repentance\u2026 and the Transfiguration is another epiphany\u2026 a showing… or revealing\u2026 of Christ’s identity as God and savior\u2026 St. Leo writes: The great reason for this transfiguration… was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of his disciples\u2026 and to prevent the humiliation of his voluntary sufferings\u2026 from disturbing the faith of those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like Peter\u2026 and James\u2026 and John\u2026 and all of the disciples\u2026 we’re not here to simply marvel at what happened so long ago\u2026 not here to simply be silent witnesses\u2026 and we’re certainly not here to comprehend the Transfiguration’s incomprehensibility\u2026 we’re on a cusp today\u2026 on the cusp of spiritual childhood and spiritual maturity\u2026 of selfishness and selflessness\u2026 of ignoring what’s going on around us so we don’t have to change the systems which keep God’s children oppressed or in need\u2026 or hitting head-on those who are invested in not changing them\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some ways\u2026 too many of us are like four-year-olds\u2026 driving up and down the sidewalks in our Little Tikes cars\u2026 not wanting to grow up\u2026 and really going nowhere\u2026 in some ways we’re like reluctant prophets\u2026 who have received the mantle of baptism\u2026 but who are either looking for ways to remain at home\u2026 or prolong our departures so we don’t have to venture outside of our comfort zones\u2026 in some ways\u2026 we seek those thin places\u2026 where the distance between Heaven and Earth collapses\u2026 but when we experience the light of God’s glory\u2026 our words to describe it will always fall short\u2026 they might not even make sense\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And as they were coming down the mountain\u2026 Jesus ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead\u2026 so they kept the matter to themselves… questioning what this rising from the dead could mean\u2026 they had no point of reference for this\u2026 it was beyond their experience\u2026 and even now\u2026 the how of it\u2026 is beyond our comprehension\u2026 all we need to do then\u2026 is forgo proclaiming ourselves\u2026 and heed the voice from the cloud\u2026 and listen to\u2026 and let Jesus teach us\u2026 and we will be strengthened\u2026 and changed into his likeness\u2026 from glory to glory\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year B 2 Kings 2:1-12 Psalm 50:1-6 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9 May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026 When my daughter was about four-years-old\u2026 she had one of those orange and yellow\u2026 foot-propelled\u2026 Little Tikes toy cars\u2026 she loved it\u2026 because she was able to pretend to drive\u2026 she was able to pretend being grown-up\u2026 doing what grown-ups did\u2026 drive like her mom and I did\u2026 and she’d go up and down the sidewalk\u2026 back and forth\u2026 honking its make-believe horn\u2026 and using its make-believe turn signals\u2026 or sometimes\u2026 she’d stand in the driver’s seat of the car we drove\u2026 and would pretend to steer\u2026 and go around corners\u2026 and speed up and slow down\u2026 it was learning by imitation\u2026 learning by seeing and learning by doing\u2026 in small moves\u2026 and really\u2026 as they get older\u2026 there’s some real delight in seeing our children learn to walk\u2026 to speak\u2026 to tie their shoes\u2026 learn to tell time and spell\u2026 and read\u2026 learn to help in the kitchen\u2026 keep their rooms clean and help around the house\u2026 learn to contribute to their community in other ways\u2026 learning the many things they’ll need to do\u2026 as they become young adults\u2026 and then just simply adults\u2026 able to be in healthy relationships with others\u2026 able to be role models\u2026 and teachers\u2026 and mentors\u2026 to others\u2026 The prophet Elijah\u2026 a Tishbite\u2026 is first introduced to us not in today’s reading\u2026 but in 1Kings 17:1\u2026 and Elisha\u2026 the son of Abel-meholah\u2026 is first introduced to us a few chapters later in 1Kings 19:16\u2026 Elijah does not anoint Elisha as God commands\u2026 but instead throws his mantle over Elisha while he plows\u2026 the meaning is the same though\u2026 you have been chosen by God for this ministry\u2026 selected as my student… my prot\u00e9g\u00e9\u2026 as my successor\u2026 but Elisha says\u2026 Let me kiss my father and my mother first\u2026 and then I will follow you\u2026 and Elijah replies\u2026 in effect\u2026 Oh no\u2026 what have I done\u2026 Elisha’s request indicates that he does not yet have the determination to be Elijah’s successor\u2026 and Elijah’s response suggests that he wants nothing to do with disciples who are not completely focused on the task at hand\u2026 but when Elisha slaughters his animals\u2026 and cooks the meat\u2026 it’s an irrevocable act\u2026 indicating that he is willing to make a decisive break with his past life\u2026 the text doesn’t specify that he made those goodbyes\u2026 but after he feeds the people\u2026 Elisha follows Elijah\u2026 and for at least ten years\u2026 he studied with and learned from him\u2026 and in today’s reading\u2026 they travel from Gilgal\u2026 to Bethel\u2026 to Jericho\u2026 and to the Jordan river\u2026 where in a whirlwind\u2026 which signifies God’s presence\u2026 Elijah is taken up bodily\u2026 into heaven\u2026 and v. 13 tells us that Elisha picked up the mantle that had fallen from Elijah\u2026 now on the surface level\u2026 a mantle is like a shawl\u2026 but in this case\u2026 Elijah’s mantle more deeply represents empowerment\u2026 a growing into one’s calling\u2026 and a mantle from God conveys that one has been given a holy assignment\u2026 and that they have the authority to carry it out\u2026 And so Jesus takes three disciples\u2026 who had been with him\u2026 watching and learning\u2026 up a high mountain\u2026 away from their daily distractions\u2026 to what we call a thin place\u2026 which according to Celtic Christianity\u2026 is one of those places\u2026 where the distance between Heaven and Earth collapses\u2026 and there\u2026 Moses and Elijah appear as disciples\u2026 they are talking to Jesus\u2026 Jesus is not consulting them\u2026 and while the disciples don’t overhear the conversation\u2026 it’s enough for them to know that the Moses of the Law\u2026 and the Elijah of the Prophets\u2026 who represent the whole Jewish tradition\u2026 are involved\u2026 And while Peter gushes that it’s good for them to be there\u2026 at the same time\u2026 it may be that he’s not quite sure what they’ve gotten themselves into\u2026 Peter may be thinking they’re in over their heads\u2026 but also\u2026 like Elisha\u2026 wondering whether some proverbial bridges need to be burned\u2026 because what was unfolding around them was beyond the comfortable boundaries of their consciousness\u2026 while this thin place offered something unique\u2026 a tremendous mystery\u2026 it was also shot through with trepidation\u2026 and in this experience of divine awe\u2026 he doesn’t quite know what to say\u2026 ] and while being there then\u2026 might sustain his and the others’ commitment to Jesus\u2026 while it may be like a mantle placed around their shoulders\u2026 it does little\u2026 in the moment at least\u2026 to increase their comprehension of all that it implies\u2026 One tradition says that Jesus allowed Peter\u2026 James\u2026 and John to see his glory\u2026 in order to strengthen their faith against the dark days ahead\u2026 and because Jesus refers to his resurrection from the dead in v. 9\u2026 and ordered the three disciples to tell no one about what they have seen\u2026 it has a direct bearing on the upcoming events of Holy Week and Easter\u2026 We’re on a cusp today\u2026 on the cusp of Epiphany and Lent\u2026 of light and penitence\u2026 of revelation and repentance\u2026 and the Transfiguration is another epiphany\u2026 a showing… or revealing\u2026 of Christ’s identity as God and savior\u2026 St. Leo writes: The great reason for this transfiguration… was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of his disciples\u2026 and to prevent the humiliation of his voluntary sufferings\u2026 from disturbing the faith of those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed\u2026 Like Peter\u2026 and James\u2026 and John\u2026 and all of the disciples\u2026 we’re not here to simply marvel at what happened so long ago\u2026 not here to simply be silent witnesses\u2026 and we’re certainly not here to comprehend the Transfiguration’s incomprehensibility\u2026 we’re on a cusp today\u2026 on the cusp of spiritual childhood and spiritual maturity\u2026 of selfishness and selflessness\u2026 of ignoring what’s going on around us so we don’t have to change the systems which keep God’s children oppressed or in need\u2026 or hitting head-on those who are 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