Rik's Sermons: February 2016

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Repent and Turn to God!

Lent 3C-RCL 2016

At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."
Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

Today’s New Testament lessons – from Paul and Luke – are difficult and to be honest I would much rather preach from the story from Exodus today – the calling of Moses by God and the burning bush is one of my favorite old testament readings. But I figured if I was struggling with the New Testament readings some of you may struggle with them as well. They are hard to hear. And unfortunately have been misused and mischaracterized by too many.

A common theme both the lesson from Paul and the lesson from Luke is repentance and what does that look like. And frankly when we hear someone say that we need to repent I usually, in by vivid imagination, hear a street corner fire and brimstone preacher telling all those who pass the corner of 10^th and K streets that unless we repent today then we are all going to hell! Is that what these passages are telling us?

And then it gets worse! We hear Paul say that “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” Which I have heard turned into people saying to those who are suffering – “Don’t worry God would not give you more than you can handle.” To which my BS meter goes into overdrive. In part because the inference here is that God is causing your suffering – and to me it sounds like God is causing the suffering for the sport of it. Which is a load of BS. I had other words come to mind but I decided to stick with BS.

Part of the problem here was pointed our by another preacher I study who said that the “you” that Paul used here is plural not single. And he pointed out that our use of this passage saying that an individual is not given more than they can handle should more appropriately be read as the community will not be given more than they can handle – I’m still skeptical but I also see that when bad things happen we are better off in community.

When a good friend had a medical emergency that resulted in a prolonged hospital stay and longer recovery at home it was the community that came forward. People rallied around and made meals for the whole family and set up a delivery system. And one of the community – who is super-organized made up a spreadsheet to track when and who was going to make food so that there was never not enough and never too much. The community did not cure the bad stuff but it did make it bearable. And a big part of being a Christian for me is being in community.

In the reading we have from Luke people come to report to Jesus about the atrocities of Pilot – killing the Galileans and letting their blood mingle with the temple sacrifice. A scandal to be sure. And they are wondering what sin caused them to be killed. What did they do. Jesus responds that it was not the people who were killed that caused the murder. But we need to be careful or we too will die – we need to repent – to find God.

Jesus then asks the crowd if they think the victims of a disaster – the failure of the tower of Siloam was because the people were evil – and the answer again is it was not their fault. But the people need to repent – to return to God or they too will parish.

Jesus is saying that sin has consequences. The sin in the case of the murder of the Galileans was Pilot’s murderous act. The people killed with the tower collapsed was likely the sin of shoddy construction – it was not the people who happened to be in the area when the tower collapsed. David Lose – a preacher I enjoy reading said “Sin has consequences, and there are all kinds of bad behaviors that contribute to much of the misery in the world, and the more we can confront that sin the less suffering there will be.”^{^[1]}

The question of why do bad things happen to seemingly good people should not be laid at God’s feet. Our theology is not one of predetermination that says a someone dies because God needed another angel. Or that the Twin Towers collapsed because New York and the United States allows abortions or allows Gay people to live in loving relationship. It was not the sin of those who were killed that caused the disaster. It was the sin of those who thought they could act as God and cast judgment and sentence on innocent people are the ones who sinned.

These passages all call us to repent – a theme of Lent! But what does it mean to repent. Does it mean telling God and the community that we are sorry that we ate the last cookie? That we slipped and ate a piece of chocolate last Wednesday – that we did not keep or Lenten fast? Probably not.

Frankly we all too often have a petty idea of what sin it. Sin is not a piece of chocolate. Sin is separating ourselves from the Love of God. Sin is the hubris of thinking that we can pronounce judgment on a fellow inhabitant of this earth before we look into our own hearts and souls and clean out our own houses.

Which brings us to the parable of the fig tree. A parable that is perhaps too easy to read with God as the owner looking for the tree to bear fruit and Jesus stepping in as the gardener to intervene. Too keep an angry god from chopping down the tree. A theology of an angry God needing to punish someone for our Sins so Jesus takes the punishment. A theology that frankly drive me crazy. A theology which I do not buy.

But what if we read it another way? David Lose said “Given Luke’s consistent picture of God’s reaction to sin, then perhaps the landowner is representative of our own sense of how the world should work. That is, from very early on, we want things to be “fair” and we define “fair” as receiving rewards for doing good and punishment for doing evil. (Except of course, when it comes to our own mistakes and misdeeds – then we want mercy!) So perhaps the gardener is God, the one who consistently raises a contrary voice to suggest that the ultimate answer to sin isn’t punishment – not even in the name of justice – but rather mercy, reconciliation, and new life.”^{^[2]}

How does this reading of the parable change how we see God? It certainly aligns with my belief that Jesus came into this world not to appease an angry God but to show us what love is like. To show is that the Love of God is one that is always open to all of us.

Repentance means turning towards and accepting the Love of God. Simple right? But if it’s so simple why to we continually turn away from that love and tear down God’s creation? Why do we continually turn away and tear down other children of God? That is what sin is about. That is what Jesus came to tell us.

When we repent and turn towards God’s love we will be able to see the Love of God all around us. I remember one time when I fell in love. Suddenly the simplest of things where filled with beauty. My eyes where opened up – I saw the world is a new light. When we repent of those things that separate us from the love of God we too see the world in a new light. Suddenly the flowers are brighter and the sky is bluer.

So what can we say when bad things happen to good people? One thing is that there is sin in the world. Another is that God is with us. David Lose summed it up this way, “...God understands what our suffering is like. That God has promised to redeem all things, including even our suffering. That suffering and injustice do not have the last word in our lives and world. And that God will keep waiting for us and keep urging us to turn away from our self-destructive habits to be drawn again into the embrace of a loving God.”^{^[3]}

On this third Sunday of Lent – as Jesus walks towards Jerusalem and a certain death – we are reminded that the cross is about Love – not death. The story of God walking with us on this earth – of suffering with us – is that the story will not end on Good Friday. The story continues. The Love that walked with us 2000 years ago still walks with us. In the resurrection we see a God who is willing to go all the way to death with us to show us that love that will not die.

Our call is to spread that Love in our communities. To repent of those sins that separates us from the Love of God. To repent of the sins that separate us from our neighbor and our selves. The gift of lent is that it calls us to introspection. It calls us to look at those things where we turn away from God’s love and to repent and return to that Love. To bear the good fruit of the tree that God has planted and nourishes in each of us.

^{^[1]} http://www.davidlose.net/2016/02/lent-3-c-suffering-the-cross-and-the-promise-of-love/

^{^[2]} ibid

^{^[3]} ibid

Sunday, February 21, 2016

As a Hen Gathers her Brood!

Lent 2C –RCL 2016

Genesis 15:1-12,17-18

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Luke 13:31-35

Psalm 27

Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

The images in this little bit from the Gospel of Luke are some of my favorite images in the bible. Herod being described as a Fox – which by the way was not a compliment! And Jesus as the hen. This is one of the few places where we have language that describes God in feminine terms in the New Testament. And the imagery – for me – is very comforting. Also how Luke deals with the Pharisees in this passage is also very refreshing…. Let me explain my thinking here.

In Luke’s gospel Jesus is going about healing and casting out demons. He has started to get the attention of the powerful in Israel and Herod in particular. Herod has a sketchy hold on power through his marriage. He does not want to have anything upset the peace of Rome.

And the shock waves of Jesus ministry are getting big enough that Rome will notice. And the enforced “peace” that is only peace if you obey the Romans, pay your taxes, and behave, looks like it could be upset by this itinerate Rabbi who is breaking all sorts of rules. Not just Jewish rules of eating and healing on the Sabbath but rules about maintaining the status quo of who holds the power.

Word about Jesus’ ministry has reached Herod and he doesn’t like what he is hearing. Herod sees Jesus as a real threat to his power. Not necessarily because Jesus will directly overthrow his “kingship” over the Jews but because if there is a revolt or upraising Rome will remove Herod and put someone else in charge. And from what we know of Herod he will do anything in his power to maintain his position.

The word is on the streets that Herod wants Jesus to be gone – and the easiest way to make him go away is to kill him. So the Pharisees – the religious Jews – who so many times in our Gospels can be interpreted as enemies of Jesus – or at least certainly not his allies – go to Jesus. They go to Jesus to warn him about Herod. They tell him to hide – to lie low while everything calms down.

The Pharisees are Jesus’ allies here. Trying to save him from the power that they know Herod possesses. My guess is that even through they criticize Jesus for working on the Sabbath and for not following all the rules they also like the way he interprets scripture with authority. They like his preaching – although they are uncomfortable with the way Jesus is revealing a side of God by his actions. A side of God that sets Love above rules. A side of God that wants the dream of Love to come to completion in their and our broken societies. It is extremely unfortunate that we have used Jesus’ sparring with the Pharisees as justification to anti-Semitic behavior by Christians over the centuries.

But Jesus rejects the Pharisees warning and pokes at Herod – calling him a fox. Jesus then goes on to say that he has a calling. A calling to heal and to spread God’s love and that he will not stop doing it openly until the completion of his ministry on the cross – and ultimately in our commission to continue his ministry in the resurrection.

Our calling here is to look at our ministries and the gifts that God is calling us to use. And those gifts are many and sometimes they too go against the grain of society. When the other church I serve – St. Paul’s – lets people sleep on the porch – or technically doesn’t’ chase them away – we make our neighbors at the convention center upset. They don’t want to see homeless people hanging out – and it doesn’t help that we have sack lunches that we give out everyday that brings the hungry to our doors. We could stop – and some in the congregation want us to stop letting people sleep on the porch. But not me. At least not right now.

I walk to work most days and I see at least 4 to 6 people sleeping in business doorways in a mile along H Street. A few of them I have gotten to know and I know they would rather not sleep on the streets. But because they have a dog, or perhaps because of bad experiences in shelters they feel safer in a doorway. And until the powers that would have the homeless disappear figure out a better way to provide housing I believe that we need to allow people someplace to sleep. I would prefer a safer place than on the porches of our churches or in doorways but until then I feel called to treat these people with love and respect.

We all are called to ministry. Not just those of us who have been ordained. Your baptism calls you to ministry. Your walking in the doors of this church calls to you ministry. I know a homeless man who – although with several disabilities that make it hard for him to do much - will scrub the porch and stairs of one of the doors at St. Paul’s on Sunday mornings. I see people here welcome folks that other more “proper churches” might ignore. I see you welcome those with different languages, incomes and sexualities openly into our worship – as I believe Jesus calls us to do. We are called to continue to heal and cast our demons even if the Herod’s in our midst would want us to stop – even if the Herod’s in our midst would want to have us close our doors.

And Jesus reaction to being threatened? It is to mourn for the very power that threatens his ministry. Jesus mourning over Jerusalem is more than mourning a city. Jerusalem is bigger than the city – here it is a character in the story. We are part of that character.

We all – even when we are trying hard – have moments when we deny the ministry of Jesus. We are the ones as the story continues that will become uncomfortable with the radical love of Jesus and deny him and ultimately crucify him. Jesus mourns for Jerusalem – Jesus mourns for us too when we deny our calling. But what does he want to do?

He wants to gather us all under his wings like a hen gathers her chicks. One of my favorite images in the whole bible – and as far as I can remember the only direct feminine image of God that we have directly attributed to Jesus (perhaps one of the few that survived the church becoming a unyielding patriarchy in the years after Jesus!).

Every time I read this passage I have a flash back – in a good way. I flash back to the very first time I saw Tchaikovsky’s ballet the nutcracker in San Francisco. One of the dances is of Mother Goose. And the character of mother goose comes out with a large old-fashioned dress on and suddenly all of these children pop out from under her dress and dance all over the stage. And during the rest of the dance the Mother Goose character is trying to get them back into safety under her dress. That is how I see God in this image from Luke.

God – in Jesus desires to keep us safe. But we keep running around. We keep doing things that we should not. But our God of love wants nothing more than to gather us all – and by all I do mean all – even those we would exclude. Our Mother God wants to usher in a reign of Love. But we keep running around – just like the kids do in the Nutcracker ballet. Sometimes when we run around we do a lot of good. That is when we are acting as Christ’s hands, heart and feet in our world. That is when we are agents in bringing people into God’s love.

But sometimes we act against that Love. Sometimes we work to exclude and to condemn. Sometimes we condemn individuals and sometimes whole groups. It is then that we are acting like Herod. Desirous of our own power. When we are worshipping the idolatrous gods of power, safety and the individual over the planet then we are working against God. That is when we are setting the trap that Herod ultimately sets for Jesus. That is when we are leading Christ to crucifixion.

The good new is that God never stops wishing to gather us under her wings like the hen gathers her brood. That is the promise of resurrection – the promise of Easter – that God loves us so much that God proved that the Love that was hung on the Cross will never die. We cannot kill it. And our calling – our ministry – is to help bring God’s dream of love to a reality here on the corner of Edison and Bell – and indeed in all of the world.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Filled with the Holy Spirit and Tested!

Lent 1C RCL

After his baptism, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written,

'Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.'"

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

'He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,'

and

'On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

On this first Sunday of Lent we, as always, read the gospel story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. This year we read the story from the Gospel of Luke. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit as the spirit leads him into the wilderness. And while in the wilderness it says that Jesus was tempted by Satan, or perhaps a better translation he was tested by Satan – and we pick up on the Satan’s last three tests at the end of the forty days.

Just a couple of weeks ago I was in the Holy Land and visited the Judean wilderness and saw what is now called mount temptation. The wilderness is not devoid of life – like I always pictured it. It is not like the Saharan dessert. During the winter when it gets enough rain there are shepherds grazing their sheep. It is perhaps like one would see in our high desserts on the east side of the sierras. But for much of the year it is desolate and Mount Temptation is high enough that I imagine on a clear day you could see much of the agricultural areas of Israel. And certainly the Jordan River – the source of much of their water!

There is a danger in the text. And that danger is that it is perhaps far too easy for us to dismiss the story by rationalizing it. By attributing the power of God to Jesus. Of course Jesus could resist the devil. After all he is God.

But that is not the point. We also need to remember that Jesus was fully human. He was fully hungry after 40 days of fasting. He was fully tested. But he was filled with the Holy Spirit just as we are filled with the Holy Spirit. And filled with the Holy Spirit Jesus passed the test. The tests where not about choosing wealth, power and safety. They were choices to turn from God to Satan. They were choices to turn inward and not to choose God. Jesus chose God.

So what does this mean for us. If the church has decided we need to read about the temptations – or testing – of Jesus every first Sunday of Lent that perhaps we are supposed to take away something for Lent. So what are we to take away from this lesson?

Perhaps a good place to start is the nature of the test. It is too easy to trivialize this as a temptation – after all we are tempted all the time – right? If we give up chocolate or alcohol for lent there to seems that every time we turn around there is chocolate or alcohol right in front of us – especially today being Valentines day –a day filled with chocolate and other “temptations”. But does saying no to some food or drink really make us more Holy? Is it really like the test that we read about today?

Another preacher I follow – David Lose said, “In short, I would argue that temptation is not so often temptation toward something – usually portrayed as doing something you shouldn’t – but rather is usually the temptation away from something – namely, our relationship with God and the identity we receive in and through that relationship.

Too often Christians have focused on all the things we shouldn’t do, instead of pointing us to the gift and grace of our identity as children of God. But the devil knows better. Notice how each of the temptations seeks to erode and undercut Jesus’ confidence in this relationship with God and therefore undermine Jesus’ identity.”^{^[1]}

Our political season is all about being tested! We hear politicians offer us food, safety and power – if only we will worship their brand of god – but usually if we really listen to them it is if we worship them. The political rhetoric sounds too much like Satan tempting Jesus. If you only elect – fill in pretty much any of the names – then you will be safe from terrorism, or you will have unlimited wealth and health, or the others – read as the foreigners, the gays, the Muslim’s – basically anyone who doesn’t look like us- will be put back in there places. Usually someplace where you are not… or so the politicians would lead us to believe. All too often politics plays on our fears and insecurities.

Looking at temptation this way changes the way I think about temptation. And it fits with the call to do something different for lent. It really is not about chocolate, or alcohol, or meatless Fridays. It is about our relationship with God.

That is what we are called to do this Lenten season. We are called to see what is distracting us – what is separating us - from the love of God. So if some food or drink is separating you from God’s love by all means give it up.

There is another reason to give up something. And that is a change can call us up short. If you, like me, have the habit of an evening glass of wine or cocktail giving it up can make us take notice. It can call me out of my rut. And if I take that time to recognize the God of love in my life and to recognize all of the other calls to worship the false gods of wealth, power and safety then it is good to give it up.

During lent we are called to look at what separates us from the love of God. And to find ways to get out of our ruts and see God’s love anew. That could well be giving something up. It could be taking up the Bishop’s Bible challenge and meeting with folks once a month to discuss it. It could be saying the daily office. If could mean turning off the political noise on the TV and reading a book or, dare I suggest, praying.

Lent is about finding a space to see the love of God that so loves all of us that God was and is willing to die for us. God’s love is that big. Nothing that we can do will separate God from us. We can draw away from God – try to separate ourselves from God – that is the definition of Sin. But God never gives up on us. That is the promise of the cross. That we can always return to God and be embraced by the Love that cannot die. No matter how many times we try to kill the love.

I invite you this lent to find a way to turn to God. To remember that you are filled with the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is calling us to turn away from the temptation to worship the idolatrous gods of wealth, safety and power – to just name a few. The Holy Spirit is calling us to rest in the embrace of our God. A God who so loves us that God was willing to take on human flesh and to live as one of us – and to die as one of us all for that love. And at the other end of our journey of Lent we will remember that the Love that we hang on the cross is not killed. But instead is a Love that is willing to pursue us. To pursue us all the way to death and beyond.

^{^[1]} http://www.davidlose.net/2016/02/lent-1-c-identity-theft/

Sunday, February 7, 2016

The Work of Transfiguration

Transfiguration Sunday – Year C-RCL 2016

Exodus 34:29-35

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Luke 9:28-36, [37-43a]

Psalm 99

About eight days after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now 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. Just 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. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" When 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.

[On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly 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. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not." Jesus answered, "You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." While 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. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.]

Today – the last Sunday before lent we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration. The story of the mountain top experience that makes preachers wonder what we can say. A fellow priest and friend commented that they are not fond of this day. It feels too much like magical thinking in this age of enlightenment. They wondered how do we explain all this magic to people in a way that does not make them think that the church is an irrelevant place that engages in magical thinking. And that is a real issue. We talk in a language in our churches that is foreign to most people. We talk about transfiguration and the real presence of Christ in the sacraments, the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. All concepts that are hard for a people of science to get our heads around.

But this scientist loves the story of the transfiguration. I don’t mind magical thinking – in as much as it can lead us into the presence of the holy that is hard to explain. Perhaps that is why there is so much poetry and song written about holy experiences. They are hard to explain in a rational way. I certainly cannot rationally explain the experience of ordination. Something changed. Something physically happened that was bigger than the Bishop and priests laying hands on me. It is in moments like my ordination that I fall back into language of “it was like…” It was like the hands of generations of priests all the way back kept pilling on my body.” It was like a powerful force pushing against me and enveloping me. It was perhaps aa moment of transfiguration.

This Sunday we remember a story of the disciples glimpsing the change in Jesus that ultimately occurs after his resurrection. When Jesus earthly body is replaced with a spiritual body. Something we can’t rationally explain. I cannot rationally explain my experiences with the Holy during my recent trip to the Holy Land. I can’t explain the sensations of walking the streets Jerusalem or going up to the top of Mount Tabor – the mountain that is celebrated as the site of the transfiguration. Was it that exact mountain we don’t know. But the tradition dates back to around the third century so by this time 2000 years later the mountaintop has been soaked in prayer.

I also love the disciple’s reaction to the transfiguration. They did not understand it but they knew it was important so Peter proposes to build dwellings for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. This transfigured neon glowing Jesus is the Jesus that Peter wants. He does not really want the Jesus that we get at the end of Lent on Good Friday. Peter does not want the crucified Christ but he wants this one. As we all do.

And now if you go up to the top of Mount Tabor you find a beautiful church that was built in the 1920’s. Inside the main church is a wonderful space with a depiction of the transfiguration and there are two small chapels on either side. And can you guess what these small dwellings are called? One is the Moses Chapel and the other is the Elijah chapel. So now there are dwellings built on the mountain. Peter may have been told not to but it didn’t stop the Franciscans!

So what are we to make of this magical story today? Why should we care? We should care because we are called to be a transfigured people. And that transfiguration happens only in community. We are called to be a people of metamorphosis – of radical change. Another preacher said “One of the lessons of this text is that the glory of God is only possible if lived together, in community. Nobody, not even Jesus, could shine alone! The work of that trinity shows that only when we are together that God’s radiance can light each other’s lives.”^{^[1]} Now I am not saying that you can’t have solitary mountaintop experiences and encounter the Holy. Certainly in our reading from Genesis we have Moses going up the mountain to see God. But it is when he returns back to the community that they see him glowing.

I have seen people shine and glow when they encounter the Holy and especially when they share that encounter in community. The first time I experienced Ashes to go and then talked with people about their experiences I saw people glow. When that same year we spent hours sitting in front of this church washing feet on Maundy Thursday I saw faces glow from within. We were encountering the holy. So the description of Jesus in our Gospel story as being dazzling white is not so hard for me to fathom because I have seen the people of God glow with the radiance of the Holy. We may not glow like the Los Vegas neon strip but we do glow.

Which brings us to the second half of our reading – which some folk think should be left out – and is optional in our lectionary. But to me it is necessary. When Jesus and the disciples leave the mountain they go back to work. They don’t just bask in the glory of God’s presence. They do the hard work of transforming the community. The very next story is Jesus encountering a crowd and a man with a sick son – his only son- asking Jesus to toss out a demon, as no one else had been able to cure the child. And Jesus does just that. He heals the boy. This is the point of the transfiguration for our lives. We are to work with Jesus to transform our societies. And we can’t do it alone.

We still have societies that crush people like the demon that inhabited the boy in gospel reading. We have systems that maintain great wealth for a few and crushing poverty for many. We have systems that encourage farmers markets and good supermarkets with healthy food and decent prices only in good neighborhoods. What about putting a good market in a neighborhood where people don’t have cars – or don’t have the money for gas even if they have a car.

We are a transfigured people in Christ. As a transfigured people we need to work to transform the places around us so that the light can shine there too. It is not easy work but I see many people here doing God’s work. Many churches would not think of opening up their sanctuaries to people without shelter. Oh sure perhaps the parish hall or the Gym but we have to keep the sanctuary holy!

Not you. You are opening up the sanctuary – this holy space to people without shelter. You are transforming this holy space into a truly Holy Space. And I am willing to bet that some people who come here for Winter Sanctuary will be transformed in this place as well. That is the work of transfiguration.

Our call as followers of the transfigured, crucified, risen and ascended Christ is to find ways to change our society. To reach out in love to the loveless. To feed the hungry. And most importantly to make decisions that challenge a society that keeps people hungry. To challenge our assumptions on how society functions. In short we are to continue to work as Jesus’ hands, feet and heart to transform a world of “me first” and of hoarding our resources while destroying the resources of the planet into a place where all people are loved and this fragile earth our home is cared for and preserved.

Amen.

^{^[1]} https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2756