Loving God, may your radiant light and love shine upon us, within us, and through us this day. Illuminate our hearts and minds. And strengthen us to be willing and bright beacons who shine your love and light into this world. Amen.
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Today, we conclude our Epiphany sermon series in which we have been remembering and exploring together who we are as God’s beloved children and who we are called to be as people of faith and followers of Jesus.
Today is Transfiguration Sunday and it marks the end of the Epiphany season. The season of Lent begins on Wednesday. And this gospel story we heard today provides us with a turning point both in the church calendar (as we move through it together each year) as well as in the unfolding story of Jesus’ life and ministry.
Jesus takes Peter, John, and James on a hike up a mountain to pray. And, as he is praying, his face changes and his clothes dazzle (some biblical translations describe his clothing as glowing as bright as a “flash of lightening”).
Two of the greats then show up: Moses and Elijah – those beloved, superstar Hebrew prophets whose stories helped shape both the Jewish tradition and the identity of the Jewish people.
Peter (who’s tired) wants to pitch some tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah and hang out for a while. But just as he makes the suggestion that they stay, suddenly the mountain clouds over and a divine voice proclaims: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”
This proclamation ought to sound familiar to us, of course. It echoes the divine voice that spoke at Jesus’ baptism. In a way, we’ve come full circle in this Epiphany season. The transfiguration can be seen as a sort of second baptismal moment, a reaffirmation and rearticulation of who Jesus is and of the call to all disciples (past and present) to listen and to follow.
It seems pretty clear by the way this plays out that Peter’s suggestion that they stay up there on the mountain is soundly rejected by God. And for those who first heard this transfiguration story and knew well the stories of Moses and Elijah, this wouldn’t have come as any surprise.
Mountaintop moments don’t last forever. There is work to be done back down the hill.
Moses met God up on the mountain several times. His face shone with divine light too. And I’m sure Moses had his moments where he wanted to stay up there. He definitely had his moments where he wanted out of this prophet gig all together. But, instead, he had to go back down the hill and deal with his people’s complaints, their discouragement, and their golden calves. Moses had to find a way to lead and to help his people live into this new covenantal relationship with their God and forge a new way forward together, even when it was difficult and frustrating.
Elijah also met God on that same mountain, having fled for his life from those who wanted to kill him. Elijah also wanted out of this prophet gig. No doubt Elijah would have preferred to stay away if he had the choice. But his prophetic work wasn’t finished either.
Mountaintop moments don’t last forever. There is work to be done back down the hill.
Nevertheless, I understand and empathize with Peter’s desire to stay up there. He’s experiencing one of those mystical moments when God’s presence is palpable, when the worries and difficulties of this world fade to the background. Who wouldn’t want to stay there and linger in the glory?
But, like Moses and Elijah before them, Jesus, Peter, John, and James were all called to return. Jesus’ prophetic work wasn’t yet complete and neither was the disciples’. They had to go back down into the community to continue their ministry. They would soon have to face towards Jerusalem and confront their biggest challenges and their biggest fears. And, eventually, Peter, James, John, and the other disciples would have to carry forward the ministry Jesus started, after he was gone.
Mountaintop moments don’t last forever. There is work to be done back down the hill.
One of the things for us to ponder, then, is how we take the memory and meaning of those mountaintop moments with us down the hill and let them help inspire and strengthen our work, as we honor our calling to shine brightly and reflect God’s love into the world.
How do we hold onto those clear and palpable, yet sometimes fleeting, experiences of God’s love, grace, and presence… in all times and especially in more trying circumstances? How do we remember that no matter what challenges we face, we are already charged up with the light and love of God? How do we shine, even when it’s difficult, scary, or frustrating?
I can’t help but think of the song: this little light of mine… I’m gonna let it shine!
And you know that part that goes: hide it under a bushel… no! I’m gonna let it shine!
Well, it dawns on me that sometimes we need to help each other remove our bushel baskets. We need to encourage each other, stand with each other, help each other out, as we discover our various ways of shining forth God’s light and sharing God’s love in the world.
Sometimes we might just need a little encouragement to get out of our own way and trust that we have something to contribute. Or maybe we need some encouragement to be a little braver and bolder.
But sometimes we’re not the ones who are hiding under a bushel basket. Sometimes there are circumstances that feel like someone else is running around after us, trying to put a bushel basket over us, trying to extinguish or at least dim our light. We’ve probably all been there. Illness can feel like that. Grief can feel like that. Conflict can feel like that. Unjust and unfair treatment can feel like that. It’s not always easy to shine, despite our willingness. Jesus knew that too.
And when we just don’t feel all that shiny, we also need to tread gently with ourselves and one another. We might need our spiritual batteries recharged.
And we can help each other with that. Maybe we can help run interference against the bushel basket brigade. And we can show up for one another and shine together, so one person doesn’t have to do it all by themselves.
One little light can brighten things up. And a lot of little lights can make a big difference.
I think that’s a great metaphor for what church can be at its best. We’re here to shine together with the light we’ve been given by our loving God. With one another. For one another. For the world.
Close your eyes if you want to and think of Christmas Eve. Remember how the light from one candle spreads around the room, growing and glowing brighter. Every face in this place gets all bright and shiny. And it wouldn’t be as pretty, and it wouldn’t be the same without each individual light. This community, this world, needs your light!
Today, after worship we vote on our Open and Affirming statement. This is an opportunity for us, as a congregation, to shine our light into our community even more brightly. It’s an opportunity to make it abundantly clear to everyone (including those who are already a part of this community of faith and those who have yet to walk through our doors) that we, as a congregation, affirm and love all of our LGBTQ+ siblings, no strings attached (no ifs, ands, or buts); that we mean it and we own it when we say “whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.”
There are several members of the LGBTQ+ community (of various ages and stages) who have expressed to me that they have experienced genuine affirmation and connection here at this church. Some for whom this is a new and different experience of church. Some who didn’t know that churches like ours even existed. Some who have experienced rejection elsewhere.
This matters deeply. It matters to members of the LGBTQ+ community. It matters to their friends and families. It matters to those of us who are committed to being allies to the best of our ability. People need to know that there are safe, open, and affirming communities of faith. Now, as much as ever.
And we should celebrate that people have found affirmation and love here. That is a beautiful thing! I think we should own this as a community and help people who are looking for a church like ours find us, trust us, and get to know us.
This is one more opportunity for us to commit to continue to walk together as a church in love and be willing to continue to grow as we go. Not everything we have done in the past is perfect. Not everything we will do in the future will be perfect. But part of being a church is being willing to work together, learn from one another, care for and support one another, and grow in God’s deep love together. This is a journey we continue to take together.
Jesus and his disciples experienced a glorious glimpse of God’s light and love that day on the mountain. And they would need to hold onto that light as they made their way back down the hill and into the world, into the complexities and challenges of life, and eventually into Jerusalem.
I believe the light and love of God they experienced in their lives gave them courage when they needed it, grace when they needed it, hope when they needed it. I hope God’s glorious light and love gives each of us courage, grace, and hope when we need it too.
Keep shining brightly! The world needs your light! And when everyone can shine, we all shine more brightly as a result.
Amen.