Changes
Mark 9:2-8
Transfiguration Sunday marks one of the strangest episodes in the Gospels--Jesus suddenly glows like a light bulb on a hillside as he prays with Peter, James, and John. He is joined by Elijah and Moses, the icons of Judaism--the Law and the Prophets--the purpose and the hope--of faith.
One friend remarked that this is the UFO Sunday of the liturgical year--a celebration of an event right out of a superhero movie. Most adults have a hard time getting into this story because it seems so far removed from our daily experience of life and faith. The same friend noted, though, that most eight year olds get it--this story is cool--Jesus is changed--just like the X-Men!
Well, now--that just might be a way for us more jaded grown-ups to find our way into what this story means for us.
Change.
No likes change. It is unpredictable. It is unstable. It is unknown.
Yet, to live means being always open to change. Times change. Culture shifts. Things evolve. We cannot remain statically in place, assuming this will somehow help us cope and connect with our context.
Another colleague laughed that we Presbyterians are perfectly prepared for a great momentous moment--the resurrection of 1955! Our churches, our order, our work, our presence, and our outlook remain fixedly and doggedly the same as they ever have been. We are frozen in the amber of how we've always done things.
When I went to seminary in 1986, I discovered something--I did not really need to buy any textbooks--my dad's library contained most of the books I would need. He went to seminary in 1960. Now just reflect a moment. What happened in the years between 1960 and 1986? Yet what I would need to be a pastor had not changed a lick?
Hmmm....
Transfiguration is transformation. Jesus glowed with his inner and innate holiness. He was so present with God his entire being changed. He fulfilled and furthered the purpose of Moses. He fulfilled and furthered the promises of Elijah. He did not and could not remain simply locked in place with either or them. That was the error of the Pharisees. They did not embody the Law so much as enshrine it.
We do the same.
This Sunday calls us to a different response.
Let go of tradition and listen for God. Use what we've been and what we've done as a launching pad for what we need to be and what we can become. In short, be transfigured, sitting with God, listening and responding in new ways that will allow holiness to shine through us.
How?
Connect to the world around us.
I was struck at a recent meeting of our Committee on Ministry on how many of our congregations no longer draw folks from their immediate neighborhood. Those changed since the churches were planted, but the congregations did not. The same folks came from further away, while folks across the street did not darken the door.
In Sacramento, demographics reveal a kaleidoscope of cultures. At the meeting, I asked how many congregations had anyone or anyone program that understood or spoke Korean, Spanish, Indonesian, Filipino, Japanese, Ugandan, Vietnamese, Ukrainian or any of the languages now flowing and bursting all around us. We have a handful of ethnic gatherings. We have nothing that reflects the fact that Sacramento is now predominantly Latino. We still speak and present ourselves like we did in 1955.
It is time for Transfiguration.
We can do this.
Connect to the neighborhood. Learn the people. Learn the interests. Learn the language.
Someone once told me that a simple way to connect to a Latino work crew was to speak Spanish to them. Even if you're not fluent, begin a conversation with a simple "Hola!" That simple word means at least you recognize the validity of the other person. I have tried to follow that counsel.
Even if everyone speaks English, the attempt to meet someone as they are, where they are, or how they are opens doors to connection.
In this way, we can be transformed and transfigured, meeting the world with a gospel that can be heard and accepted.
Let's try this.
Let's change.
Transfiguration Sunday marks one of the strangest episodes in the Gospels--Jesus suddenly glows like a light bulb on a hillside as he prays with Peter, James, and John. He is joined by Elijah and Moses, the icons of Judaism--the Law and the Prophets--the purpose and the hope--of faith.
One friend remarked that this is the UFO Sunday of the liturgical year--a celebration of an event right out of a superhero movie. Most adults have a hard time getting into this story because it seems so far removed from our daily experience of life and faith. The same friend noted, though, that most eight year olds get it--this story is cool--Jesus is changed--just like the X-Men!
Well, now--that just might be a way for us more jaded grown-ups to find our way into what this story means for us.
Change.
No likes change. It is unpredictable. It is unstable. It is unknown.
Yet, to live means being always open to change. Times change. Culture shifts. Things evolve. We cannot remain statically in place, assuming this will somehow help us cope and connect with our context.
Another colleague laughed that we Presbyterians are perfectly prepared for a great momentous moment--the resurrection of 1955! Our churches, our order, our work, our presence, and our outlook remain fixedly and doggedly the same as they ever have been. We are frozen in the amber of how we've always done things.
When I went to seminary in 1986, I discovered something--I did not really need to buy any textbooks--my dad's library contained most of the books I would need. He went to seminary in 1960. Now just reflect a moment. What happened in the years between 1960 and 1986? Yet what I would need to be a pastor had not changed a lick?
Hmmm....
Transfiguration is transformation. Jesus glowed with his inner and innate holiness. He was so present with God his entire being changed. He fulfilled and furthered the purpose of Moses. He fulfilled and furthered the promises of Elijah. He did not and could not remain simply locked in place with either or them. That was the error of the Pharisees. They did not embody the Law so much as enshrine it.
We do the same.
This Sunday calls us to a different response.
Let go of tradition and listen for God. Use what we've been and what we've done as a launching pad for what we need to be and what we can become. In short, be transfigured, sitting with God, listening and responding in new ways that will allow holiness to shine through us.
How?
Connect to the world around us.
I was struck at a recent meeting of our Committee on Ministry on how many of our congregations no longer draw folks from their immediate neighborhood. Those changed since the churches were planted, but the congregations did not. The same folks came from further away, while folks across the street did not darken the door.
In Sacramento, demographics reveal a kaleidoscope of cultures. At the meeting, I asked how many congregations had anyone or anyone program that understood or spoke Korean, Spanish, Indonesian, Filipino, Japanese, Ugandan, Vietnamese, Ukrainian or any of the languages now flowing and bursting all around us. We have a handful of ethnic gatherings. We have nothing that reflects the fact that Sacramento is now predominantly Latino. We still speak and present ourselves like we did in 1955.
It is time for Transfiguration.
We can do this.
Connect to the neighborhood. Learn the people. Learn the interests. Learn the language.
Someone once told me that a simple way to connect to a Latino work crew was to speak Spanish to them. Even if you're not fluent, begin a conversation with a simple "Hola!" That simple word means at least you recognize the validity of the other person. I have tried to follow that counsel.
Even if everyone speaks English, the attempt to meet someone as they are, where they are, or how they are opens doors to connection.
In this way, we can be transformed and transfigured, meeting the world with a gospel that can be heard and accepted.
Let's try this.
Let's change.
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