Lets
pray;
Gracious
God, as we explore your word together, we are so grateful for the opportunities
we have to do so. We feel you here in
this place, and our longing to know you more is fed. We ask that you guide us in this meditation,
nudge us into understanding and action, so that we might reflect your glory
into a world desperate for hope. In
Jesus name we pray.
Today
is Transfiguration Sunday. Our scriptures invite us into a couple of very
intimate scenes where the veil between heaven and earth becomes so transparent
that a glimpse of the divine is revealed.
In
the Old Testament lesson from Exodus, Moses returns from 40 days on Mount Sinai
in the presence of The Lord. God's
chosen people, as they habitually do throughout history, had strayed far from
the commandments The Lord had given. They worshiped false gods, lived impurely
and defied the commands of the loving God who had rescued them from
slavery. In frustration , their God
appointed leader, Moses, had smashed the tablets upon which the commandments
were written. Now, Moses is descending from the mountain after spending 40 days
and nights in Gods presence, new tablets
in hand. God has forgiven the people,
and entered into a new covenant.
I
pause here in my attempt to understand and absorb scripture, and marvel at
God's patience. I envision a loving
parent, firmly explaining to wayward
child: "OK, let me explain this to you again. You must abide by my guidelines. The rules are the rules because I love
you! Its dangerous out there. I want to
keep you safe. "
Now,
I'm not going to admit here to EVER being wayward, but I do recall a certain
conversation with my dad when I was a young teen. Dad liked to sit up late at night, and watch
TV. Often, together we would watch
Barney Miller and then Sergeant Prescott
and his faithful companion King.
"You
just don't love me" I declared, no doubt with angry tears running down my
face.
"Yes,
I do. " was his mild reply.
"No you don't! If you did, you'd say Yes!"
"No,
Sandra. If I didn't care I'd say Yes"
"No,
you'd say yes if you loved me "
"No,
Sandra, yes would be easier than No"
What
kind of logic is that?
"so
say yes.."
"no"
"fine!! I'm leaving!"
"ok, you can have the yellow suitcase"
"AHHHH"
at this point I tried to storm off to bed.
"Good
night Sandra" I tried to ignore him
& Keep going. "Good night Sandra"
I kept going and didn't reply.
Now, No matter how angry you were, disrespect and rudeness never flew at
our house. Dad rose slightly "GOOD NIGHT, SANDRA!!!"
"Good
night dad"
I
still have the yellow suitcase, it stores memorabilia. Its a nice reminder now that God will let us
run for a bit, but the safety of home, in his arms is always there.
So
the people see Moses returning. They
must be relieved. Once again he has gone
to bat for them. God is willing to take them back, giving them yet another
chance. But wait! Look at his face! its
shining. He has seen God! Why isn't he dead?
It
seems likely that the first, and very natural response to seeing the shining face
of Moses, was fear. Followed by awe.
The
radiance of Moses is an expression of his privileged position as a servant
close to God. He reflects God's glory.
What
amazes me here, is that we are invited into the exact same position as
Moses. Are we not called to be the hands
and feet of Christ in the world?
Servants, helping to bring about the kingdom of God right here and now.
Earlier
in this chapter of Exodus, the people are described as "stiff-necked"
. Is this not an apt description of
humanity today? One definition of
insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different
results. And yet, collectively, is this
not what we do? Let's do it my way God.
My will be done, not THY will be done
Are
we not commissioned to guide a wayward and willful people back into right
relationship with their creator? back to THY will be done?
Every
once in a while, we come across a person
who is radiant. There is just something about them. They seem to have light in them and about
them. There is peace and serenity, but energy too.
They are joyful, and you feel better just for
having encountered them. I believe that
these people have this radiance because they trust and live
like special, privileged servants, secure in the knowledge that they are
beloved. I can't help but have an image
of Regina in my mind at this point. She
had that radiance, and she generously blessed those around her with warm and
loving gaze and smile.
I
want to be like that too. What an
amazing privilege to reflect God's glory,
his boundless love into the world.
We do have an opportunity to do just that if we
choose to sign up for a UYS small group.
Simply
by inviting someone without a church connection to join us in this study, we
reflect God's love onto them... think about it, pray on it.
In
Luke 9: 38-36, in a somewhat parallel setting, we witness Jesus on the mountain
; withdrawn from the crowd to pray
(Note to self- Jesus' mission was intensely important and urgent yet he
regularly spent time in prayer)
Peter,
James and John were privileged to accompany him.
While
he was praying, the appearance of Jesus' face changed, and his clothes became
dazzling. The disciples, who fortunately managed to stay awake , witness this
transformation. WOW! talk about a Holy Moment.
Imagine,
the Israelites saw the shining face of Moses reflecting the glory of God. Here Peter, James and John saw Jesus-divine
Jesus, son of the most high- IN all his glory! God surrounded by the glory of
God. A peak at the kingdom. Enveloped by a cloud, surrounded by the voice
of the Father himself. A glimpse at eternal life.
Suddenly,
images of a person in prayerful ecstasy come to mind; they are so filled with
the spirit of God that we can actually see it.
I've never had this experience, but when I really REALLY enter into
prayer, when I succeed at quieting the endless loop of tasks, worries and
random uninvited thoughts, when I give
myself over into His hands, stop asking and suggesting, and just listen and
accept His presence, an amazing thing
happens: I feel his light like sunshine on my eyelids- even if I am in the
dark- I feel a warmth infuse my whole being.
I feel drawn as though physically toward him. A peaceful joy fills me
and I know Gods presence is in me and around me. What a Holy Moment!
When
the disciples see Jesus in this state they may have fallen on the ground in
terror. They would have believed that
anyone who looked upon the face of God would surely die. Undoubtedly they knew
in this moment that indeed they were in the presence of the one true God. The experience becomes even more profound
after the death and resurrection of Jesus. They would truly understand then
that Jesus is the Son of God, and that eternity is real.
On
the Mountain, witnessing the
transformation, Peter, James and John catch sight of the past, the present and
the future. They see the prophets with Jesus, and hear the discussion of what
Jesus will endure. They see the future:
Jesus Christ appearing in Glory.
This
Holy moment co relates beautifully in my
mind with Holy Communion. When we receive the sacrament, we too are connecting
with the past, present and future. Past
because we recall the passover meal observed by the Jews, and we also recall
how Jesus instituted the Eucharist at
the last meal he shared with His friends, offering the bread and the cup, His body broken and His blood poured out for our redemption.
In
this act of remembering, Jesus' sacrifice again becomes real for us. WE believe that God is truly present in the
moment with us, as we share in the Holy Supper, and we give thanks-
Our
communion connects us to the future too. We look forward to Jesus' return in
glory, and to our end of days when we will be with our Heavenly Father for all
eternity. The heavenly banquet awaits us together with the entire community of
saints.
The
Prophet Isaiah tells us:
"thus
says The Lord :
Don't fear for I have redeemed you,
I
have called you by name,and you are mine.
When
you pass through the waters, I will be with you:
and
through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when
you walk through the fire you shall not be burned,
and
the flame will not consume you.
For
I am The Lord your God,
The
Holy one of Israel, your Savior.
I
give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
Because
you are precious in my sight,
and
honored, and I love you.
I
give people in return for you,
nations
in exchange for your life."
When
we partake of Holy Communion, we are brought into intimate connection with our
God who says this, who loves us this much.
Often when I receive Holy Communion, I am struck in the heart by the
truth of God's love as expressed in the passage I just shared, Particularly the
verse that says " you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love
you. I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Only I
sub in the word son. Listen again. " You are precious in my sight, and
honored, and I love you. I give MY SON
in return for you, I give MY SON in exchange for your life"
When
I really take that in, I am overwhelmed. Holy Communion is not just another
tradition or ritual observed. It is a truly HOLY MOMENT. The veil between heaven and earth becomes
ever so thin, and I catch a glimpse of divine love.
Holy
moments are not restricted to the sacraments; they occur throughout our
ordinary daily lives. Each time we, in a
moment of clarity , experience the presence of God, it is a Holy Moment.
Lets
consider some of them;
I
asked a couple of our youth at breakfast this week if they could recall a Holy
moment in their lives.
One
example was at "Sam I Am", a local mission trip a few years ago.
Daily the youth, most of whom were sincere in their efforts, would work in the
community. Some kids were though, and I
quote, "Jerks" After the days
work was done, the youth would gather in worship. During the worship on this
particular evening , which featured live music, many youth were on there knees
in prayer. Suddenly, this young teen
knew the presence of God was there; the thought filled her mind and amazed her
"God is here, even with these Jerks1"
A
Holy moment- recognizing the presence of God. There without judgement for all
to experience.
Another
example offered goes like this:
Joining
the church was a Holy Moment
I
don't know why it happens like this, but the worst arguments with my mom always
seem to happen on Saturday night. Then I
come here Sunday morning. Walking into
this Sanctuary I feel like I am being hugged.
This is a Holy Moment for me. It
feels like family.
Isn't
that beautiful? YOU- your very presence
here creates a Holy Moment in a young persons life.
If
Presence alone can create a Holy Moment where another can feel God's
presence, think of the limitless
capacity we have the radiate God's love
into the world- simply by being.
I
have to tell you that when I knew that my sermon topic was to be Holy Moments,
I was initially really excited. I
envisioned writing an upbeat, joyful sermon ; a collection of inspiring
energizing Holy Moments. But its winter in Ohio, it tends to get gloomy. Like many of you, I'm confronted with many
challenges. By December our family was engaged in a third battle with
cancer. This time even more serious and
threatening. One son is deployed for the better part of a
year-we don't even know where he is. The world
and economy are so unstable. My
Spirits sank for a while. Where were the
Holy moments now? Crisis makes them hard to spot.
Or
does it?
In
January I was in Canada to care for my mom when she underwent a
mastectomy. I have shared with you that
in addition to the cancer, mom suffers from Alzheimer's. Things are pretty bad
for her now.
As
she struggled to make sense of things after surgery, I held my mother's hand
stroking it gently, hoping to provide assurance. Her pale blue-grey eyes kept staring up at me; filled with fear and
uncertainty. “Its okay,” I repeat for what felt like the
millionth time. “I've got you, its okay”.
Finally I see the decision to trust in her eyes, and they clear a bit.
Her tension eases a little, her eyes flutter open and shut. Then she stares
again unblinkingly into my eyes, as I continue to stroke her hand. “OK” she sighs. Now her body visibly relaxes and her eyes
drift shut.. As she trustingly lets sleep take her, her hand still rests in
mine.
Its a Holy thing; those old eyes filled with
childlike trust, and the privilege of caring for her in these vulnerable
moments. Yes , It's a holy thing indeed
I
can feel the circle of life closing in
on us; from infancy we wander through life towards maturity, and then some must
return to a child like state. The words from the gospel of Matthew (18:3-4)
fill my mind and heart “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like
children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble
like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." I wonder as I see this child in moms eyes; is
she approaching the open arms of Jesus now? I think so. What a Holy moment.
God
is with us; in the serene beauty of a sunrise, in the frightening moments, and
in our frailty. Holy Moments are
everywhere when we open the eyes of our hearts to receive them. Maybe they are
even more lovely in the midst of battles
with cancer, dementia and crisis.
I
did though find a beautiful upbeat, description of a Holy moment that I'd like
to share with you now. Its from book by Elizabeth Canham entitled Ask the
Animals. Elizabeth had followed the life
of a humpback whale named Salt for many years.
This passage describes a reunion
of sorts
"Slowly Salt separated herself
from her companion and came towards the boat until she was lying, full length, alongside just a few
feet below where I stood. As I write these words, tears of awe and joy prickle
once more behind my eyelids.
Salt and I were united once again , and I sensed a connection far deeper than
words can express, or the human mind can comprehend.
It was a holy moment, an encounter
with the mystery at the heart of the universe,
and a moment when I felt as Moses must have felt when he knew the
presence of God as he stood beside the burning bush. In this divine
encounter,
I stepped out of the shoes of
rationality to stand, tears of joy running down my windblown face,
in the awesome, mysterious presence of God.
(
Elizabeth Canham; Ask the Animals. p4)
May
it be so for all of us. Amen
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