Wellspring UMC;
Transfiguration Sunday; February 18, 2007:
-Psalm
99: 1-9 (UMH 819); Exodus 34: 29-35
“Encountering
God – God Shining Through Us”
My
parents had spoken with me a few times during the week and knew that it had
been a powerful experience, but when I stepped off the plane, it was as if they
were taken aback. There was an
awkwardness to the interaction, where the welcome was warm and joy found in
their 14 year old returning safely home, but at the same time they could sense
that something had changed. Something
was different. They had smiles on their
faces AND a look of anticipation, waiting to hear all about it.
As
my father is apt to say, “So, how was your trip?” I said, “Great.” Then my insightful mother who can read anyone
said, “It must have been, you’re beaming.”
So began my entre back into the real world after my first ‘mountain top’
experience, my attendance at the National Youth Ministries Organization
Conference in
NYMO,
as it is called, is the youth equivalent of the UMC’s General Conference. For a week, UM youth and youth leaders from
all over the world gathered to share in worship, seminars, mission action, and
forming legislation which would eventually work its way to General Conference,
where the Youth voice and concerns would be heard. For me, it was life-changing. It was a week-long encounter with God, which
left me bewildered, excited, confused, and wondering what had just happened.
Obviously,
it had an impact, because my parents could see it on my face. My friends, when I began navigating in the
real world, wondered what was up with me.
Where’d the smile come from? The
positive attitude? The sense of
peace? The hunger for life? I’d had an encounter with the God of creation,
and it changed me...visibly and tangibly.
Anyone here ever had a mountaintop
experience? Ever gone on a retreat and
returned with excitement and joy at what you’d just experienced, and yet at the
same time more questions than you’d ever get answers to and a sense of ‘where
do I go from here’? Ever experienced a
moment in time that literally brought you to your knees? Your wedding, the birth of a child, receiving
that diploma...being baptized, confirmed, joining the church; watching as the
baptismal water washes over your child; standing beside someone with whom
you’ve walked mile after mile through life’s muck and grime as they have
finally broken through to the other side.
These are powerful, life changing
experiences. They change us. Transform us.
Transfigure us, and no matter what we say or do, it is evident to others
simply by our presence. When we
encounter God...when God encounters us...we shine, because God shines through
us.
Today
is Transfiguration Sunday. That means
that today is the last Sunday in the Season after Epiphany, and the Sunday
before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. The season of
Epiphany, through which we’ve been traveling, is a season of light. If you remember, Epiphany begins with the
coming of the Magi, the gentiles, the outsiders, following a star to Jesus’
bed. They followed light in the
darkness, to meet the One who overcomes all darkness with light.
This
Epiphany season, has been marked for us by the concept of God’s love flowing
into us here and out of us into the world.
(Turn to window behind me) Thus, the powerful symbolism of this flowing
material from the water of life, into the congregation. It has been a season of encountering God
through worship, and at times walking away excited, bewildered, with questions,
and for some, beaming as a witness to the world.
But
now we reach the end of this season, and we prepare ourselves for Lent – that
time of introspection, self-examination, and digging deep so we might prepare
ourselves for the journey to the Cross...the death of Christ. From love flowing in us and through us, to
examining Who that love is and what that love means to us. We transition today from a time of outward
focus to inward.
Traditionally, the scripture for
today is the story of Jesus on the Mountain, found in Matthew, Mark, and
Luke. He takes with him, Peter, James,
and John, and when they get to the top, Moses and Elijah show up, and Jesus is
transformed before their eyes. His face
shines, his clothes shine. Moses and
Elijah shine, and the disciples stand in awe.
Amazed at what they see, they
can’t wrap their minds around it. And as
if that’s not enough, a cloud blows in, and God’s voice booms, “This is my son, my chosen, listen to him!” Thus begins Jesus’ descent toward the
cross. They come down the mountain, and
Jesus fixes his eyes on his destiny,
Transfiguration Sunday is a day when
we remember that mountaintop experience, and our own mountaintop
experiences. It’s a day when we remember
the miraculous, assuring grace of God, because before us are 47 days of
reflection, some of it painful, some insightful, and all it powerful, for it is
a journey toward Truth, Sacrifice, and death which leads to Resurrection.
But today’s scripture comes from Exodus. This is the story of Moses coming down from
the mountain for the second time. His
hands loaded with the tablets upon which are written the Commandments, take
two. (Remember, the first set were
destroyed when Moses found the Israelites dancing around the Golden Calf.) But what captures our attention in this story
is the presence of Moses after being in the presence of God. He shines.
He beams. He is literally
glowing.
There is a residual affect from
being with God, and when Moses comes down, they notice it immediately. Interestingly, Moses did not know that his
skin was shining. He didn’t know his
appearance had changed, but once he saw the reaction of Aaron and the
Israelites, he knew something was up.
Moses shared the experience, shared
the commandments with them, then, did you notice what he did? He put a veil on.
Now, why would he put a veil
on? What’s that all about? Well, I’d imagine he put a veil on his face,
for a few reasons. The first was that he
didn’t want to scare them. After all, if
we saw someone glowing, we’d probably wondered if they had worked at
Secondly, I’d imagine he put the
veil on because he was humbled by the encounter with God. He recognized the power of the presence of
God, and that in itself moved him to cover himself in awe and humility.
Thirdly, I’d imagine he veiled
himself, because they knew he had had an encounter with God. He wanted and needed to be an instrument of
God’s work, and the veil presented to them the reality that, though he was
intimately connected with God, he was also intimately connected with them.
And yet, the Truth remained, even
though he had a veil on when he was around the Israelites, his face still
shone. He still revealed the presence of
God, and every time he and God got together, Moses’ skin was affected. And every time Moses’ was affected, the
people were changed, because they found themselves in the presence of the Holy.
Over
the past few months, we’ve been focused on receiving God’s love here, then
sharing that love with others. We
started off the year making a covenant to be faithful in our walk. Then we
celebrated the many blessings that are found here. We have been challenged to live our faith in
the everyday by embodying love then inviting others to be a part of what God is
doing at Wellspring, and all of it has pointed us toward receiving the fullness
of the gifts God gives us. All of what
we’ve shared this year has provided an entre for encounters with God, and from
what I have heard, many, many of us have felt God at work.
In
fact, many beam at how God is moving.
Many shine, because in the midst of life, God is showing up and leading
them. Many are experiencing the presence
of the living God and asking God to work in their lives, and to help them to
invite others experience the same. God’s
love is flowing into this place, into us, and flowing out these doors into our
community and world.
Oh, there are times when we put our
veils on, and we don’t necessarily put the veils on for the same reasons Moses
did. But we veil our faith in the
world. We put veils over ourselves,
dampen the affects of what we experience for many reasons – to be cool, to not
encroach on someone else’s faith, even to try and downplay that God is actually
changing us. To do such, is natural, and
it is all part of the process of transfiguration and being changed to God’s
likeness.
But what is key, is that like Moses,
despite the veils, despite what we do or who we are or how we might respond,
the light of God, the affects of divine moments, the impact of God’s working in
our lives, remains. The light of God
still shines on us, in us, and through us.
As
shared earlier in our service, today congregations across the globe are singing
with us that great hymn by John Newton, Amazing Grace. I don’t know about you, but that is a
powerful hymn to me. Every time I sing
it or hear it, it not only humbles me, but draws me closer to who God is, and
who God is in me. It is Amazing, this
grace, but even more amazing is that this grace is ours and it is there for the
world.
John
Newton was a slave trader, but he had an encounter with God. He shone with God’s love. That shine attracted William Wilberforce, and
he then had encounter after encounter with God, and he shone with God’s
love. And through his work in
Parliament, through giving his life toward abolishing slavery in
Friends, we are about to enter the
season of Lent. This is a season where
often it feels like the light shines less upon us and through us, but only
illuminates the dark areas of our lives. It reveals our true nature, but at the
same time it reiterates God’s true nature, which is one of loving us toward
wholeness. It can feel like...well, like
a veil is placed upon us...like things are muffled...like we’re coming down
from the mountain bewildered, confused and wondering what’s next. It is a season where we are humbled and
humble ourselves. It is a season where we can be changed, and change can be
scary.
But remember what happened with Moses. The power of God, the awe of God, the grace of God remained. Despite the veil, he still shone, and others saw God in him. Such is the truth of life, and such is the truth of our lives, as we begin the journey to the Cross of Christ. Thanks be to God. Amen.