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The Last Sunday after the Epiphany Year A   February 23, 2020

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Beth Crane

Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm 2
2 Peter 1:16-21
Matthew 17:1-9

Today is the Last Sunday after the Epiphany. This coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. We move from the Epiphany season, a time when we celebrate the showing forth of the light of Christ to all people, a time when we focus on light and mission. And we enter the season of Lent. 

Lent comes from the Old English word “lencten”, meaning “spring.” Lent is a time when we take on disciplines that will bring us closer to God and a time when we let go of any things in our lives which draw us away from God. Lent is a time when we engage in self-examination and preparation for the great feast of Easter. In the early Church, Lent was a time in which people were prepared for the sacrament of Baptism. It is a penitential time in which we examine our lives and repent. 

Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary says that to repent is to be sorry for our sins and to dedicate ourselves to the amendment of our lives. Another way to say it is that during Lent and other times of penitence, we experience metanoia, a process of transformation which leads us closer to God and allows us to let God into our lives so that we grow more and more into the likeness of Christ.

Lent is a time when we walk the Way of the Cross. We walk in the shoes of our Lord and we gain a more profound understanding of who he was, what it means to follow him, and how we can live the Way of Love.

Our opening reading today is from the Book of Exodus. Moses goes up the  mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. Back in those days, the thinking was that you could not look into the face of God and live. So the fact that Moses could go up there and come back down was quite amazing to people. Herbert O’Driscoll says that back in those days Mount Sinai was an active volcano, and that certainly adds to the terror of Moses’ journey.

In our gospel, Peter has said that Jesus is the Messiah. Our Lord takes his closest followers, Peter, James and John, and leads them up a high mountain. This is not Mt. Sinai. Scholars say it could be Mount Tabor or Mount Hermon. Others suggest other possibilities. Some say we should not search for an exact location but consider this a symbolic Mount of Transfiguration.

In any event, Jesus and his three companions go up the mountain. His face shines like the sun, his clothes are dazzling white. He is transfigured. The great prophets Moses and Elijah are there, talking with him, showing that he is in the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.

We could say that this is an awe-inspiring scene, and perhaps a bit scary. It is definitely what we would call  a “mountaintop experience.” Peter is is extremely flustered and is not quite in possession of his logical faculties. He wants to build three booths to preserve this moment of intersection with the eternal. When we have those mountaintop moments, we all want to do this. We want to save the moment forever.

As in the baptism of our Lord, God says, “This is my Son, the beloved; with him I am well pleased;” and then God adds some very good advice: “listen to him!” The disciples fall on the ground, overcome by fear. You know how it is. In a terrifying moment, we became paralyzed. And then Jesus comes and touches them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And they look up and see no one but Jesus. The text says, “himself, alone.” He is the Son of God, and yet directly after that moment, he comes and touches them, calms their fears, and brings them back to reality. Then they go down the mountain.

As we get ready for Lent, there are so many things we can remember from this transfiguration experience.  One is that we can now look into the face of God and live. We can look into the face of Jesus and from the power of his love and light we can gain the courage to take the next steps of our journey.

 As we move into Lent, we can remember the glorious illumination of his transfigured presence. We can keep in mind that he is calling us to grow into his likeness, to become more and more like him.

We can feel him touching us in our moments of fear or grief or despair, and saying, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

The author of the First Letter of Peter, probably a disciple of Peter, is so close to his teacher that he can recall this moment as though he actually lived it. This faithful disciple writes, “You would do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”

The morning star is often thought of as a symbol of Jesus. In hymns such as number 497: “How bright appears the morning star; with mercy beaming from afar; the host of heaven rejoices; O righteous Branch, O Jesse’s Rod! Thou Son of man and Son of God! We, too, will left our voices: Jesus, Jesus! Holy, holy, yet most lowly, draw thou near us….”

For the next two days, we can hold in our hearts this vision of our transfigured Lord and his call to us to open ourselves to his transforming power and love. Then, on Ash Wednesday, we will resume our journey with him, the journey to the cross.

As we make that journey, may we hold this vision of who he truly is, May we be strengthened to bear our cross. May we be changed into his likeness. In his holy Name. Amen.

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Last Sunday after the Epiphany Year A RCL February 26, 2017

Posted on February 26, 2017 by Beth Crane

Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm 99
2 Peter 1:16-21
Matthew 17:1-9

The Epiphany season, the season of light and mission, is coming to a close. We are about to begin the journey of Lent. In our opening reading, God’s people have escaped their slavery in Egypt, but they are going to embark on their forty days of journeying in the wilderness.

God calls Moses to go up on Mount Sinai. Moses will receive the tablets of the law. This is a terrifying journey for Moses. Herbert O’Driscoll reminds us that Mt. Sinai at this time was an active volcano. Moses is a very smart man, He does not go into this terror alone. For the first part of the trip, in addition to his assistant Joshua, he takes the seventy elders plus Aaron and Hur. As he moves to the final ascent,  he leaves Aaron and Hur in charge of the assembly. They will help to resolve any conflicts that may arise.

Moses remains on the mountain for forty days. When he comes back down, the people have already grown impatient and have fashioned the golden calf.

In our gospel for today, Jesus has just told the disciples that he is going to have to go to Jerusalem, that the authorities are watching his every move, and that he is going to die. He has also asked them who they think he is, and Peter has made his passionate and forceful statement that Jesus is the Messiah.

Jesus takes his three closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, and leads them up the mountain. Jesus is transfigured. He becomes luminescent, dazzling white. Moses and Elijah appear with him. They even talk with him, reminding us that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. It is an impressive, even scary, scene. Peter tries to capture the moment. offering to build three dwellings, one for each of the three revered figures. As we know, we cannot hold on to these moments. They are incredibly powerful and life-changing, but their meaning can be held only in the heart and mind.

Then God speaks and reminds us who Jesus really is. God also adds the wise command, “Listen to him.” With this, the disciples are totally overcome with fear. They fall to the ground. It is one thing to climb up a high mountain with your beloved teacher and Lord and see him utterly transformed.  It is quite another thing to hear the voice of God saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

They have lost their footing. They have perhaps even lost consciousness. In any case, they have fallen onto the ground. The text says, “They were overcome by  fear.” They are shaking in terror. They are beside themselves. They have no idea what to do.

They have seen Jesus as he truly is. Peter was already aware of this reality, and I think the others had realized it, too. But now the close relationship between Jesus and God is completely apparent. They may have thought they were climbing the mountain with their friend and teacher, Jesus, whom they loved and admired, but now it is clear that Jesus is the Son of God. Peter and James and John have now been in the presence of the living God. We have to remember that, even in the time of Jesus, people believed that you could not be in the presence of God and survive. And yet they have. They may be on the ground shaking with terror, but they are still alive.

Jesus has told them what is going to happen, and now, they may be wanting to run for their lives. Away from the turmoil and violence. Away from the horror of the cross. But they cannot do it. Their legs are like rubber and they are paralyzed with fear.

And then something amazing happens. Jesus comes and touches them. Maybe he puts a reassuring hand on their shoulder. In times of fear and lostness, a touch can heal as nothing else can. Not only does he touch them, he also says something that they will remember all their lives. He says, “Get up and do not be afraid.” “Get up and do not be afraid.”

How many times have we been paralyzed by fear, or helpless with fear and Jesus comes and calls to us to get up and not be afraid. How many times will Peter and James and John remember this moment and these words from our Lord as they go about their ministries?

They will remember these words and the love of Jesus as they mourn his death. They will remember these words and the love and healing and forgiveness of our Lord as they realize what has happened on the first Easter.

Every year we read the gospel of the Transfiguration on this Last Sunday after the Epiphany. I believe that we do this because we need to know who Jesus really is as we prepare for our Lenten journey. Jesus is the one who touches us, touches our places of fear and doubt, and calls us to get up, have faith, and follow him.

This year, our Bishop has given us the gift of the Lenten Program, “Living Life Marked as Christ’s Own.” As you follow this program though Lent, you can also subscribe to the video series 5marksoflove.org. You will receive a daily email, a video, and a question for reflection. Please see your booklet to find out more.

Lent is a time to grow closer to our Lord, as the old hymn says, “To see him more clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly. day by day.” May we follow him. Amen.

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Last Sunday after the Epiphany March 2, 2014

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Beth Crane

Exodus 24:12-18

Psalm 99

2 Peter 1:16-21

Matthew 17:1-9

Our first lesson takes us back three thousand years. The people of God have arrived at Mount Sinai. God has called Moses to go to the top of the mountain to receive the tablets of the law. Herbert O’Driscoll reminds us that back in those days, people thought that gods lived on mountains because mountains are elevated, reaching to the heavens. He tells us that at that time Mount Sinai was an active volcano, so when we read of fire and smoke coming from the mountain, we have to imagine the active volcanoes we have seen in pictures or perhaps experienced.(O’Driscoll, The Word Today, Year A, Vol. 1, p. 120.)

Back in those days, people truly believed that you could not look on the face of God and live, You could not get close to God and live through it. What courage Moses shows in going to the top of the mountain to meet with God! The elders go part way up. He tells them to stay and wait. Then Moses and Joshua go to the top of the mountain. They stay for forty days and forty nights.

What a different experience we have of God because of Jesus coming to be with us.

Six days after Peter says that Jesus is the Savior, Jesus takes Peter and James and John and they go up the mountain. Scholars tell us that it was probably Mt. Hermon, near Caesarea Philippi. Jesus is transfigured. He becomes who he really is. Moses and Elijah are there, showing that Jesus is a great leader along with the spiritual giants of his people.

I can’t help but think of our favorite super heroes. Mild mannered Clark Kent ducks into a phone booth and emerges as Superman. Jesus has shared meals with the disciples, taught them, encouraged them, loved them. He has been one of them. He has been and is a fellow human being. Now they see that he is something much more than human. They see what they and we can become as spiritual beings.

Peter wants to capture the moment. Oh, how we want to save these mountaintop experiences for all time! But we can’t. Nor can we live at that level of heightened excitement all the time. We would die of heart attacks.

They see who he really is—the Son of God—and the voice of God confirms the fact. They are terrified. They still believe that you cannot be near God and live. But Jesus touches them and reassures them, He tells them not to be afraid. Everything has changed because of Jesus. We can now walk with God, We do not have to be afraid.

This is the scene we see on this last Sunday before the beginning of Lent. As we prepare to walk the way of the Cross, we see Jesus in his glory. This reminds us that, with Jesus, there is always light in the midst of darkness, wholeness in the midst of brokenness, life in the midst of death. It also reminds us that we are on a journey of transformation.

Our epistle from Peter talks about something very powerful. Think what it was for people to hear about Jesus from someone who had gone up the mountain with our Lord. Think what it must have been like to hear about Jesus from one of the people who had spent all that time with our Lord, someone who had walked and talked with Jesus, someone who knew Jesus as friend, mentor and teacher, someone who had seen Jesus transfigured on that day.

This is someone who can convey the very presence of Jesus to us, someone who can bring us into the presence of Jesus. By the time this letter was written, the Church was undergoing persecution. Peter writes, “You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”

The reality of Jesus, his love and his grace, his presence walking with us through the challenges of life, is a powerful thing. He is the light in the darkness. He brings a new day of hope, and faith rises again in our hearts.

This Wednesday we will gather to begin Lent. We will have ashes on our foreheads, which will remind us of our mortality and our frail humanity. We will begin to walk the Way of the Cross.

As we prepare for Lent, let us think about these two mountaintop experiences. In the first one, Moses and Joshua went up the mountain, and it was terrifying. God’s power was something to be feared. In the second experience, with Jesus and James and John, yes it was awe- inspiring and scary to hear the voice of God, but, when it was all over, Jesus was there alone before them. Yes, he is the Savior, and he walks down the mountain with us and keeps on walking with us just as he had before.

Jesus is one of us. Yet he is God walking the face of the earth. He is fully human and fully divine. And we are going to walk the Way of the Cross with him. And he is going to face the worst of what warped human power can do. And it is going to be awful. But, through it all, there is going to be that light shining in the very darkest places. The day will dawn, and the morning star will rise in our hearts.

Amen.

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