Matthew 17:1-9
When I began my time with you eighteen months ago, I preached about trusting that the Spirit would surely be our holy GPS along this transitional journey.
The first Sunday after John McCall retired, I reminded us, using a midrash story about God, the angels and creation, that even in the time between settled ministers, you were still very much partners with God and ‘the world wasn’t finished yet, and God was depending on you.’
This morning, now that you are officially covenanted with Cindy as your installed senior pastor, and I am ending my time with you as Transitional Minister, I want to continue the journey metaphor – because aren’t life and faith, after all, an ongoing journey of discovery, adventure and discipleship – with companions and guides coming and going along the way depending on need, circumstance and call. So today I want to offer three words for the journey, words suggested by our morning’s lesson – LISTEN, TOUCH, SHINE.
What I love about this Transfiguration story is Peter’s desire to want to DO something. His first response was to build something in order to make the glorious experience last. We can relate, can’t we? It’s a human tendency when confronted with something awesome or overwhelming to want to mange it or control it or take care of it in a way that WE can handle it.
Yet, what is God’s response? The command simply to LISTEN to Jesus. To soak up Jesus’ presence, his wisdom, his mission. To spend more time listening than responding, because until we truly hear, until we listen with all of ourselves without being distracted by doing, by busyness; what we rush off too quickly to do will wind up being our desire and not God’s; it will be our design but not Jesus’ direction for our journey.
Yes, on the journey there will be many occasions when we need to spend time building, when we need to spend time actively engaging; but there also must be just as many times to linger in the Divine presence doing nothing but listening for and sensing God’s voice, paying attention to the Spirit overshadowing us and blessing us.
So dear friends, as your journey continues, I invite you to take the time to LISTEN to each other and to LISTEN to the Divine.
The second word I want to offer for the journey comes from what is unique to Matthew’s account of the Transfiguration story. Only in this gospel is there a description of the disciples being overcome with fear along with Jesus’ loving response: “But Jesus came and touched them, saying ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’” vs. 7
Whether it is in a moment of awe-inspiring theophany when we experience divine mystery, or whether it is in those awful, fearful moments when life as we know and cling to it irrevocably changes; the good news is we have a God with skin on! A God who constantly is reaching out to reassure us and take away our fear. A God who is always touching us with the embrace of hope and courage and peace. Sometimes on our journey that touch comes through a very human presence in the hand clasp or hug of a friend or loved one; and sometimes the touch is felt in that deep wordless sigh we breathe or when our shoulders finally relax or when an inner calm overcomes us. But however the touch comes, it is the loving presence of God drawing us close, seeking to erase all distance and every fear. With such touch, such reassurance, even the tedious or the dangerous parts of the journey are made bearable.
So dear friends, as your journey continues, I invite you to open yourselves to hear God saying, “Be not afraid,” and to feel the divine TOUCH. I also invite you to be that TOUCH of blessing for others.
And the last word for the journey – SHINE. Because even though it was Jesus who was transfigured, his experience calls us to participate in the same sense of being changed by God so we are better able to share Jesus’ love and grace with the world. One of my dear friends, a former seminary classmate, puts it this way:
“How might we shine with light?
How might we be transfigured by the light of God?
How might we be light for the world?
Practice joy and you will glow like a star.
Practice wonder and you will shine like a candle in a dark place.
Practice compassion and you will radiate like the sun.
And if that is too hard, practice gratitude.
Simply practice gratitude
and you will shine with the light of God.” Steve Garnaas-Holmes, unfolding light, 2/25/14
Dear friends, as we each continue our journeys in life and faith, though our paths may diverge, I pray that you will ‘simply practice gratitude’ and I know you will truly shine!
Thank you for this time we have shared on the journey – more than I can say. My heart is overflowing with gratitude to you and to God.
Amen.