sermon excerpts: "Good to Be Here" (Mark 9: 2-9)

It is good for us to be here. Peter said it on top that mountain long ago; I say the same thing from this pulpit now. It is good for us to be here.
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Peter, James and John are astounded by their trip to the mountaintop with Jesus. Still puzzling over the words of Jesus that spoke of death and sacrifice, they suddenly see that the great pioneers of faith, Moses representing the Law and Elijah representing the Prophets, in their fullest glory, are there too. They spoke with him; maybe, consulting with Jesus about the days ahead in Jerusalem.
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The point is not so much the fact that the biggest names are returning to earth from the heavenly dimension to endorse Jesus in his quest. Here we have a spectral and supernatural reminder that we are not alone. We build our present and future upon the work and legacy of the past. ...

But back to transfiguration: There’s a lot that is remarkable and unbelievable. This even proves what? That Jesus is God’s son, that we should listen to him. I think that was unnecessary. He’s already proven himself wise and compassionate, healing and performing miracles. What the transfiguration reveals is that he, too, has a connection to a bigger story, a broader tradition.

Even Jesus couldn’t do it alone. With his spiritual connection to Moses and Elijah, with his community connection to the disciples, with his eternal connection to believers and today’s people of faith, we are part of the story.

We are transfigured when we express and share our faith, our doubts and our hopes. Working to sustain and nurture our spirits, giving words to the meaning of life, our understanding of where God is, how to live as morally responsible people, how to make a difference in the world. How can we reach out and make the world a better place? How do we bring light to darkness, offer hope in the face of evil?

It is good for us to be here, whether it’s Mount Taber or Mount Hermon, Appin or Glencoe. It is good to be here together, part of a bigger picture, receiving a communal message and a shared experience, but it is not enough for us to stay here. We still need to come down from the mountain, leave Sunday morning, and engage the ordinary and everyday tasks and duties as agents of transfiguration: bringing light, radiance and love.

for Feb. 22: Mark 9. 2-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.

And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

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What feelings, questions, thoughts and prompts to personal action arise from this scripture?
What about hymn suggestions or ideas for Children's Time? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.

Sick Day

I'm working from home today, as best I can. Kai is still feeling unwell and I'm trying to get him into the doctor.

So I won't be in Appin for Office Hours today, but you can reach me by email or call the cellphone. Thankfully (?), I'll still be able to go to Presbytery tonight!

sermon excerpts: "Healthy Choices" (2 Kings 5: 1-14, Mark 1: 40-45)

Much of life is balancing expectations with reality. In the 2 Kings reading, Naaman expected great and marvelous, miraculous things from this mysterious healer, not the simple direction to go have a bath. He wanted a spectacle and dramatic display of power. All he had to do is show up at the river? He didn’t have to undertake some mythic quest and slay some dragons? That’s too easy, it’s so easy that it’s not even worth doing.

We look for the hard way of doing things. After all, I’ve said to myself many times that it must be the right thing to do if it’s the hard thing to do. Maybe it is as simple as listening to what we’re told. In the end it is a choice that we have to make.

We know of the placebo effect in drug testing, ... [proving] the mind is a powerful persuader of our reality. Wednesday night’s viewing of the movie “What the Bleep Do We Know?” overwhelmed our brains with this message. What we choose to believe and visualize can change the events and future of this world.

This theme of choice was heard in the gospel lesson. The leper presents a choice to Jesus: that he could heal him or not. Jesus chose to heal the leper. But the leper then chose to disobey the warning to keep quiet. So Jesus’ stay in town had to be cut short and he fled to the countryside where there would be more room for people to gather.

But isn’t that what we want? So many people gathered in church that there isn’t room? What about parking? What if someone sits in our seat? What if we grow so big that we don’t know who everyone is? ...

We really and truly only want growth on our terms: according to expectations, well-managed and tightly controlled. But when we live in the Spirit, as people of God, what we want is not what we get. Not even Jesus got what he wanted. He preferred a low-key ministry free from miracles and publicity so that the real message of changing your life, choosing to live for service in love could be the focus, not the razzledazzle of casting out demons, curing the incurable and bending the forces of nature to his will.

All because the leper couldn’t keep his mouth shut. We call it evangelizing, spreading the good news, telling our story. And maybe Jesus had no right to tell the leper that he couldn’t speak of the greatest moment of his life, but at the heart of these lessons is choice. Our own free will to decide: do we wash simply in the Jordan, or make things harder on ourselves thinking we know better? Do we keep silent and to ourselves, or do we dare to approach others and ask plainly for what we need?

Whether we choose wisely or not, is not the worry. We have the ability in our life to make a decision before it gets made for us. Let us never waste those opportunities. Such is the gift of our existence and the call of our faith.