Tools

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
February 27, 2022

Last Epiphany 

          A couple of weeks ago, our family gathered in Springfield, Ohio to celebrate my father-in-laws 90^th birthday.  My father-in-law’s name is Fred, although he is called Papa by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Both of Fred’s sons and daughters-in-law were there, three grandsons and their wives or girlfriend, and two of his six greatgrandchildren were there.   Our daughter-in-law, Leslie, had decorated the hotel banquet room beautifully, making the room warm and festive.  We had been planning this night for a very long time, knowing well that Covid might keep us from having this celebration.  But the evening was everything we hoped it would be-full of laughter, stories, photos, good food, and lots and lots of love.  After two years of not being together as a whole family, not since Papa’s 88^th birthday right before covid, the evening was a balm for our souls as we reconnected with each other and spent a few brief hours as a family and away from ongoing concerns about Covid, global issues, and the various other challenges of everyday life.  The experience was a precious gift, even if temporary, as we reconnected with each other around our beloved 90 year old Papa.  We drew energy from our time together that we would take back with us into normal life. 

          Today, we hear about a different sort of experience that was a gift, temporary, and very precious as Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on the mountain to pray.  We hear the story of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain every year on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and at Christ Church we try to give ourselves a bit of a mountain top experience as we sing glorious Alleluia hymns and bury the alleluias in a very festive way.  This year, we throw in a little Mardi Gras and celebrate the loosening of our covid policies, making masks optional for those who are comfortable going without them.  Today was planned to be a festive, glorious, mountain top-style experience to take us down the mountain into Ash Wednesday and Lent.

          And yet, in the midst of our festivities, the concerns of the world press upon us as we gather.  In addition to the wilderness of Covid, the injustices of the world, and whatever personal wildernesses we confront, the wilderness of war is very present and on the minds of all of us.  I, and perhaps you, feel like we have already been living in the wilderness for a very long time and have now entered yet another earthly wilderness even as we prepare on this morning to enter the spiritual wilderness of Lent on Wednesday.  I’m with Peter this morning as he says “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  My version is just “Mario, can we stay here and sing these hymns every Sunday?”

          So the question becomes “What does the story of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain tell us about how we live faithfully in the wilderness, whether of Lent, Covid, war, or personal challenge?”  What tools does this story give us for life in the wilderness?

          First, Jesus, Peter, John, and James went up the mountain together, and in the verses following this passage, they all came down together.  Jesus did not go up the mountain alone, nor did he send the disciples up the mountain alone.  They all went together.  Likewise, we are called to travel together, whether up the mountain to experience the glory of Jesus or back down the mountain into the wilderness.  Wherever we go, we go together and Jesus goes with us. 

          Secondly, when Peter wants to try something new and build three houses, he is speaking from his heart, wanting not just to capture the moment, but to provide hospitality for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  Even though his idea is rather preposterous and perhaps inappropriate, I hear no judgment in this story.  I hear no one say “What a ridiculous idea.”  Not every idea we have for showing the love of God will work and we will make mistakes along the way.  Sometimes we, like Peter, may even look foolish.  We won’t hear Jesus judge us so long as we work from our hearts and out of love and are willing to recognize when we need to change course. 

          Lastly, we hear the voice of God proclaim Jesus as God’s son, God’s chosen one and command the disciples to listen to him.  The only problem is that Jesus has said not one word in this whole story for the disciples or us to listen to.  The last thing Jesus said before this passage is “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.”  Perhaps that is what the disciples and we are to listen to.  Where the disciples and we are to follow Jesus is down the mountain into the world where people need to hear the Good News of the love of God, which Jesus delivers by healing, teaching, feeding, and ultimately giving his life for the life of the world.  We live faithfully in the wilderness when we follow Jesus and engage the wilderness rather than run from it or count the days until we get out of it.  We have learned that over these last two years in a wilderness we could not run from and in which the days were and seem ot remain numberless.  There is always beauty and life in following Jesus!

          Mountain top experiences, whether large or small, of divine origin or are contrived, are a precious gift.  Sometimes they come in pretty ordinary ways and other times they come in epic, life altering ways.   Those moments, this moment, give us tools to live faithfully and to change to world as we follow Jesus down the mountain together to try new ways to engage the world with the news of God’s great.  What we learn from the rest of Jesus’ story is that no wilderness will be a match for God’s love.

                                                                             Amen.