After 7 weeks we bade farewell to Epiphany. Visually and spiritually things will change over the next week. No more alleluias, no more flowers, altar rearranged and purple reappearing. A time to slow down and see where we are and to reflect on the journey to Jerusalem over a number of weeks. The weather was gray with a chilling wind to provide an appropriate backdrop.
This was the Transfiguration Sunday where Jesus is completely changed from an earthly body to a heavenly body before Peter, John and James. Indeed light, fire, water were all apart of most of the lectionary readings coupled with appearances by God. Eljah was carried to heaven in chariots of fire after the waters were parted in the Kings passage. Psalm 50 describes a "consuming flame" before him and "round him a raging storm." We had calla lillies to represent the fire and light. The readings are here and the bulletin is here.
The transfiguration is a look backward to Jesus baptism but now God is speaking to all present for all listeners – "Listen to Him" as opposed to a private ceremony only with Jesus The disciples learn that this Messiah is different than any before. There is a connection backward to Moses and Elijah, respresenting the law and prophets and summing up the Jewish experience.
There is also look ahead. This story is halfway through Mark and now leading toward Jerusalem.. It sets the tone for Lent where Jesus faces increasing trial and sacrifice leading to the cross.
As the sermon stated, "What did being risen from the dead mean? Entering into the grief and darkness of Jesus’ coming death, they couldn’t figure out that light would be at the end, even though they had just seen it… "We, too, make this journey through life, so often filled with grief. We travel through this life loving people, and then losing them, facing the death of our fondest dreams, and if we live long enough, growing older and feeling the world literally shrink around us. Particular parts of this journey are full of grief and darkness and insurmountable challenges that we aren’t sure we can manage. And like the disciples, we frequently come up short in the ways we manage our lives, giving in to the darkness in infinite ways unique to each one of us.
"The season of Lent gives us an opportunity to remember that we travel in the light and to develop the practice of finding the light of God’s presence through even the darkest and most grief stricken days of our journeys."
We had 37 today in attendance and thanked Helmut for making a holder for a torch we have borrowed.
Cookie brought in an annoucement of 1909 Lenten Services that she received from a relative. A fascinating document! The message is that you can never come too often to Lenten services. For them it was a time of "self-discipline, self-restriction and self-sacrifice" . The message is similar to our time but we have also added the idea that Lent is also time to take up new activities in the world – readings, serving charities, serving others.
One interesting point on the first page is that people went to church at least twice a week besides Sunday during Lent (Wednesday and Friday, 7:30pm). That was in keeping with the time. City churches often had daily services.