We had 42 this Sunday on a day in the high 40’s with mix sun and clouds with a number of people out or on vacation. It wasn’t cold – mainly fresh. Robins were back in the yard leaving one to think that spring is not too far away. Virginia Bowen, Perry Sr and Perry, Jr. were in attendance.
We had several announcements. Ben presented another pitch for the Tools for the Sudan project. Larry Duffee, our missionary, provided some background on reasons to support it which is on the homepage. Bill Wick presented the "Region One" notes report from this previous week’s meeting. $4,000 was provided to a variety of causes – mission trip to Elizabeth City, NC by Aquia Episcopal ; support for a new toilet system for Notre Dame in Haiti, our sister parish ; $1,000 for Shrine Mont for tuition support ; and $1,000 for Church of the Incarnation for a new septive field. This covers most of the Diocese priorities for mission and ministry.
Barbara Wisdom spoke to Ladies Night Out on March 9. The theme will be a murder mystery where the participants in the dinner will take parts. Bill requested people let her know if they will be at the occasion. It is the 13th year of the event
We also celebrated Howard and Clarence’s birthday.
It was the last weekend for the Emergent church in Adult Christian Ed. The last topic was on spiritual practices which can be viewed here.
Lent begins this week. It was noted that Epiphany is the season of discovery – it begins with Jesus baptism, the development of his ministry and ended with Transfiguration with hints of Jerusalem in the future. The readings are here, bulletin here and sermon.
This Sunday is about who we are and who hope to be using the Transfiguration story.
We are who we are through Jesus. The Transfiguration from Luke asserts Jesus’ identity. We are first given the description of his transformed appearance (verse 29). The change in the appearance of his face is reminiscent of Moses’ face becoming radiant upon experiencing the presence of God in Exodus 34:29-35. But the description of the change in Jesus’ clothes distinguishes him from Moses significantly: Jesus’ clothes become “dazzling white,” words Luke uses to describe the appearance of angelic figures in Luke 24:4 and Acts 1:10. Jesus’ transformed appearance is thus not merely because he is experiencing God’s glory (like Moses) but rather because he is the very source of divine glory
Jesus is also the fulfilment of scripture. That Jesus was the “prophet like Moses” predicted by Moses himself is emphasized throughout Luke and Acts (seen most clearly in Acts 3:22-23, interpreting Deuteronomy 18:15). And Elijah’s appearance was associated with the coming of the day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5). Their appearance thus points to Jesus fulfilling specific prophecies associated with them as well as the more general notion of Jesus as the fulfillment of all of scripture. The Hebrews themselves believed that any new Messiah that came would have to be in the mold of these two.
Notably, that while the Transfiguration is included in Matthew and Mark Luke’s version is where Jesus is praying. Prayer is, in fact, a significant theme throughout Luke’s writings. Luke is the only Gospel author to tell us of Jesus praying on other momentous occasions, too
Following his baptism, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus while he his praying (3:21-22);
Jesus’ selection of the twelve apostles occurs after spending an entire night in prayer (6:12-16); Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah occurs in the context of Jesus’ praying (9:18-20).
So what does this mean for us ? We see and feel Jesus identity in this story and we know he is the culmination of scripture. We need to be transformed by his presence. How ? For us, the use of prayer is a means for our transformation. Prayer seeks the presence of God in our lives.
As the sermon states – "This story helps me to know that my life is a journey of transformation." It is a recap of his baptism but the words are different – then he was "beloved", now he is "chosen". At baptism the communication was with Jesus – now it is for the disciples. And God speaks to us through prayer.
The sermon continues – "In today’s reading from Second Corinthians, Paul says that “all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit."
"And when we gratefully pick up the crosses that God has in mind for us, then God’s glory gets released into the world through us as we get transformed into people who reflect God’s glory.
"How we pick up our crosses and show our gratitude to God in all sorts of ways in our daily lives with one another, and what we do and how we do it will vary for each one of us—but the point, as I mentioned last Sunday, is that God’s agenda determines our own agendas, and God’s agenda is so simple and so hard to do—to love one another and to work for the common good. "
We know who we are but the process of transformation is ongoing through our lives. It can be a part of the spiritual practices that engage our lives, developing and being engaged relationships, intentions and ultimate working in the nitty gritty of the world.