Sunday, August 6, 2017, Transfiguration (full size gallery)
Another beautiful, relatively mild Sunday for August. The butterflies were out in mass. We had 39 in church with several away on vacations and more going next week.
This weekend is the Va. Sales tax holiday. As part of the Village Harvest on Aug 16, we are collecting school supplies. We have the supplies for each school here. We are also collecting any type of cereal products for Aug. 16.
We celebrated Samantha’s birthday who was our lector as well as those not here, Mike Newman, Suzamnne Wall, Keith Upshaw as well the anniversary of Joe and Mary Anne Betchy.
After the service we conducted a prayer circle for Marsha for continual help during her chemotherapy.
Today’s scriptures celebrates transformations. In Exodus, we witness the physical transformation of Moses after spending time in God’s presence. Peter testifies to the amazing events of Jesus’ glorious transfiguration. In the gospel, Jesus is transformed, his glory revealed and his mission affirmed by a voice from heaven.
This Sunday we welcomed Jeffri Harre as preacher.Jeffri is the Director of Hospitality at Virginia Theological Seminary and friend of Catherine’s. He is currently working on an MA in Christian Education and is also a spiritual director in Northern Virginia.
Jeffre contrasted Transfiguration Sunday on Last Epiphany (Feb 26 with Matthew’s version Matthew 17:1-9) and today’s Feast of the Transfiguration Aug 6 (which featured Luke 9:28-36 ). The former revealed God’s light on Christ after the baptism “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” It was God’s glory revealed.
The language from that collect called us to be “strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; “ just before the beginning of Lent in the next Sunday.
Luke’s passage reveals who is Jesus and his ministry and see Jesus in fullness of light revealing his glory. The collect today reads “Mercifully grant that we, being delivered from the disquietude of this world, may by faith behold the King in his beauty.”
They entered the cloud in Luke’s passage but not Matthew. The disciples see Moses and Elijah and their glory. Secondly “Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” The departure leads to Jesus suffering and death. The future is revealed to the disciples but they don’t understand. The new exodus is accomplished through Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. Jesus’ glory is his own (9:32), not a reflected glory as Moses’ was.
Jeffrey talked about Jesus’ prayer habits. He often went alone to pray in the mountains or with his disciples. Rarely is he delivered from unease. In former passages he prays and then feeds the 5,000. On Maundy Thursday he prays and is arrested.
Prayer grounds us and allows us to discern our own ministry. Prayer strengthens us for the tensions of the world that we are bound to experience. But be careful what you pray for. You may be transfigured which is a change of form to a more spiritual state.