Message Archive

Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 23, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10

“The sheep follow him because they know his voice.  They will not follow a stranger… [John 10:4b-5a]

This fourth Sunday of Easter is traditionally Good Shepherd Sunday.  Year after year on this day, we read scriptures depicting Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  Jesus presents himself as the Good Shepherd on a number of occasions in the Gospel accounts.  Among the “I AM” statements of John’s Gospel, we read specifically in John 10:11, Jesus’ words, “I am the Good Shepherd.”

In this morning’s lesson, leading up to this pronouncement, Jesus indentifies himself as the gatekeeper of the sheep.  Only the true shepherd can enter the gate and call the sheep of his fold to follow his voice.  Jesus’ words are intended to chastise religious leaders who mislead the flocks entrusted to them.  Sadly, these commissioned to lead are strangers to those whose spiritual lives are their responsibility.  Jesus labels these deceptive leaders as thieves and bandits who enter the sheepfold for dishonorable reasons.  They are not true shepherds and they are not to be followed.

Shepherding is an humble profession.  We encounter imagery of the shepherd leading his sheep throughout the Bible – Old and New Testament.  Jesus frequently used analogies drawn from the imagery of sheep and shepherding, an aspect of life very familiar within the culture of the 1st century.  

Historically, shepherds have been lowly nomads, often smelly and travel-worn from endless days seeking greener pastures and safe territories for their flocks.  Shepherding was not an easy glamorous life, but Jesus used this profession as the very best illustration of the purpose of his life and mission.

Many of the key familiar figures of Hebrew history spent at least some time as shepherds – Father Abraham possessed a wealth of sheep; Jacob, who would become the father of Israel and his twelve sons had significant experiences with sheepherding; Moses was tending the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro when God appeared to him in the burning bush; and David was shepherding the sheep when the prophet Samuel summoned him to be anointed King.

David was an accomplished shepherd.  David knew well the challenges of providing for the safety and nurturance of sheep over long hot thirsty days on dangerous terrain and cool nights fraught with the threat of predators lurking about the herd.  David understood the necessity of constant vigilance and good judgment required to lead the sheep.  He understood the importance of the relationship and the comforts of familiarity between shepherd and sheep. 

David knew this role well and he used this motif as he wrote what has become the most well known of all the Psalms – Psalm 23, our appointed Psalm for today.  From his position among the flock, David illustrates his understanding of God’s ever-present compassion, protection, and guidance.  Though written long before the earthly birth of Jesus Christ, still, we look to this psalm to illustrate our life within the sheepfold of Jesus Christ – lives lived in abundance of the overflowing cup of God’s grace through our faith in our Risen Lord.

 To complement Good Shepherd Sunday, our appointed Psalm each year on Fourth Easter is this Psalm – the 23rd Psalm.  Of all the scripture in the Bible, this is the one that almost all – churched or non-churched – can recite nearly by heart.  We know the words so well that we do not even reflect on the words, as we should, until a slice of life brings the words to mind in surreal moments.

On the English countryside, sheep dot the landscape.  As the sheep rest seemingly effortlessly on the hillside in the lush green grass, basking in the warm sun and cool breeze; there is the sense that God has placed them there; they are nourished and protected – all needs provided, they want for nothing.  Riding along the paths through the rolling English hillside, viewing this pastoral scene, the words of Psalm 23 bubble up.  We shall not want; God, as our shepherd, makes us to lie down in green pastures of solace and sustenance.  We rest alongside the still waters of provision and peace from which we drink our fill in the still waters of abundant safety – all because our shepherd is supplying our need.

Our souls are revived as we are led along the right pathways.  The Hebrew in which the Psalm is recorded is much more descriptive than is our English interpretation.  The intention of meaning is that God fully restores/repairs the totality of our being with his complete and perfect care.  And, as restored beings of God’s creation, we follow his lead, aware of our total dependence on his guidance along the right path of life.

Yet, Jesus himself confirms that evil will be forever present until the end of time.  Thus, it is reality that we walk through “the valley of the shadow of death,” whether from external threats to our safety or times of deep personal despair and darkness.  This “valley of the shadow of death” always comes to mind for me when I view the photo of the people of New York City running panic-stricken through the street, the tall buildings creating a valley for the rushing firestorm of dust and debris that seeks to encompass them as the twin towers were exploding and collapsing behind them. 

Sheep remain always in danger; evil lurks and they are easy prey for predators.  Yet, even in the face of this constant threat, they are at peace – peace that comes solely from confidence in the vigilance of their shepherd – absolute trust in the shepherd’s protection – absolute trust in the gentle but firm discipline and guidance of the shepherd’s rod and staff. 

We, too, remain in constant danger, easy prey for our enemy the devil.  But, being disciplined and guided by our Lord’s rod and staff, we choose the right path with increasing appreciation and awareness of the Lord’s bountiful goodness and mercy, dwelling in the house of Lord now and forever. 

Jesus affirms, we do not go to dwell with a stranger.  Through prayer and scripture and worship, mission and ministry, we know our Good Shepherd’s voice and we follow.

Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” – dwelling in the house of the Lord forever – dwelling in the sheepfold of our Lord whom we know as our friend and not a stranger.

Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17; 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35

“So he went in to stay with them.  When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.”

Yesterday, your vestry met for retreat.  I’ll admit that when my alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. yesterday morning, I was not feeling enthused, but when it crawled into bed last night, I was still feeling the euphoria. 

The Rev. Canon Charles Robinson was our facilitator for a session on vestry leadership and responsibilities; he presented questions that helped us explore our mutual ministry as delegated leaders of the Church of the Advent.  We worked hard through the morning; then we celebrated the Holy Eucharist together; and then we shared a meal; and then we worked so more. 

I think we would all agree that sharing Eucharist and sharing the noonday meal was just as important to our sense of community and call and commitment to the mission and ministry of the Church of the Advent as was our discussion and decision making.

Perhaps you can remember a time that a meal was profoundly important in recognizing the presence of Christ – equally physical as spiritual – a warm loaf of bread for a grieving neighbor, a meaty sandwich for the homeless, comfort food for a child home from college – food, not just for the body, but even more so for the soul – food that articulates the presence of Christ.

 I will never forget the left over cashew chicken from a nearby Chinese restaurant that Roland brought me in the hospital on my first day of being allowed solid food following an emergency Caesarian.  The dish was so cold that the oil had coagulated; but to the amazement of my visitors, I ate it with great abandon, and have never forgotten its depth of nourishment.  I was physically starved and emotionally spent, and this cold cashew chicken fed my soul. 

Jesus talked a lot about food and shared important soul time at table; mealtime was clearly a holy time.  The hospitality associated with sharing a meal has been significant for the people of God since the beginning of humanity.  The feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle that all four Gospel writers include in their Gospel accounts.  Jesus was eating at the home of one of the Pharisees when the unnamed woman bathed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 

Jesus was accused of sharing meals with sinners.  This violation is far more complex than local clergy being seen sharing a draft and a sandwich at the local beer hall.  Food for the faithful Jew is governed by all sorts of regulations – what foods can be eaten, how they are to be prepared, when they can be eaten, and with whom.  For Jesus to eat with someone outside his faith tradition would be a violation of a myriad of dietary decrees.  But, it was obvious that Jesus was eager to share a meal with anyone willing to join him for that experience.  Sharing a meal was and is about so much more than physical need.

Even after the Resurrection, we read of Jesus eating fish on the beach with his disciples.  Jesus highlights the importance of being physically fed; in so doing he emphasizes the intermeshing of physical and spiritual food.

Time and again this message is reinforced in the Gospel accounts.  We know, in fact, that in Jesus’ last evening with his disciples, the main focus was their meal together.  This is the meal in which we re-participate each time we share the Holy Eucharist– the meal we share in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, and not simply as a memorial, but as true participants – true members of that group of burdened and confused disciples on that night before the crucifixion.

In this morning’s Gospel lesson, we read again of Jesus sharing a meal – but not just an ordinary meal; this meal has the clearest of connections with the Holy Eucharist – the meal that we are instructed to continue in the memory of our Lord each time we come together for worship.

As we read from Luke’s Gospel account, “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” 

In the same way, as specifically instructed and demonstrated by Jesus Christ our Lord, we take the bread; we bless the bread; we break the bread; and, most importantly, we share the bread.  And, as we share this holy meal in communion with one another, our eyes are opened and we recognize the very real presence of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Our receiving of the Holy Communion is not intended to be an individual experience; it is a sharing in communion as one Body of Christ.

When I am asked the meaning of the Holy Communion, I refer to our prayer of thanksgiving that sums up the need, the blessing, and the purpose of the Holy Communion.  Let’s look together at that prayer. 

As our Vestry gathered in communion to share this holy food we received [Rite I: God’s grace to continue in holy fellowship, to do good works that our Lord has prepared us to do through the Church of the Advent.] Rite II: the strength and courage to continue to love and serve through the Church of the Advent as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord – as members incorporate/living members of the Body of Christ.

“At the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.”

Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31

Jeremiah 31:1-6, Colossians 3:1-4, Matthew 28:1-10, Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

Easter Day A

For our Prayers of the People this morning, our friend Eleanor Ward comes off the list of concerns and goes onto the list of those who have died.  Eleanor died Friday about midnight.  We’ve been praying for her for these many months since her diagnosis of lung cancer.  Eleanor was not a member of our parish; she had visited only a few times and was known to only a few of us. 

But, when Eleanor was stricken with severe breathing problems a few weeks ago, she reached out to her friends here – friends who faithfully gathered around her.  She knew she was very ill, and she was terribly afraid.  She needed to be assured of God’s presence with her; she needed to be assured that even though she had not had a close association with the Church, she was still loved by God.  She spoke of her love for God and her desire to follow his will.

Eleanor reached out in need of the Risen Christ who has fulfilled his promise of everlasting life.  As I read our Gospel lesson for this morning determining a direction for the sermon, I reflected on our discussion on my first visit to Eleanor in the ICU at Leigh.  We spoke of God’s most frequent command – a command we read hundreds of times throughout the Old and New Testament – “Do not be afraid.”  I believe, for most of us, this is the most difficult command to follow – trusting that God is truly the breath we breathe; Eleanor’s breaths came with great difficulty; perhaps she felt she was suffocating physically and spiritually.  The assurance of angels – friends and family gathered around her, surrounding her in prayer, was of great comfort.  God was present in these healing graces at this time of great fear and uncertainty.

Hundreds of times throughout the Bible, we hear, “Do not be afraid.”  These are the words of the angel to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as we have just read in our Gospel account from Matthew of Resurrection morning.  In the words of the angel whom these two women encounter, we hear echoes of other familiar joyous scripture.  We remember the angel Gabriel’s words to another Mary, the newly expectant mother of Jesus, when she was told she would bear a son – the Messiah – “Do not be afraid; you have found favor with God”; and, we remember the words to the shepherds as the angels appeared to them to announce the birth of Jesus.  “Do not be afraid; you will find the babe wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 

To Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, the angel said, “Do not be afraid.  He has been raised.  He is not here.  Come, see the place where he lay.”

And, to their great amazement, as the women turned to run to share these glad tidings with the other disciples, Jesus, himself, appeared, and again we hear the words, this time from Jesus’ lips, “Do not be afraid.”  Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were beginning to understand.  It was important that they go and gather the other followers – carry Jesus’ message that they were to gather in Galilee.  Jesus, their teacher and leader, had kept his promise.  He had overcome death and risen again.  All who believe would be gathered to him as one Body.

You have come this morning to gather with others to find and to share the assurance of this message of great joy – that Jesus Christ lies no longer in the grave.  Jesus Christ has risen to overcome death and evil and he gathers us to him, sustaining us with his ever-abiding presence, so that we are not to be afraid.

We arrive for worship as individuals or perhaps two by two as the women came; we come shouldering our earthly cares and fears.  As we gather with one another – friend or stranger, and as we worship and pray, we come to believe and understand bit by bit that we are one in the Body of Christ.  Living into our worship together, gathered as one, our fears are assuaged; in the place of our fear we find greater faith.

We gather in communion with one another to receive the Body and Blood of Christ; we become one in the mission of Jesus Christ.  Jesus’ mission on earth was completed and perfected by his death and Resurrection.  The mission is ours to carry on.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!  The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Do not be afraid.

Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Come and gather with him at His Table

Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Go and tell the others.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Hebrews 10:16-25, Isaiah 52:13-53:12, John 18:1-19:42, Psalm 22

_{Good Friday}

_{“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from helping me?”  [Psalm 22:1a]  These are the words of the great King David, known as the author of so many of the Psalms.  David experienced periods of extreme desolation and fear; times when he surely felt that God had abandoned him, even such distress that he brought upon himself these feelings of separation from God due to his own poor, misdirected choices.} 

_{Few of us go through life without some periods of spiritual desolation, desperate for glimmers of hope – some tiny bit of confirmation of God’s presence – no place to go except to our knees.}

_{Because of our humanness, we need these times of desolation to remind us of our dependence on God, these times that force us to our knees and drive us to seek a renewed awareness of God’s presence.  These are periods of our greatest suffering and sense of abandonment; separation from God is our greatest fear – a fear much greater than that of our earthly death.}

_{Jesus demonstrates this suffering for us from the cross.  The writers of Matthew and Mark’s Gospels put these same words from Psalm 22 in Jesus’ mouth as he dies on the cross.  But, we know (because we can smell the lilies being stored in the room across the hall) that Jesus will rise from his earthly grave and reign victorious over suffering and death; Jesus will confirm beyond all earthly doubt that God does not abandon us; we are not to fear death; we cannot be separated from God.}

_{At the same time, if we rationalize away our suffering; if we tamp down our desperate feelings of desolation and abandonment; if we gloss over the reality of death, how can we ever truly experience this ecstasy of victory in the assurance of God’s everlasting presence in the good times and the bad times.}

_{Our current culture encourages us to minimize the reality of our earthly death.  We tippy-toe through carpeted halls and whisper about our loved one who “passed.”  Passed what?  Are we afraid to say he “died?”  Funeral home chapels offer anterooms where family members are secluded and shuttered from the others in attendance at funerals.  Is grieving something of which we are to be ashamed – not to be shared with others who care?}

_{Similarly, many avoid attending Good Friday services.  We just don’t want to talk about death; we’d rather skip Good Friday and Holy Saturday and get on with the glorious celebration of Easter.  But, how can we stand at the cross and shout Alleluia from the depths of our souls without experiencing the abandonment of Good Friday and Holy Saturday.  Where was God on Holy Saturday?}

_{How many times have the worst experiences of our lives been converted to the very best experiences?  These three days are the ultimate assurance of life’s triumph over death – the ultimate conversion of Evil into Good; there is no evil that is not overcome by the God’s good.}

_{In her book Faithful Living Faithful Dying, Cynthia Cohen alerts us to the gift of life; bringing home the point that death reminds us that life is not self-created or self-sufficient.  Dying faithfully requires living faithfully – living in the full acknowledgment that death is part of life.}

_{This journey with Christ into death is our journey into the life of God.  It is on Good Friday that we hear Jesus’ last words as recorded by John, “It is finished.”  These are not words of finality and defeat; these are words of perfection and completion; these are words of triumph.  Jesus has completed with perfection the task given to him by the Father.  Jesus Christ, his earthly life “passing away,” confirms the perfection of our journey into the Kingdom of God where we will never again feel forsaken or abandoned.  Assured of the promise of everlasting life, we do not fear our earthly death.}

_{With Jesus Christ as our example, we live faithfully; we die faithfully.  On Good Friday, God’s promise was perfected.  We are here to acknowledge Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins; we are here to celebrate the perfection of Jesus’ mission in the world – the task given him by the Father.  It is finished.}

Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14 , 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-17, 31b-35, Psalm 116:1, 10-17

_{Maundy Thursday}

_{The account of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples is found in John’s Gospel only.  In this setting on the eve of the Passover on the night before Jesus will be crucified, the followers of Jesus have come together to share a meal.  This is a very private intimate occasion.  Jesus is aware that his public ministry and his earthly life are nearing the end.  For three years now, the disciples have observed Jesus’ example of what it is to be a true disciple, bringing about the Kingdom of God on earth.}   

_{Now, the hour has come; God’s time is the right time for Jesus to depart from this world and go the Father.  Soon, Jesus will no longer be physically present with these disciples to teach and exemplify true discipleship.  His focus now is his private ministry to his closest followers, preparing them as best he can for their future beyond his departure.}

_{To these most intimate followers together for the last time, Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment that you love one another.”  It is from the Latin translation of our word “commandment” that Maundy is derived.  Thus, on this Maundy Thursday, we hear the powerful words of Jesus’ new commandment – we are to love one another, and we see that commandment of love demonstrated in an ultimate display of humility and self-sacrifice as he washes the feet of his disciples.} 

_{This command to love doesn’t sound so new; we’re accustomed to Jesus telling us and showing us how to love one another.  We might think of this “new” commandment, more accurately, as a fresh, new way of understanding the message of love that has been God’s message since creation.}

_{We read of God’s message of love throughout our Old Testament – the Hebrew Scriptures.  But, these writings prior to the birth and ministry of Jesus Christ often feel very legalistic.  Our lesson from Exodus, you notice, is very specific about the preparation of the lamb for the Passover feast.  If you read the book of Leviticus, you will find hundreds of specific rules and ritualistic regulations for how God’s people are to live and worship; how they are to dress; what foods can be eaten and when, and how the foods are to be prepared; what to do and not to do on the Sabbath.  We get a sense of this specificity of the Law of God, and the people’s difficulty in following it in order to please God.  And, we develop a sense of fear for the consequences of falling short in any one of these specific requirements.}

_{Much like the people of Jesus’ time misunderstanding God’s command, we might follow God’s law out of fear of punishment rather than as God’s Law is intended; God’s law is intended to be guidance in how we are to live in relationship with one another – God desires that we follow his law, not out of fear, but because we love God and God loves us; and, therefore, we want to please each other just as in any loving relationship.  This “reunderstanding” of God’s law is an important aspect of Maundy – the new commandment.} 

_{I depend upon my handicapped parking space analogy to help clarify.  The parking just outside the door is reserved for anyone who has been identified legally and medically as needing handicapped parking.  Those not designated as handicapped do not park in these parking spots because we fear being fined or perhaps towed.  In other words, our fear of punishment keeps us from parking in those spaces.} 

_{But, let’s say, I, as your priest have agreed to pay any fines, or suppose I assure you I will not call the tow truck.  The law says you are not to park in those spots, but I have freed you of the fear of punishment for parking there by taking your punishment for you.  You are now free to park in handicapped parking without fear of reprisal.}

_{But, you are not going to park in those handicapped spaces even if you have no fear of being punished.  This is the new commandment – the new understanding; you are not going to park there, because doing so would inconvenience or endanger your fellow parishioner who needs that parking space in order to access the church entrance safely.  We need the law because we are human; we need these guidelines to remind us of the needs of others.  But, because we are followers of Jesus’ commandment to love one another, we honor and respect one another’s needs over and beyond what the law requires.}

_{Jesus came to redeem our sinful and evil nature; he came to vanquish death; he paid all our fines.  But, his new commandment is that we are to love one another without fear, to live according to God’s desires for our lives – not out of fear of punishment by God but because we just want to do what is right in God’s eyes and in our commitment to one another – just because God loves us and we love God.}

_{In the margin of my most-worn and pencil-marked Bible, next to this account in Chapter 13 of John’s account of the washing of feet, I at some time in the past had written this quote from an unrecorded source: “Regardless of our countless inadequacies, we are all God needs to bring about the Kingdom of God.”}

_{We, in humble self-sacrificing, fearless love to one another, following the new commandment of Jesus Christ, are all God needs to bring about the Kingdom of God.}

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11, Psalm 32

Our lessons this morning from the book of Genesis and the Gospel of Matthew bring us two accounts of temptation – two accounts of temptation with dramatically different outcomes – outcomes that, in turn, have dramatic impact on our lives as God’s children.  Our epistle lesson from Paul’s letter to the Romans connects these two accounts and their dramatic impact.

First, the lesson from Genesis describes for us what has come to be known as The Fall.  Sometime after God created humankind, he placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; Eden is a name significant in the Hebrew language of Genesis meaning “delight” and “luxury.”  Here, as we translate from the Hebrew, man was to “serve” and “keep” the garden – the garden being a place to “rest, settle down, and remain.”[1]  Even today, we have these connotations of the Garden of Eden – a place to rest and remain in the delight of God’s will – a paradise.

Our Genesis account of the Fall from the Garden of Eden is a familiar story: the serpent redirected Eve to think of God as tyrannical and disingenuous in his command that she and Adam were not to eat of the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, death being the consequence.  The serpent tempted Eve to assert her own privilege of making decisions.  Why should she and Adam not eat the fruit of this one particular tree?  Why should humankind be denied the ability to choose freely and be enlightened to the ways of the world?  After all, insinuated the serpent, God is only being selfish – maybe God is jealous of humankind’s abilities to make choices for themselves.

Adam and Eve fail to trust God; they alienate themselves from God by thinking of themselves as being equal with God, being able to make their own decisions without God’s guidance, turning from acknowledgement of their dependence on God.

And, so, as the result of human disobedience, sin came into the world.  And, though Adam and Eve are not struck dead immediately; death, too, came into the world; earthly life now has an ending, and this death became something to be feared.  Would humankind ever again return to Eden – “a place to rest, settle down, and remain?”

Following his baptism and his affirmation as God’s Son, our Gospel lesson tells us that Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days.  Wilderness, for God’s people, is nearly always a place of struggle; and 40 days is symbolic of the time of searching for a closer relationship with God – just as our 40 days of Lent are a time of searching for a closer relationship with God – struggling to practice our faithfulness through the wilderness of our daily lives.

Affirmed at his baptism as the Son of God, Jesus was now confronted with these enormous temptations for power and prestige and protection.  Would Jesus capitalize on this opportunity to be an all-powerful superhuman god, as Adam and Eve had given in to that temptation, or would he throw his lot in with the rest of us humans and willfully suffer the consequences of being human?

Jesus was feeling weak and defenseless in this time of profound loneliness and physical emptiness.  Matthew tells us that he was famished.  Would he bow down to Satan, or would he trust God’s providence and worship God alone?

Think for a moment how our human story would have been changed if Jesus had simply given in to the temptation, wriggled his nose, and asserted his godly power rather than choosing to be fully human – to live and die as one of us – to struggle with temptation just as we struggle and all humans struggle with temptation.  What if events had ended differently?

Certainly, Jesus is the fully divine Son of God, the second person of the Trinity.  But, why did He have to be fully human as well?  Why is it important to us that Jesus be just like us – of humble birth, tempted as we are tempted, subject to earthly suffering and death?

Paul, in his letter to the Romans, tells us, “For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” [Romans 5:19]

If Jesus had given in to Satan, all would be lost.  But, Jesus our Savior, willingly obeyed God, in spite of the human suffering this obedience would bring.  And, through Jesus’ obedience to worship God alone, even to the cross, our righteousness is restored.

God did not create death; death is the result of our sin.  Adam and Eve are in all of us.  And, from this early time, death has been the result of our sin.

We’re the ones who make a mess of this world with our desires for power and prestige and self-sufficiency.  We think we can handle the struggles of each day on our own; we fail again and again to seek God’s guidance to resist the temptations of self-dependency.  It is for this reason that Lent is so necessary.

Adam and Eve failed to trust God; they alienated themselves from God by thinking of themselves as being equal with God, being able to make their own decisions without God’s guidance, turning from acknowledgement of their dependence on God.

But, God, himself – Jesus Christ, came into the world to overcome death that is the result of our sin.  And, just as Adam and Eve are in all of us, so is Jesus Christ present in each and every one of us.

Jesus, in his human nature, came willingly to earth to live and die as one of us.  Jesus, in his human nature, though tempted by Satan, chose obedience to God alone.   Jesus, in his human nature, has righted our wrongs.

This Lent, our 40 days in the wilderness is the time that we confront our struggle to remain faithful to God alone.  On Wednesday, as Lent began, we came to be marked with ashes and reminded that we are dust and to dust we shall return.  In this Holy Lent, we will take on greater intentionality in our daily prayers and devotional time, participate more fully in mission, seek to be kinder and gentler to ourselves and others; we might pursue self-denial – giving up something we enjoy in order to be reminded frequently of our Lord’s sacrifice for us.  Or, we might seek to eliminate a bad habit that robs our valuable time and energy.  This is a time to clear the clutter – spiritual, physical, emotional clutter – that overcomplicates and stifles our ability to better serve our Lord every day.

There are numerous ways to observe our Holy Lent.  Deitrich Bonhoeffer offers us this bit of guidance: “It is not religious acts that make one Christian, but participation in the suffering of Christ in worldly life.”  God created Adam and Eve to “till and keep” the Garden.  He calls us to do the same.  

Exodus 24:12-18, 2 Peter 1:16-21, Matthew 17:1-9, Psalm 2

Today we celebrate the Transfiguration.  We read the account of this amazing and awesome event in the inspired words of Matthew’s Gospel.  Accounts of the Transfiguration are included in the Gospels according to Mark and Luke as well, which accentuates the significance and the reality of this event in the life of Christ and three of his disciples – Peter, James, and John.  And, our epistle lesson from Peter describes the event in the words of Peter himself.

As recounted for us by Matthew, Peter, James, and John went up a high mountain with Jesus.  Our text begins with the transitional phrase, “Six days later.”  This event occurs 6 days after Peter had confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God.  For this profession of Jesus as Messiah, we learn in previous verses, Peter had been promised the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

Here on the mountain six days later, the three disciples witnessed Jesus becoming transfigured – his face shining like the sun and his clothes dazzling white.  And, there, mysteriously and miraculously, Jesus was joined by Moses and Elijah.  Peter had so recently professed Jesus as Messiah, yet his offer to build earthly dwellings for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah betrayed his continued lack of clarity.  He cannot yet fathom the reality of the presence of that that is heavenly and spiritual rather than earthly.  We certainly cannot fault Peter for his confusion and awkward response.  Surely, we would have the same human inclination to try to fit God into something earthly that we can better comprehend.

The human Jesus, the carpenter’s son from Nazareth, is much more accessible to our realm of understanding than is Jesus the Son of God.  Like us, Peter found this reality overwhelming.

In this text from Matthew particularly, the Transfiguration defines this connection of Jesus to God as well as the eternal connection of God’s people – our connection one with another and with God.  From the beginning of humanity until today and forever, we are God’s people and we are one with God.

In our Old Testament lesson from Exodus, we read of another overwhelming mountaintop experience.  Moses has gone up alone to Mount Sinai to receive the tablets of stone containing God’s commandments for his people.

There is intentional correlation between Matthew’s account and the account from Exodus: Six days after Peter’s profession of Jesus as Messiah, he and his fellow disciples went up the mountain with Jesus; in the Exodus account, Moses waited the same amount of time on the mountain for God to call him forward into the cloud.  In both Exodus and Matthew, God spoke from a cloud that overshadowed the other characters.  And, both descriptions are of dazzling displays of light from the devouring fire or sunlight.  In both accounts, the undeniable awesome power of God is on display and intention is for us to take note.

For the benefit of Peter and James and John and for us, the account of the Transfiguration is intended to connect Jesus to the Law and the Prophets of old – Moses is the embodiment of God’s Law; Elijah is known as the greatest among the prophets.  It is Elijah who leaves the earth in the chariot of fire, taken up into heaven with benefit of bypassing an earthly death.  Moses and Elijah are the most significant symbolic representatives of what we might call the Old Testament revelation of God.  The intension is for these disciples and for us to affirm Jesus’ rightful place among these other earthly creatures who embody God’s presence with us.

Our Gospel message is that Jesus the Messiah is not a new-fangled idea that God decided to introduce into his creation on December 25 more than two thousand years ago.  Jesus the Messiah, the glorious Son of God, is Eternal, present with God from before the beginning.  Jesus the Messiah is Emmanuel, God with us, as proclaimed by the angels.  He has come to earth to fulfill the Law and the Prophets not to abolish them.  He has come to confirm our place as God’s people since the beginning.

Our Gospel message is the message that we are connected – we are as much a part of God’s ongoing revelation and redemption as were Adam and Eve and Noah and Abraham.  It is our story just as it is the story of all the people of Israel as they sought to possess the Promised Land.  We are as much a part of God’s ongoing redemption of the world as are these disciples gathered on the mountain and all Christian believers from the time Jesus walked on earth.

Our Christian story – our Christian faith does not begin with the birth of Jesus Christ.  Our Christian story began at the beginning of humanity.  The God about whom we read in the Old Testament is the same God about whom we read in the New Testament.  The story of the people of God is our story secured and brought down to us generation by generation through the Jewish faith manifested into the Christian faith.  The first century Jews who followed Jesus Christ and became the first Christians didn’t understand what they were doing as being something new; they recognized Jesus Christ as the Messiah for whom they had been waiting, the manifestation of the presence of the one God whom they had worshipped for thousands of years.  They did not discard their beliefs and worship practices that had been part of their faith from the beginning of time; they kept what was meaningful in their worship of Jesus Christ and their discipleship, and they embraced that that was new and fresh in the message that Jesus had revealed to them.

God’s Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai guides us just as it guided the Israelites from their time in the Wilderness.  God’s word spoken through the mouths of the prophets is our prophecy just as it was for King Ahab and Queen Jezebel in Elijah’s time.  Jesus clarified this message of God’s redeeming love; Jesus did not cast out the law and the prophets of old; the Transfiguration confirms that for us.

The story of the people of God is our story; it is a story of conflict and persecution and struggle.  And, it is a story of victory that will not be extinguished no matter the price.  We are God’s people descended from Adam and Eve and from Noah and from Abraham.  The Transfiguration about which we read today confirms that connection.  We are God’s children; we are one with Moses; we are one with Elijah; we are one with Jesus Christ; we are one with one another; we are one with God and have been one with God from the beginning.  As Christ is transfigured, so we are transformed – justified by grace alone through of faith in Jesus Christ our Savior.