Prayer

Lord as we ponder your words open our hearts that we may understand and know you. Amen 

Sermon    

 Today’s gospel is one of the most fantastical I believe of the biblical stories. 

Jesus, Peter James and John, climping and on the mountain they discover Jesus in his whiter than whites (how he accomplished that after hiking up the side of a mountain is a mystery and then suddenly there he is Hobnobbing away with big weeks of the people. 

How did Peter James and John. know it was Moses and Elijah?

 Peter, James, and John had never seen photos of these two men from Israel’s history. And I suspect oil paintings of them likewise did not hang in some “Saints of Renown” gallery in the Temple. They had never had their faces plastered onto $5 bills or stamped onto a denarius or something. And you likewise suspect they were not donning some “Hi My Name Is ______” sticky badges on their chests. There’s no hint in the text that any formal introductions were made.

So how did they know? Maybe as good Jews these three had been sufficiently well schooled in the belief that Moses and Elijah would have something to do with the coming of the Messiah that they were able immediately to surmise who they were. There were just enough clues on display as to maybe even make it a cinch they’d figure it out.  

In his fanciful “Theological ABCs” book Whistling in the Dark, Frederick Buechner muses on the Transfiguration this way: [In the Transfiguration] it was the holiness of [Jesus] shining through his humanness, his face so afire with it that they were almost blinded. Even with us something like that happens once in a while. The face of a man walking his child in the park, of a woman picking peas in the garden, of sometimes even the unlikeliest person listening to a concert, or standing barefoot in the sand watching the waves roll in, Every once and so often, something so touching, so incandescent, so alive transfigures the human face that it’s almost beyond bearing

       The Celtic peoples talk of "thin places" where the distance between heaven and earth seems thin. When the vale between worlds thin we may catch those glimpse of the divine. something so touching, so incandescent, so alive transfigures the human face that it’s almost beyond bearing

In the Movie In the movie Chocolat The Count De Reynaud (the mayor of the city a very devout person finds himself at odds with the non-conformist chocolatier. (as if a chocolatier would be a conformist.   

The movie takes place in the season of lent and the Count’s self-denial is symbolic of the self-denial in his life until the moment at the very last of lent he tastes some the chocolate and in a moment he is transformed. He is transfigured and he sees his life differently He is "strangely released". For him, everything was changed. 

What does it mean to be transfigured? I would suggest that transfiguration doesn’t mean glowing in the dark, but seeing others (and ourselves) in a new way. Moments of understanding. Moments when we understand our own frailty moments of clear vision. Moments of seeing truths.   

The mountain top is about discovering that we are not alone. When we feel that we are. 

In that discovery we realize that God is there with us to help to see the direction we need to take or to help us see the progress that we have made. To give us the encouragement to continue the journey set before us. 

Sometimes I wonder what Jesus talked about with Moses and Elijah But like Peter we discover that we cannot stay on the mountain, stay in the moment but are called to continue the journey. That there are just enough mountain peaks to get us through the lonesome valleys. We cannot stay on the emotional high forever.

   We must come down off the mountain.  We must come down the mountain because the people who we encounter on the decent, the people we meet in valley are hurting and need to know that presence of God.

There was a news story that came up on my news feeds last week. The story was about story about Elmo a character from Sesame street, rather cute red monster.   Who new but the Characters have Social Media accounts and on Elmo’s feed the Character posted  

“Elmo is just checking in, How is everyone doing”   

The responses were very revealing. They revealed the deep pain in people 

 We are not OK, thanks. 

The responses to Elmo’s innocuous question should be etched into stone so future generations can know exactly how we felt in 2024.

“Elmo each day the abyss we stare into grows an unique horror. one that was previously unfathomable in nature. Our inevitable doom which once accelerated in years, or months, now accelerates in hours, even minutes. however I did have a good grapefruit earlier, thank you for asking.”

“Every morning, I cannot wait to go back to sleep. Every Monday, I cannot wait for Friday to come. Every single day and every single week for life.”

“Elmo I’m depressed and broke.”

“I’m at my lowest, thanks for asking.”

“Elmo I’ve got to level with you baby we are fighting for our lives” 

And, one of the most brutally honest replies:

“Elmo I’m gonna be real I am at my #***ing limit.”

How do did this lovable innocent puppet respond.

“Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing.” The Journalist A.J. Willingham wrote in her article in regards to this. 

“It could sound like a joke. Look at us, laying our fears at the furry feet of a beloved children’s character! Surely there is nothing else to examine here.

Except, after the clouds of irony and dark humor had passed, something remarkable happened: People started thanking Elmo and his pals for asking, and talking about what it means to feel safe and understood in a time when so much is dangerous and confusing.