Last Epiphany

By the Reverend Martha Frances

Year A, Last Epiphany

3 February 2008 

Text:  Matthew 17: 1-9

Others:  Exodus 24: 12-18; Psalm 2; 2 Peter 1: 16-21 

      We began the Epiphany season on Epiphany Day with uplifting stories of the Magi's visit to pay homage to the Christ child, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by his cousin John the Baptist, & Jesus' 1^st miracle at a Canaan wedding.  Throughout Epiphany we have emphasized the importance of Christ's light shining forth to all nations & races, recalling the part we play in sharing the gospel with others near & far.  Now, the last Sunday in Epiphany, we remember the ultimate showing-forth story as Jesus takes his closest disciples up the high mountain & is transfigured before their very eyes as God's light shines from him.  Again as at Jesus' baptism, we hear again the heavenly voice from the clouds, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased;" & the added admonition, "listen to him!" 

      We too listen to God's Word as we join Peter, James & John on the mountain, watching with amazement & some fear, perhaps, as Jesus' face shines like the sun & his clothes become dazzling white.  Here is their friend & leader with whom they've traveled & lived & ministered for the past 3 years.  These simple Galilean fishermen whose call to discipleship was last week's Gospel have known him as an extraordinary man who has connected them in remarkable & personal ways to the God of their ancestors, & now here in their midst he appears with Moses & Elijah, so much larger a figure than just the carpenter whom they've come to know & love.  They recognize Jesus as the fully human person they've eaten & drank & been empowered to teach & heal with, yet he's also larger than life, radically changed somehow as he joins the larger-than-life heroes of the faith. 

      No wonder Peter, the man of action, wants to build 3 dwellings & hang on to the spiritual high they're experiencing!  Down below in the throes of life in the marketplace, life is becoming more & more dangerous for Jesus & his disciples with religious leaders' challenging him almost daily & the common people placing more & more demands on them.  Prolonging the marvel of this miracle appearance seems the logical thing to Peter who often speaks for all the disciples.  Don't we also want to settle in & bask in the good times in our lives?

      Yet God has more in store for them.  Not only do they see Jesus in glory, they hear again the sacred words uttered at his baptism, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased;" with God's new directive:  "Listen to him."  I'm surprised Peter doesn't immediately respond, "Whaddaya think we've been doing for the past 3 years.  We've been listening!  Enough already!"  But now even Peter is struck dumb, & Jesus encourages them not to be afraid.  Indeed, when they finally dare to open their eyes, only Jesus remains, & it is Jesus they are to focus on.  Just as these 3 aren't ready to view Jesus in this new way, Jesus knows that the larger community won't accept him as glorified until after his death & resurrection, so he tells them to save their breath for now; just LISTEN.

      This weekend, several of us have had the pleasure of enjoying the production of The Wizard of Oz out at Stratford High School at which our own Michael Fahey is directing the orchestra.  Long one of my favorite musicals—after all, the pilgrim is a young girl—such a fresh treatment of this journey story reminds me a lot of the 3 leaders with the larger fellowship of disciples.  Dorothy, finding herself in quite a pickle in a strange land, begins her journey home in fear & trembling, gathering around her a cadre of seeming-losers whose focus on their liabilities has kept them paralyzed & ineffective.  Along the yellow brick road, they encounter others imprisoned by the powers & principalities of the world, the flesh, & the devil—personified in this case by the Wicked Witch of the West.  Through the encouragement of the Good Witch Glenda, & by cooperating with each other, they accomplish incredibly liberating "magic," so that their journey brings them back home where they started strangely matured, grateful for each other now a true family, & capable of further healthy living & growth. 

      Of course, we should not push the metaphor too far, but the story is in the pilgrimage where they develop community just as Moses' Israelites did in the wilderness, & they spread Good News & liberation as they learn it themselves, accepting & using the God-given gifts they didn't realize they had until challenged to use them. 

      We at Hope are on a pilgrimage together, & this month marks 2 years since we have been Hope, an anniversary we celebrate next week, so please plan to be present.  It is fortuitous, I believe, that we begin each year anew as a parish just as Lent commences.  A common Lenten metaphor is that of journey or pilgrimage, a purposeful trip undertaken for a spiritual purpose to a shrine or other holy place in order to gain deeper insight & gifts from the Holy.  A Lenten pilgrimage allows the travelers to clean the cobwebs out of their spiritual houses in order to be a more faithful disciple & more effectively make disciples within & beyond your own community.

      The Lenten pilgrimage I suggest this year is to journey through the scriptures as well as some basic disciplines—prayer, fasting, alms-giving—to strengthen our own Hope family & to explore ways we can reach beyond our own community, both to make disciples & also to alleviate the pain & suffering of those less fortunate than we.  Come this Wednesday at noon or 7:00 p.m. to begin a Holy Lent in community & then each Wednesday throughout the 6 weeks to journey inward & outward together.  On Fridays we'll be walking the Way of the Cross, the Stations which have been a symbolic journey of Jesus' last days for most of the Christian era.  And Sundays we continue our sacramental pilgrimage of praising God in community, hearing & studying scripture together, & sharing the sacred meal of the Eucharist for our nourishment. 

      If we are journeying with Jesus Christ, along the way we will experience opportunities to reach out to others.  Today we launch a month-long drive for men's clothing to take to Lord of the Streets for those living on the streets.  They'll be needing summer clothing soon, so please think toward summer months.  Next Saturday the youth group holds a yard sale when we can let go of some of the baggage we have accumulated in our homes & perhaps find a treasure or two of our own while helping the youth with their projects.  While we are here, how many of us will remember to welcome other shoppers back to Sunday church?  Developing a more welcoming culture & reaching those in our sphere of influence is not only courteous but a natural way to grow the church. 

      Already in those few actions I've suggested, we can do little things to contribute to the Millennium Development Goals, therefore becoming more faithful members of our society.  I wonder how many more of our intentional actions can help eradicate extreme poverty & hunger, improve primary education for children, empower women, become more responsible environmentally, and partner with others to respond to Jesus' admonition to care for the least, the last, & the lost.  In our own willingness to journey together, we ourselves will be transformed.  Come, let us launch our Hope Lenten pilgrimage.