A Timey Whimey Transfiguration

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It can be difficult to figure out what to do for Transfiguration Sunday. The New Testament text shares the story of when Jesus climbed the mountain with Peter, James, and John and he has transfigured before them. His appearance became a dazzling white and he was standing with Moses and Elijah revealing that in Christ the law and the prophets come together as the genesis of a new creation through the cross and empty tomb. Like Peter we often find ourselves befuddled and confused relying on what we know rather than allowing our self to be stretched. Peter said, “It is good for us to be here,” maybe to convince himself. He offered to build three dwelling places—one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, or maybe he was building a dwelling place for James and John and himself in order to offer a tangible expression of the unexplained.

“It is good for us to be here,” Peter says. It is good for us to be here. Sometimes you just have to say it. You might not remember the songs or exactly what the sermon was about, but you leave The Well saying, “It was good for me to be there today,” and that’s ok because there are plenty of places in our life where it’s not good to be. Sometimes it’s difficult to put your finger on whether or not a moment is good or bad, and I’m not even sure that question makes sense. It’s like the old Chinese tale about good luck and bad luck. A farmer went out and found that his horse had run away and his neighbor said, “What bad luck.” The farmer replied, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows?” The next day the horse came back with three other horses and his neighbor replied, “What good luck!” The farmer said, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows?” The next day the horses trampled the man’s garden destroying his crop. His neighbor said, “What bad luck.” The farmer replied, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows?” The next season his garden produced twice as many vegetables because the soil ha been overturned and his neighbor said . . . you get the idea. Is today a good day? Is today a bad day? This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Whether you are here with a heavy heart or whether you are here to share the joy you have received, let us make room for God in this moment this morning, so that at the end of it all we might say, “It is good for us to be here.”

Sometimes the place is so good we don’t want to leave. Peter is standing there seeing Jesus radiating with a holy light and he want’s to build dwelling places so that maybe they might stay because Peter knows that Jesus has been talking about going to Jerusalem and suffering. Fred Craddock said it well:

      Sometimes a child falls down and skins a knee or an elbow, then runs crying to his mother. The mother picks up the child and says—in what is the oldest myth in the world—Let me kiss it and make it better, as if mother has magic saliva or something. She picks up the child, kisses the skinned place, holds the child in her lap, and all is well. Did her kiss make it well? No. It was that ten minutes in her lap. Just sit in the lap of love and see the mother crying. Mother, why are you crying? I’m the one who hurt my elbow. Because you hurt, the mother says, I hurt. That does more for a child than all the bandages and all the medicine, in all the world, just sitting on the lap. What is the cross? Can I say it this way? It is to sit for a few minutes on the lap of God, who hurts because you hurt . . . I have to preach that. Peter . . . I have to do this. Without this journey, the world will never be healed.

Maybe Transfiguration is about knowing what goodness really is, that goodness is the marriage between the mount of transfiguration and the hill of Calvary, the tension of glory and suffering that is our faith. Maybe Transfiguration is less tangible than that. Elijah is out in the wilderness running for King Ahab who wants to kill him. Elijah climbs a mountain and finds a small cave in which to hide. The Lord comes to Elijah and asks, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” What a great question! Keep in mind, when God asks a question, God knows the answer. It’s like when your mom comes home for a weekend away and she asks, “Why have all the trash cans been emptied?” She knows the answer. She’s just giving you an opportunity to confess. “What are you doing here, Elijah.” Elijah responds, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” In other words, Elijah is afraid.

God tells Elijah, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” There is a great wind, but God is not in the wind. There is a great earthquake but God was not in the earthquake. There was a great fire, but God was not in the fire. Then there was the sound of sheer silence. A lot of ink has been spilled on exactly what all of this means, and if I was preaching on a different day I might jump into a bit more, but what captures me in this story, at least for today, is that after this dramatic experience, the Lord asks Elijah a question…and it’s the same exact question the Lord asked before. “What are you doing?” For Peter, this mountaintop experience was about letting go of the moment so that you can move on to doing what is right. For Elijah, maybe this mountaintop experience is about hearing the question out loud. “What are you doing?” What a blessing it is for the people in our life to love us enough and to have enough courage to ask us, “What are you doing?” Maybe you are in this place. Maybe like Elijah you are running from something, or maybe you don’t really have an answer. Maybe the point of it all isn’t the earthquake or the wind or the fire, but the question itself. “What are you doing?” Maybe it’s not about the answer, but the courage to dive into the question.

Many years before Elijah climbed the mountain, Moses climbed the mountain. Like Elijah, Moses experienced an earthquake and fire, but unlike Elijah, Moses went up the mountain not with a question but to share an answer. Moses went up the mountain to receive God’s will for the people Israel. He came down the mountain with God’s commandments. Peter went up the mountain and didn’t want to leave. Elijah went up the mountain with the question, “What am I doing?” ringing in his ears. Moses went up the mountain to receive a specific direction and purpose.

I’m curious though. Moses goes up the mountain and there is an earthquake and fire and smoke. Elijah goes up the mountain and there is earthquake and fire and a great wind. For Moses the experience of seeing the glory of the Lord left his own face glowing and radiating with light. Here we have a story of Jesus glowing and transfigured speaking with Moses and Elijah. I wonder . . . I wonder if these three stories are recording the same event. Maybe the glory that Moses saw was the transfigured Christ? Maybe the conversation Elijah was having with the Lord was Jesus asking him, “What are you doing?” Maybe what Peter wants to remember is seeing all three of these stories happening at once. What is time to God anyway? Don’t think too much on this or your might find yourself rocking in a fetal position sucking your thumb. But maybe the point of it all is to know that God in Christ is always with us. Whether we go up the mountain for the answers or we go up the mountain for a good question or we go up the mountain simply to recognize that it is good to be there, maybe the point of it all is that God is always with us. Soon we will need reminding that God is always with us. Soon Jesus will be hung on the cross and it will appear that all is lost. On that day, remember this day.

Read the timey-whimey texts here:

Luke 9:28-36

28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. 34While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ 36When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

1 Kings 19:9-14

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ 10He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’

11 He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ 14He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’

Exodus 19:18-20

18Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently. 19As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder. 20When the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Judge Righteously

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When we grow close to the heart of God it’s not long before we realize that our connection with God isn’t ours alone. God hears our prayers, God shines a healing light in the midst of darkness, and God offers us forgiveness through the justifying grace of Jesus Christ, but God’s activity eventually calls us out of our self and shifts our gaze to our neighbor. It is like in the opening chapter of Acts when Jesus ascends into the heavens, and says to them, “You shall be my witnesses.” The disciples are standing there looking into the sky and two men in white robes say, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” In other words, Jesus gave them a job to do, and it’s time to get on the move! (more…)

5 Proverbial Tweets

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2 Billion people across the globe are connected to each other via some form of online social media. Whether it is Facebook statuses or Twitter tweets or Snapchat chats or Vine videos or Pinterest, Feedly, Instagram, Tinder, LinkedIn…we are certainly connected. The art of navigating social media is a crucial gift moving forward in today’s church culture. No one professes faith in Christ because of the kind of graphics on your church website, but a website that’s pleasing and informative just might be what gets the seeker to your door. The perception of being tech savvy is becoming more important as our daily connection with digital media in our home, cars, and hands grows. With any cultural trend there are blessings and growing edges, so here are five “Proverbial Tweets” showing the positive and negative of our growing digital connectedness.

Proverbs 32:1—A wise person will post original content, but the fool will only share. Creating original and clever content is the best way to multiply your digital influence. It can be a simple graphic or original language, but original content is the way to go. If creating original content isn’t your gift, try sharing information as an individual rather than as your church. 96% of content originates from individuals rather than corporate brands. In other words, your content will be more attractive if you post as “Mrs. Smith” rather than “First Church.” Have you noticed how sponsored Facebook ads look more like posts from individuals? That’s on purpose.

Proverbs 32:2—A wise person offers a specific and targeted message, but the fool posts generalities. The good news of our connectedness is that you can quickly share a message with a wide audience; however this audience is quickly becoming splintered and polarized. Curtis Hougland, CEO of Attentionusa.com, mentioned in a recent article published by the University of Pennsylvania that our online connection is leading to a “Balkanization” of our communities. Even though with a few clicks you can reach 2 billion people, those 2 billion people are receiving an increasing amount of filtered and customized content.  Interestingly Hougland reports that individuals are becoming more loyal to personal content than to corporate entities. The good news is that our freedom to share our convictions is rather unfiltered and uncensored. The bad news is researchers are discovering that an individual is more loyal to one view of a divisive issue rather than corporate unity. For example, being online allows me to only socialize with dog lovers who oppose taxes for the community pool but who love strawberry ice cream. This means that social media is not a means of evangelism, but it is a great way to amplify preconceived belief. Meeting face to face, coming to the communion table offers me the opportunity to swallow the “tough pill of grace” when I break bread with Mr. Smith who is a cat person. You see, I don’t like cat people, but God does and that’s what matters.

Proverbs 32:3—A wise person posts sparingly, but the fool updates the world with every detail. Maybe it goes without saying that we sometimes share too much. Sharing too much is like sharing nothing at all. Instead of sharing your worship times over and over again, try sharing information in different ways. According to Webgeekly.com digital consumers fall into six different categories: The Creator, the Critic, The Collector, The Joiner, The Spectator, and The Inactive. Each person treats posts and tweets and pics differently. For example, let’s say you want to share a blurb about the upcoming children’s musical coming up this spring. To catch the Critic you might share something like, “Our Children’s Musical, ‘Hamlet meets Jesus’ is coming this March. Which one of Hamlet’s songs is your favorite?” To the Joiner you might share a post that says, “Click here to join and support our ‘Hamlet and Jesus’ children’s musical coming up this spring.” The joiner would ignore the first post and the critic would pass over the second. If you post a generic message over and over, both would pass on all.

Proverbs 32:4—A wise person delegates, but the fool tries to do it all. Social media is quickly become a specialized field. As a pastor, my week can quickly fill up with sharing content, producing videos, and creating Facebook events rather than focusing on the sermon, the fellowship, and the mission behind the online content. Creating original content can take hours, and unless the digital media enhances the order to which one is ordained, it is probably best to work with a tech savvy servant. Businesses like e-zekiel.com and motionworship.com really make you look snappy online with little cost. With anything there is a trade-off between convenience and customization, but I’m assuming most congregation really do want their pastor studying the Word more than crafting HTML.

Proverbs 32:5—The wise person patiently posts, but the fool tries to be the first. It’s no sin to be the first person to comment on breaking news, but the problem is that stories change and not all information in initially shared. It is difficult to take back something that is out there, so it’s a good practice to let the dust settle on a breaking story before commenting or posting about it. It is quite tempting to jump into the mix when a story breaks so that your posts might trend, but you run the risk of trending in the wrong direction. It’s ok to wait and let the riff-raff duke it out online before jumping in. Your church will appreciate a thoughtful response rather than, how does Craig Gilliam put it, a “reptilian reaction.”

We live in a world in which 2 billion people are a keystroke away, but there are some things that never change. A website or Facebook post might get people to your door, but it is God working through the church, the body of Christ, which will keep them there. Never underestimate the power of a handshake or a phone call or a cup of coffee with someone who cares. The church is still about a body, broken and resurrected, and no app can change that.

Why am I United Methodist?

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Several of my friends and colleagues are posting why they are United Methodist. I would write a full article, but my answer is too short. Why am I United Methodist? I am United Methodist not because I find it to be right, but I find it to be beautiful. Beauty trumps “rightness” every time.

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Three Steps to Revolution

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How have your resolutions been going? Sometimes a resolution is hard to get started. Sometimes it starts with a great drive but it loses steam and falls apart. Maybe you’ve been keeping your resolution but you are quickly discovering that it’s not much of a resolution—“I promise to breath more in 2015.” Why do resolutions fall apart? Why are they really difficult to get going? Why do the resolutions we keep seem to not matter?  The United Methodist Church is asking these same questions about itself on the revolutionary scale.  How can the church reclaim the revolutionary fire of Wesley’s 18th century movement without falling into the sin of trying to replicate the 18th century?  All revolutions need three things in order to succeed. (more…)

I Know What It Looks Like

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2015

The Christmas decorations are still up. At first blush it looks like the church forgot or thought you wouldn’t notice or thought you would notice but wouldn’t really care. Rest assured that this was on purpose. Today is 12th Night, the last day of the Christmas season, but it does feel at least a little weird for the garland to still be hung and the tree to still be adorned. It’s not because Christmas is twelve days, and we will not give into the pagan practice of moving on after the first of the year. Please. I mean, there are some rules. In my household it is apostasy to eat  king cake before Epiphany, January 6th. It’s just wrong. It’s not about being smart or thumbing our nose at the world or being a goober in general, keeping the tree up is about living into a holy tension. (more…)

Rejoice!

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Earlier this week a couple of folks emailed me asking about the order of our Advent candles–Peace, Hope, Love, and Joy. One member noticed that we had been lighting the candles using a different order than the traditional church–Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy. I will say it’s never a bad day in the kingdom when someone recognizes liturgical details! Some days it makes sense for Peace to precede Hope. Hope is a luxury war cannot afford. Other days it makes sense for Hope to come before Peace because it is difficult to imagine an end to violence unless our hopeful imagination offers a new story. Regardless if our hope gives birth to peace or our peace paves the way for hope, the Advent season moves through Love and points to Joy.

Joy is not about being happy. For many, this time of year is quite sad. Memories of loss and hardship seem amplified through the ringing sleigh bells and twinkling lights. Christmas is a time when the good often seems better and the bad seems terribly worse. This is why our Advent expectation points us to Joy. Joy goes beyond being happy or sad. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people revile you and hate you. Leap for joy on that day for great is your reward” (Luke 6:22). The only other time in Luke where “Leap for joy” occurs is when John the Baptist, one who knew persecution, leaped inside Elizabeth’s womb at the sound of Mary’s greeting. Persecution certainly doesn’t lead to happiness, but it does lead to Joy.

Joy is an expression of Passion, a suffering love. Joy is the miracle of assurance that no matter what life offers, be it blessing or hardship, God is with us and we are not alone! Joy remains through emotion’s fading much like God’s eternal love for us is steadfast through good and bad. So this Sunday we will light the candle of Joy to remind us that when God was born in the person of Jesus the angels sang “Rejoice! Rejoice!” for God’s love remains steadfast forever.

Irrational Hope

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hopeI’ve heard faith described as, “Hope in things unseen,” which suggests that hope is faith’s active agent. It makes sense. Hope is the expectation of possibility. To be hopeful is to surround yourself with improbable anticipation. In Advent we light the candle of hope to remember Christ’s improbable birth and to worship a God whose identity can be described as “Possibility” itself. (more…)

In the Neighborhood: Peace

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In the Neighbordhood GraphicAdvent is a peculiar season. It is a season of waiting for a Messiah we know has come. It is a time to meditate on the peace, hope, love, and joy Christ established, and yet we pray for these gifts to come into fruition. When we sing, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” we sing not to herald the Christ-child so much as to announce that God’s incarnational work of peace, hope, love, and joy which began in the humble manger continues today. It is a time to celebrate that God put on skin to save the skin we’re in, and it all began with a word. (more…)

Peace in the Neighborhood

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In the Neighbordhood GraphicEven though it happens every year, I cannot get used to it. Just when the day begins, the day seems to be over. I don’t know if it’s more correct to say that less light fills the day, or that the darkness seems to be growing. I guess it depends on your perspective. When the light is growing dim, the candles of Peace, Hope, Love, and Joy can be difficult to see. (more…)