Practicing Transfiguration
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
February 23, 2020
Mark 9:2-12 (NRSV)
2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. 11 Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 12 He said to them, “Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt?
This week, I found myself having a conversation that led to a discussion on the Season of Lent. Not the typical topic for a Quaker minister to engage. The topic arose because this Wednesday, February 26th is Ash Wednesday and it happens to be the day before my birthday. A joke was made that I would already be fasting as I celebrated my birthday, so I would have to carefully choose what I was going to give up for Lent – maybe not Birthday Cake or Dessert this year.
As we continued to discuss Ash Wednesday our conversation soon moved to the season of Lent. Now, as both a Lutheran (growing up) and an Anglican priest later in life, I celebrated the liturgical season of Lent for many, many years (as I know many of you who were transplanted from liturgical churches did as well). I learned from early on that Lent started near or around my birthday and ended 40 days (well 47 days later, if you include the Feast Days or Sundays) with the celebration of Easter.
Then came the question I always get – “So what are you giving up this year for Lent?” To which I simply replied, “Around 10 years ago I gave up Lent for Lent because I am a Quaker.” That always catches people off guard and causes awkward chuckles. That is when the quizzical look on the person’s face demands that I explain. I usually try and explain how Quaker religious practice is pretty much on the opposite end of the Christian spectrum from Catholicism. Friends, from early on, believed that the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ was to be remembered each day of the year, not just on particular holy days. And I would always end with explaining how many Friends believed that it was hypocritical to fast during Lent and then eat excessively during the rest of the year, so they choose to live simply all year long. By this point the questions are always visibly bubbling to the surface and I know that my conversation is going to take a lot more explaining.
Well, after the conversation ended, I found myself a bit nostalgic thinking about my liturgical days. I chuckled a bit remembering the many years I tried to give up watching TV, drinking soda or eating desserts, or picking up a healthy habit to replace the time spent on my smart phone. I remember how one year I gave up watching TV and listening to the radio, and without checking what was happening in the world I preached a sermon about natural disasters not realizing an earthquake and tsunami had literally devastated Indonesia that very morning. Talk about awkward.
So, with all these memories on my mind I sat down to write my sermon for today. As I pondered Lent kicking off with Ash Wednesday this Thursday, I remembered that there was one last official Sunday celebration before Lent began, which would actually be today. In the Anglican Church, we called it the Feast of the Transfiguration. As a young man beginning to understand the Church Year I never fully understood this day. Actually, since Ryan White was headlining the news in Indiana when I was a child, I remember getting confused and exchanging Transfiguration for Transfusion. I mean we talked about the blood of Jesus so much at church and everyone was talking about transfusions on TV – I sensed that was a logical mistake.
Then one day in my 8th grade confirmation class, we read the story of the Transfiguration (which Carrie read this morning). I was kind of confused and disappointed that there was no blood involved. And as a junior higher, this was one weird story. And then my pastor explained that this story was not the only like it in the Bible. He had us turn to Daniel 10:5-6. Now, all I knew about Daniel I learned in Sunday School and it was the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. That was until we read the following:
“5 I looked up and saw a man clothed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like beryl (or crystal), his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the roar of a multitude.”
First, this sounded a lot like the description of Jesus at the Transfiguration. And later in Daniel 10 this story speaks very similar words as in the transfiguration of Jesus - specifically the words “beloved” and “listen to him.”
My pastor continued to utilize these two stories to trace the mountain top experiences throughout the Bible. We talked about…
· Moses receiving the 10 Commandments on Mt. Sinai from God.
· Elijah being sent back to Mt. Sinai where he will experience God’s glory personally.
· And then Moses and Elijah showing up on Mt. Tabor with Jesus where he was transfigured.
I could go on and amaze you with the similarities of these three mountain top events, it is almost as crazy as the coincidences between the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, yet in all honesty I think these details simply distract us from finding an appropriate application of this story for our lives. I believe the story of the transfiguration is much different than the more practical or even believable stories and parables in scripture. This story always seemed more a story of legend or mythology to me.
But maybe that is because I was taught to see it through Peter’s eyes. Almost every time I used to preach on the Transfiguration, I focused on Peter’s response to this mountain top experience. His response was relatable – “if only we could keep this experience going.” You know what I am talking about. “Why can’t this vacation, this gathering, this worship experience, this book, this concert, this kiss, this…you name it last forever?” Then I would continue the sermon and preach about the reality check of having to descend the mountain to get back to the ordinary. We can’t always live life on mountain top experiences - was a worthy lesson to understand – but was it the point?
I always encourage those that want to grow to “rotate the jewel” and look from a different perspective. I took my own advice and decided to look one more time at this story from a different perspective. Carl Gregg was the first to give me a different view by talking about learning to “Practice Transfiguration.” This sounded familiar. You may remember a couple of Easter’s ago, I preached on “Practicing Resurrection” a phrase that even Carl related to Wendell Berry’s famous poem “The Mad Farmer’s Liberation Front.” Which if you know the poem, ends with the phrase, “Practice Resurrection.”
I have processed and expanded that idea on many occasions, but how the heck do you “Practice Transfiguration.” This was when my eyes began to open. Transfiguration is about LIGHT, LISTENING, BECOMING ENLIGHTENED – and it is all about coming into your full self and allowing the light of God’s love to shine from your inside out. Looking at it that way makes this a very Quaker story.
I have said so many times that we need to live like Jesus, but I never applied it to this story. I always found myself wanting to take a seat and watch the show with Peter. Carl Gregg said we need to move beyond admiring Jesus’ Transfiguration and start practicing it. That was a challenge and had me thinking.
So, what does that look like? Carl had me reflect on the following thoughts from Marianne Williamson’s book “A Return to Love.” If you’ve ever read any of Marianne Williamson’s books you will find her often talking about Quakers. She also talks about Light, enlightenment, and making the glory of God shine within us. Just listen to what she wrote and how much it sounds like transfiguration.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our LIGHT, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be BRILLIANT, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing ENLIGHTENED about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to SHINE, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; its in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
This was true for Jesus at his transfiguration and it is true for us. What Marianne Williamson just described is personal transfiguration. As Quakers, we know it comes from within us, that it’s for everyone, and that when we live like Jesus and let our inner light shine, we give those around us permission to do the same. The disciples didn’t get it at the moment, they still didn’t get it as they were heading down the mountain. They were still in fear and feeling inadequate, but that would change in the coming months. Peter, James and John would be transfigured in time and go on to change the world.
And I believe, so will we, but it is going to take some practice.
That may look different for each of us. Some of us will be transfigured through times of prayer, meditation, journaling, others will be on a retreat or out in nature, even others will be in a conversation, a small group, listening to music, reading a book, or even in meeting for worship or the silence of unprogrammed worship. These are just some of the many ways we can practice transfiguration here at First Friends, where we allow the light of God’s love to shine out from within us to the world.
Folks, I am privileged because I experience the transfiguration of people at First Friends almost every day.
The query we need to ask is…Do we have eyes to see the transfiguration?
Do we see it happening each week in Seeking Friends, Wired Word, Children’s Ministry, and Youth Group?
Do we see it happens at Monday Meditational Worship and Wednesday Night Unprogrammed Worship?
At Friday Sing-a-longs.
At Oak Leaf Meeting for Reading.
At the Food Pantry
At Seasoned Friends
At Threshing Together and women’s gatherings.
Do we see Transfiguration take place as stamps are sorted, as the choir practices, as the ushers and greeters serve?
And we could go on and on…
I do. I see the light in each of you giving others permission to do the same, liberating them from their fears and allowing the light of God’s love to transfigure those around us. And as we practice this transfiguration in our own lives, at First Friends, and in our communities, in our jobs and families, we allow the Light of God’s love to change our world.
Folks, It is time to let our lights shine! Will you join me in practicing transfiguration this week?
· Where am I feeling inadequate or fearful in life?
· How do I “practice transfiguration” in the daily?
· Where do I see transfiguration happening at First Friends, my community, my world?