This is My Son, Listen to Him.

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Scripture:  Mark 9:2 – 9

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… Read more…

Sermon Notes:

Beginning at the 8:19 mark, the quote is from Erna Kim Hackett. “Why I Stopped Talking About Racial Reconciliation and Started Talking about White Supremacy.” Feisty Thoughts: Reflections on being a WOC leader, Christianity, Social Justice, and Race. August 23, 2017. (accessed Feb. 14, 2021).

Beginning at the 10:19 mark, the research referenced is summarized by Jed Gottlieb. “Music Everywhere.” The Harvard Gazette. November 21, 2019. (accessed Feb. 14, 2021).

Looking to Sunday

by Elaine Poproski

In the midst of Valentine’s Day and Family Day weekend, all in lockdown, the Christian calendar tells us Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday. It’s the Sunday we remember a particularly extraordinary event in the life of Jesus (and a few of His disciples). You can read the story in Mark 9:2 – 9.

On this particular day, Jesus and three of His closest disciples went for a walk up a mountain. It was a good day. But nothing had prepared the disciples for the vision that was coming. For a moment, “the veil of Jesus’ humanness”[1] was lifted and his divinity was on full display. It was the epiphany of all epiphanies. The disciples were left speechless and terrified. And in their awe they heard nothing less than the voice of God declaring Jesus’ Sonship and authority.

What an experience that must have been!

If you ever wonder how the first disciples got from knowing Jesus the man – a great teacher and prophet, worthy of being followed, but nevertheless a man with human parents born and raised just like them – to declaring Jesus the Son of God and ultimately God incarnate, I think this event is a big part of the answer.

One of the paradoxes of the Christian faith is our declaration that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. It’s a declaration that’s supported by Scripture as well as by a couple thousand years of experience and tradition. And yet, because it’s a paradox, we tend to lean more toward one side or the other. Perhaps we find it difficult to pray to Jesus because His humanity is so powerfully dominant in our understanding. Perhaps we find it difficult to register Jesus’ great sacrifice on the cross, because His divinity is the most commanding aspect of His being. To which side of the paradox do you tend to lean?

As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps spend some time considering this question. How does your answer affect your prayer life? your faith? Perhaps ask God to give you an epiphany of the other side of the paradox. And if it helps, perhaps spend some time meditating on this visual representation of the Transfiguration by artist, Kelly Latimore.

 

[1] This phrase was coined by Melinda Quivik in her “Commentary on Mark 9:2-9” from Working Preacher. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/transfiguration-of-our-lord-2/commentary-on-mark-92-9-5 (retrieved Feb. 3, 2021).