Transfiguration and Mr Weasley

This coming Sunday is 'Transfiguration Sunday" One of the few places you may discover the word 'Transfiguration' outside of the religious sphere is in the Harry Potter series of books. 

 

At Hogwarts Academy 'Transfiguration' is a branch of magic that focuses on the alteration of the form or appearance of an object, via the alteration of the object's molecular structure. Humans can be transfigured into werewolves, objects in the seen world can be come invisible. And, as this video clip demonstrates, animals can be turned into objects... though not always with 100% success when it comes to Ron Weasley.

The Gospel account of Transfiguration can be found in Matthew 17:1-9 and it's veracity is testified to in one of the later New Testament writings in 2 Peter 1:16-21. The author of 2 Peter insists that the mountain-top appearance of Moses and Elijah with Jesus on the mountain-top, was no magic trick, but a milestone moment in the disciples pilgrimage to come to terms with the significance of the person of Jesus Christ.

For many of us, such strange events on mountaintops seem to have about as much reality to them as a scene in a Harry Potter movie. We may even fear that rather than making the gospel account more believable, they make it seem even further removed from the reality of our daily lives. And should we even attempt to replicate such an event we probably fear our efforts would be about as successful as those of Mr. Weasley!

 

So maybe it is helpful to ask why the gospel authors (and the author of 2 Peter) felt that this was such an important story to tell. Traditionally three aspects have been pointed out.

Firstly, that the story reveals to us a Jesus who is a bridge between the world of the temporal and the eternal. Heaven connects with earth and earth with heaven. For a brief moment in time the mist of separation is cleared and the story moves outside of time. No wonder that one of the disciples, Peter, wanted to capture the moment and stay on the mountain.

Many of us are fortunate enough to have had those experiences when we felt a strong connection to something much larger than ourselves. It can be on a mountain top. It can be through a conversation. It can  come when we're watching a movie, listening to a piece of music or reading a book. For a moment the mist clears and we feel we are seeing something in a totally different way. Call it an epiphany... or a transfiguration... or even just describe it as magical... such are moments to accept the goose bumps and be thankful.

Secondly, there is a voice that is heard inviting us to "Listen"... in particular to listen to Jesus. Amongst all the words in the world (and even all the words in the biblical books) we can neglect to give the words of Jesus the particular significance they appear to demand. His teaching is the heart of the gospel. Instead of becoming bogged down in the intricacies of theological interpretation, maybe we could just focus on a few of His BIGGIES... like "Love God", "Love Neighbor" and "Love your enemy". It would be magical if we could simply embrace those three!

Thirdly, the appearance of Moses and Elijah stresses that God is God of the living, not of the dead. I love the notion that every time we worship, despite the often empty pews, we are in the presence of a great cloud of unseen witnesses. Saints and angels of every generation! 

If you are able to join us Sunday... and be part of the seen cloud of witnesses - then that would be... magic! If not then whatever you are up to may there be those moments when eternity breaks in and you get a glimpse that there's more to this life than the mundane.

And of course...this post would not be complete without  A TRANSFIGURATION SONG

 

Body Temples

This coming Sunday at First Presbyterian Church of Baldwin we'll be concluding our series of messages from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians and taking a look at 1Corinthians 3:10-11 & 16-23. 

The theme for our sermon will be 'The Temple of You'... and we'll be reflecting on what it might mean to be a walking, living, breathing temple of God. I was intrigued by the video below... which is about the 3rd temple mentioned in Scripture... the one Ezekial saw in a vision (but which was never actually built) and how it was to be built in the shape of a person. (You'll have to watch it to know what I'm talking about!)

Body temples. Then there's the whole idea of the community of the faithful being together a 'temple' or 'Body' ... and the biblical image of the church as being the 'Body of Christ'. And then there is Jesus talking about His body as being a temple that if destroyed would be rebuilt in three days time. Mind boggling stuff when you start allowing all those different temple related images to percolate in your mind! 

Paul writes in the passage we are considering : ^"Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?" (verse 16). So... body temples... here's some questions to consider as we approach Sunday.

•  How are we taking care of our personal or communal temple?
• What's the mission statement of our temple?
• What does Paul mean when he writes  'that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst'. 

I searched for a song on this theme... and found this on the YouTube... Temple Restoration. by a lady called Janet Morrison. Certainly fits well with the theme and is based on verse 16.


Hope to see some of you Sunday... and maybe connect with others in different ways :-)

Eating Solid Food

Some of my peers are reaching grandparent age. As they observe their siblings-siblings transitioning from being babies to toddlers they are reminded that eating solid food for the first time can be quite an experience! Some babies love it, some shudder, some cry... as this video amply demonstrates.

In our reading this Sunday, from 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Paul chastises the church for having many folk who, when it came to the gospel message, preferred spiritual milk to solid food. " Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready."

Paul's fear is that, unless they developed a taste for the meatier things of Christian life they would remain in a permanently malnourished state. Amongst the things he identifies as being immature behavior are partisanship, jealousy and quarreling. He is horrified by the fact they are still comparing this teacher with that teacher and never for a moment actually getting a grip of the lessons they were trying to teach them.

Of course, as the video above illustrates, solid food can make some folk shudder. I have heard people say that they didn't like it when preachers spoke about developing a deeper relationship with God. That wasn't what they were used to, and it made them nervous. They would rather just turn up at church, mumble a few hymns, put some money in the plate and go home for dinner thankful that another service had been endured. Solid Food? 'Not for me!'

We always have more to learn. We are never invited to a form of belief that is static, underdeveloped and going nowhere. We are designed for spiritual growth. Unlike physical growth, which reaches a plateau and then turns into a decline, sprritual growth just keeps  moving on up. There are greater levels of maturity ahead of us.

So... questions to ponder as we approach Sunday. 

• Are you growing in your faith? 
• Are there particular areas in your Christian experience that need more attention? 
• What are the fears or circumstances that prevent you moving forward? (And what can you do about them?)

And for some music MOVING ON UP (not entirely related as it talks about the breakdown of a relationship... but I hope you get the idea that our faith is meant to be something that is 'moving on up'... and away from things that are holding us back!)

See you Sunday? (And if not, check back or follow online. The sermon will be posted sometime Tuesday.)

The Deep Things of God

In our service this coming Sunday we are looking at 1 Corinthians 2:1-12. In verse 9 we read "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God."

I recall as a youthful believer that such a verse would discourage me rather than encourage me. When you are in your late teens you want clear answers with no grey areas. I was attracted to the kind of evangelical certainty that I now regard as being unhelpful. I still maintain the books of the Bible offer us answers. But I have often found they are not those that we expect. There is often ambiguity and tension. This text calls us to consider that we may not even be asking the right questions.

In the previous section Paul made great contrasts between the wisdom of the world and the foolishness of the gospel message (and if you missed last weeks sermon 'Field of Fools' then here it is!)  He begins this passage by speaking about his own inability to proclaim it. He implies that if they are receiving anything from him, than it's due to the work of God's Spirit, not his skills.

He launches into words about the mystery and 'un-knowabilty' of God's ways. 'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived - the things God has prepared for those who love Him'  All of this is a far cry from the kind of religious certainty that we often crave.

I recall a preacher years ago (and forgive me that I forget who and where) saying; "The Holy Trinity is not Father, Son and Holy Scripture' but 'Father, Son and Holy Spirit'." If we are expecting to be able to simply open up our bibles and find an instant answer to some pressing concern, we may be setting ourselves up for disappointment. 

But if we are prepared to carefully and prayerfully approach scripture, aware that the whole process of revelation is depending upon the action of God's Holy Spirit, then maybe treasures from the deep will be revealed. Why limit that process to Scripture? That same attitude can color our approach to worship, to fellowship, to our work, our leisure, to our relationships, our private and our public times (to name but a few)!

Our passage closes with the words 'What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.". There is something wonderfully dynamic and experiential about Paul's view of the gospel. Something that blind insistence on regarding any text as being 'The last and only word on this' can obscure.

I love the Celtic image of the Holy Spirit as being 'The Wild Goose'. Unpredictable. Free. In Transit. I'm glad that there have been those alongside me in my spiritual journey who have had the patience to say, "Yes, you can look at it that way, but look, here's another perspective". I am glad for those who encouraged me to see that the depth of God was not something to be frustrated by, but rather something to dive deep into. And I hope that you may find those around your life who encourage you to do the same. 

 
Some questions as Sunday approaches. 

• Why does Paul tell the church in Corinth "I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling"? 
• What would it mean to have a faith that didn't "Rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power"? 
• What role does 'mystery' play in our lives?

Finally, here's an enjoyable version of William Cowper's classic hymn  "God moves in a mysterious way"