Transfiguration

 

Leaps for joy, showy stops at the bottom of a hill, 720 turns, skyscraper high twists, triple turns, quads, tears of joy, blown kisses to friends and family – and, of course, Apolo Anton Ono… whose early training took place at a rink about a mile from my former church.  All of these - moments of glory from the last two weeks of the winter Olympics.  They are the highs of the highs both literally and emotionally. 

 

Some people devote the better part of their lives to achieve these moments of glory.  Whole families sacrifice virtually everything in hopes of seeing their son or daughter, sister or brother shine at the Olympics.  A former parishioner of mine in Federal Way has a daughter who at age 13 is an Olympic hopeful in figure skating.  I remember a conversation with her a few months before leaving WA State.  There are five other children in the family who were not able to do much on terms of extra curricula activities because very penny and moment of time was being devoted to furthering the ambitions of this one very talented daughter.  I will not soon forget the story of the family that moved from Turkey, where there are two ice rinks in the entire country, to Canada for the sole purpose of giving their daughter every opportunity possible to succeed at figure skating.  These are ambitions that come with a high price tag both in terms of dollars and emotions.

 

Fortunately for us, spiritual highs do not cost a penny.  On this transfiguration Sunday we hear the story of arguably the greatest moment of spiritual ecstasy recorded in all of scripture.  Jesus has withdrawn with a couple of his disciples to a mountain.  All the figures of the Bible knew well that mountaintops were places to go to get closer to God.  Moses climbed to the top of a mountain to receive the Ten Commandments.  On this spectacular mountain of transfiguration, the veil between present and future, the separation of human and divine allowed Jesus’ disciples to see, for one moment of glory, who Jesus really was.  There was a mysterious voice from heaven.  Two prophets, long deceased, suddenly appeared and stood among them and Jesus’ appearance, for one spectacular instant, was completely changed. They fell on their knees and worshipped him. 

 

Moments of ecstasy are not all that uncommon in the fabric of everyday life.  One of my favorite stories from my former diocese is about a couple who broke into song, singing the doxology whenever they made love.  That’s one of those great marriage encounter stories that has been floating around the diocese for years.  But purely spiritual highs are also not uncommon. Talk to anyone who has been on a Cursillo weekend.  It is a rare person who is not brought to spiritual ecstasy through participating in one of these renewal weekends.  There are lots of ways to meet God if only we open our hearts and make time for the experiences.  

One of the best pieces of journalism I have ever read was by a Jesuit priest who is the Dean of Seattle University.  He talked about how certain experiences have shaped his entire ministry: spending time at art museums, hiking in the mountains, going to concerts.  I loved this article because I am one of those people who could not be a priest if I did not have a regular diet of artistic and natural world experiences.  My husband is someone who understands this even better than I.  He is forever calling me and the children saying: “Come look at the moon tonight; it is spectacular” or “look at this flower; it is just perfect,” or “look at the birds in the yard.”  When I lived in Maryland, I used to backpack in West Virginia.  Every summer I would return to this one place that had the perfect boulder for sunbathing.  When the sun got hot enough, you could just slide off the boulder into a refreshing mountain stream.  Kayaking in the Northwest provided endless opportunities for experiencing God’s creation.  My first summer in WA State, I went kayaking in the San Juan Islands.  It was a whale watching kayaking trip and after three days of not seeing whales, just as we were sitting down to dinner, someone came running into the campground shouting: “The whales are coming, the whales are coming.”  We dropped everything and flew to our kayaks.  Given the haphazard rush to the kayaks, I ended up with one of the trip leaders who was also a photographer.  We kayaked right into the pathway of the orcas who suddenly out of

nowhere started doing all kinds of the playful tricks for which orca whales are famous.  A stunning encounter with God’s creation, indeed!

 

The word worship comes from the old Anglo-Saxon word worth-ship.  To worship means to see and respond to the true worth of something, to recognize and to adore the value of another.  Scripture speaks of worshipping God in the beauty of his holiness.  Beauty has a way of grabbing us and capturing our attention.  One of the many reasons my husband and I love Nordic skiing is because of the encounters with the beauty of God’s creation while skiing.  You can go for hours without a sound except for the swishing of your skis.  Snow laden back country is so quiet.  On this recent vacation, I took our girls to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore to do the Dune Climb in the middle of a snowstorm.  We were the only ones there and we just laughed and laughed as we enjoyed this experience of God’s creation.  

 

Modern life robs us of many of these opportunities if we are not intentional about making time for them.  Time for renewal of our souls is not a luxury; it is essential for our relationship with God as well as the health of our total being. 

 

This past fall we went to the symphony to hear Mahler’s 5^th Symphony.  I remember thinking ahead of time: “I hope all the fuss about this symphony is right because I don’t know if I can keep my attention on a symphony that is over an hour long.”  But this is one of those symphonies that has to be seen not just heard because it uses every instrument known to the orchestra as well a few others that were very unusual.  The prolonged standing ovation to a magnificent performance was a profound moment of glory.

 

In the early days of my ministry, all I read were books that were directly related to ministry such as the book on the Creeds that we are reading for the class on the Creeds.  Now 20 years later I have a much broader perspective.  Fiction is at least as important as theology.  My sister and I are watching the PBS adaptation of Dickens’ masterpiece Bleak House.  We are both reading the book and having a great time discussing the characters and appreciating the intricate details of this complex novel.  Granted, it will take me months to read the book but I now understand this as food for the soul which in the end will make me a better priest.

 

Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountaintop occurs in the middle of ordinary events that had occurred in the valley below.  Granted Jesus had just delivered the most important sermon of his life.  But the spectacular had not yet occurred.  It took a trip to the top of a mountaintop for that to happen. It was on the mountaintop that the spectacular broke into the normal. 

 

Beauty in worship is something that is cherished by almost all Episcopalians.  This is one of our most distinguishing features.  Undoubtedly this is why many of us come to church in the first place.  With the large glass wall looking out at the memorial garden, this church is especially conducive to experiencing moments of beauty.  If our everyday lives are routine driven, we need to break out of that place even if for a short period of time.  We need to experience the holy to remind us that our real purpose in life is to worship and serve God. 

 

On the mountain, Jesus was transfigured, his garments became gleaming white and a light brighter than the sun surrounded him.  His disciples, who had already experienced so much with him, were overwhelmed and fell to their knees.  On any given Sunday, we can only hope that something in the service might touch us and bring us to that place of wonder and awe.  It might be the music of the choir; it might be a child reaching out at the altar rail.  It could be any number of things.  But when those moments happen, when we experience the extraordinary in the ordinary, then we will be able to join the disciples in their praise of the living God.