Transfiguration Sunday Transfiguration Sunday – 14 February 2021 The Faith Nurture Forum would like to thank Dr Mark Calder, Regional Manager (Scotland and N England) for Embrace the Middle East, for his thoughts on Transfiguration Sunday. “We may not all be gathered in the same building, but at this time, when we need each other so much, we are invited to worship together, from where we are – knowing that God can hear us all and can blend even distant voices into one song of worship.” National Worship Team As the restrictions on our ability to meet in groups continue, worship leaders continue to deliver their services both online and offline. We can help to facilitate participation from the whole congregation by exploring imaginative approaches to inclusion, participation and our use of technology in the service in ways that suit both physical gatherings and video-conference style settings, such as: • Opening and closing moments of worship that help people mark out a time set apart with God • Introducing various parts of the worship service to help worshippers understand the character and purpose of each one (framing) • Enabling conversations or prayers in breakout groups • Holding spaces that allow people to go deeper in worship • Using the chat function and microphone settings to allow people to actively participate in prayer, e.g. saying the Lord’s Prayer together unmuted, in a moment of ‘holy chaos’ • Using music and the arts as part of the worship Useful links: Up to date information for churches around Covid-19 can be found here Useful tips for creating and leading worship online can be found here You can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship here Introduction ................................................................................................... 3 2 Kings 2:1-12 ................................................................................................. 3 Psalm 50:1-6 .................................................................................................. 4 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 ......................................................................................... 4 Mark 9:2-9 ..................................................................................................... 5 Sermon ideas ................................................................................................. 7 Prayers .......................................................................................................... 9 Alternative Material ...................................................................................... 13 Musical suggestions ...................................................................................... 17 Introduction Each of the lectionary readings this week calls our attention to realities beyond everyday experience and comprehension. A theme that runs throughout is how people respond to the ‘veiled’ truths described, and each raises questions about how we live in the light of something we may only occasionally, or perhaps dimly, discern. The fact that this Sunday coincides with St Valentine’s Day creates resonances with wider culture which are drawn out in the Sermon Ideas. 2 Kings 2:1-12 The story of Elijah’s assumption in the presence of Elisha is as dramatic as the Transfiguration narrative. It shares with that story an explosive encounter with a usually concealed reality, and the central experience of someone who wishes to not let go. At the moment of Elijah's departure, Elisha sees the ‘chariots of Israel and its horsemen’, expressing a cosmology in which agents of heaven are responsible for earthly territories. Here, though, Elisha does not want to simply hold onto a moment of revelation, but onto his beloved mentor who is departing. Is the tearing of his clothes a response to the contrast between his earthly perspective and what he has just seen (c.f. Isaiah 6:5) or is it that, despite the cosmic fireworks, his overriding emotion is one of bereavement due to the loss of his mentor? One of the more curious questions to arise from this passage is what Elisha’s expectations were when he asked Elijah for a ‘double share’ of his spirit. The Spirit of God is what empowered the prophets, or rather the prophets are the chosen vehicles for, or mediators of, the action of the spirit of YHWH in the world. Is this what Elisha seeks more of? Elijah’s response to Elisha’s request doesn’t resolve our questions, but the answer will be given when the former departs. And yet, the sheer drama of this irruption of another realm into theirs, at Jordan, that symbol of both life and death, seems to make the request seem even more preposterous. Is he wanting a double ‘share’ of something as indivisible as it is immeasurable? And yet, with a reminder, through sheer cosmic theatre - that God has chosen of divine free will to work through and partner with God’s people - this request is apparently granted. As with the Transfiguration, what follows is significant for reading this narrative. Elisha will take up the mantle of Elijah in the subsequent passage, just as the disciples of Jesus will ultimately take up their crosses. As he turns his face towards his ministry, what he has seen is connected to his empowerment. Perhaps here we are encouraged above all to reflect on this central paradox of scripture: that God, the uncontainable, repeatedly chooses to be limited in order to act, and ultimately dwell, among us. Psalm 50:1-6 Whereas the 2 Kings passage describes the in-dwelling and out-working of the Spirit, as an expression of the power of God; the beginning of this Psalm calls us to acknowledge divine power exercised through the Wisdom and Word of God, and then through the Shekinah of God dwelling in Zion. While the work of the Spirit is mediated by God’s prophets (and after Pentecost, by the Church), the psalmist paints a picture of a more ‘autocratic’ expression of power, by which I mean simply ‘unto itself’, unmediated. It is an awe-inspiring image, which intensifies in the subsequent part of the psalm. The fact that I balk at using the word ‘autocratic’ to describe the power of God is salutary. Why would I resist the idea of God’s power being fearfully untamed, especially when fear of God is portrayed as so essential – a kind of sine qua non of faith – in the Hebrew Bible? Perhaps it is easier to domesticate God in a context of plenty and satiation. But once again, in this psalm, God invites a response. In the end, unlike in some of the prophetic texts, sacrifices are not rejected, but God’s priority is the gratitude of the Covenant people. Moreover, through a Christological lens, the judgement of God upon injustice, willingly absorbed by Christ for the sake of God’s people, becomes yet another source of gratitude which we can feel even in contexts of oppression and hardship. 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 The narrative context for this epistle is St Paul’s big fall-out with the Corinthians which, by the time of this letter, is somewhat resolved. This context is essential though and lingering tensions remain. Paul’s ministry was still rejected by some because it appeared unimpressive: Paul’s relative lack of wealth, status and performance charisma paled in comparison with others who claimed the Corinthians’ allegiance, the ‘super-apostles’ (as he sarcastically describes them) of Chapter 11. But, as in our other readings, appearances are deceptive, and this letter revolves around comparing values that prevail in the dominant culture with the values expressed by Jesus, especially in His willingness to lay down His life. That which is widely taken for granted, because of the bright lights shone by the ‘god of this world’, is actually a falsehood; and the truth has to do with God showing God’s power through weakness. In this reading, then, Paul tells the Corinthians that the very unimpressive nature of many of Jesus’ followers is not beside the point, but actually points to the character of their Lord. His role is simply to express and reflect the glory of this king, whose light now shines also in their hearts in place of their formerly blinded minds. However, the letter goes on to show how utterly counterintuitive Christ’s glory is: unlike the exaltation of Moses on Sinai, the exaltation of Christ was on a cross. His enthronement looks to most people like His defeat. Indeed, that which is impressive about the world’s heroes is part of what ‘veils’ the good news to many people who are ‘perishing’, having preferred something other than the self-giving, and life-giving, way of Christ. Paul finds comfort and encouragement in this truth. Christ’s death was not only about reconciling God to humankind or showing the character of God, but pointing to a new way of being in the world which is ‘cruciform’. The things that would be reasons, according to the status-driven logic of Paul’s detractors, to reject him, are for him attributes of Christ that he has adopted as a disciple. Moreover, this portrayal of Christ’s death as His enthronement places a message of generosity at the very centre of the gospel, and so of Christian identity. This fragment of Paul’s argument in Chapter 4 contributes to a conclusion in Chapters 8&9 in which Paul confronts his audience with their failure to express their belonging to the beleaguered church in Jerusalem through generous giving. Like everything else, this connection is not obvious to others, to ‘the world’. This connection is part of the veiled reality, and eyes that truly recognise this connection are unveiled by the Spirit of God, and are eyes that direct hands toward expressing this connection in generous giving and hospitality. Mark 9:2-9 The Transfiguration story proclaims the identity of Jesus as the Christ: in the presence of Moses and Elijah we see Jesus as the one who fulfils the law and the prophets. We also come to see the Christ’s identity as more than that which was expected, as one whose reign is beyond, as well as within, His followers’ everyday experience - the ‘Ancient One’ of Daniel 7:9.