Prepare

To begin, let’s admit that the Transfiguration is a weird story. We’ve got heroes from the Bible’s past. There are voices from heaven. People faint from fear. Jesus transfigures, whatever that actually means. This story is just weird.

There are a few things to keep in mind about Moses and Elijah that might be helpful for understanding this story. First, no one saw Moses and Elijah die. When Moses dies, God grants him, alone, a glimpse of the promised land and then God buries Moses, but no one knows where (Deuteronomy 34). Elijah ascends into heaven by means of a chariot, fire, and whirlwind (2 Kings 2). But here is more: both Moses and Elijah, in their time, meet God on mountaintops, in fact, it’s the same mountain – Mount Horeb. God calls Moses through the burning bush and later, on the same mountain, gives him the Torah, the law. Elijah meets God in the sound of sheer silence and receives instructions to anoint new kings and name a successor. 

Before and after this story, Jesus predicts his death several times, and he confronts his disciples with the truth about how hard it is to follow him: it is like taking up a cross. And, when Jesus, Peter, James, and John come down from the mountain, they’ll learn the other disciples have been trying, and failing, to help a little boy with epilepsy.

Transfigured means changed—not like a costume change, but a change in form. Yes, Jesus’ appearance changes, but there seems to be something more. Whatever it is, the disciples see him both more clearly and less so. Peter lacks the words to express the depth of this moment, but he knows what is true: it is good to be here.

Opening Exercise

• You’re hosting a dinner party for yourself and five other people—some you know now, some from history you wish you could’ve met. Who do you invite? Why? How do you introduce them to one another? What kinds of conversations would you hope to have?

Text Read Aloud

Matthew 17:1-9 

It is Good to Be Here

Winter is never mild in Ukraine, but it has been particularly harsh this year. Many people are without power for all or part of the day. A lot of people don’t have water in their homes anymore because of the war with Russi

BBC News. Watch: Frozen river hosts dance party in Kyiv.

a. It is easy for things to feel helpless. But the people have started to throw dance parties on frozen rivers and lakes. They’ve got little racing buggies that they run on the ice, and DJs set up full rigs in the middle of frozen lakes. In an interview, one person said, “It’s gotten so much harder to be happy, but we have the small flame of hope in our hearts that we try to keep burning.” When the way looks helpless, God kindles hope in our hearts within communities where we know it is good for us to be.

Peter sounds pretty ridiculous when he starts babbling about tents, but it has been a harsh journey to this point. He and his fellow disciples have been stretched and challenged in countless ways. They have seen incomprehensible things: Jesus walking on water, feeding thousands, curing all sorts of diseases. The disciples who followed Jesus had been criticized and scolded by Pharisees. And, while they had left home, left their jobs, and left their families to follow Jesus, he recently told them that that wouldn’t be enough. Jesus told them that disciples carry crosses, instruments of torture and death. 

And it wasn’t like things were easy before they followed Jesus, either. The Sea of Galilee was being overfished, the treasures of their lake exported to Rome. They had been taxed, tolled, and fined by the Romans, who occupied every inch of their homeland. 

So when Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain, and they see the heroes of their bedtime stories—Moses and Elijah—we can understand why Peter says, “It is good for us to be here.” Things were hard, and Jesus drew together this extraordinary community, renewing his disciples’ sense of hope.

Recently, I was at a reunion of sorts, an opportunity to bring together people who work in the same field. We get together once a year or so, and we look forward to it. But it seems like things have been especially hard for people recently: there’s a lot of bad news, and people are lonelier and more disconnected than they used to be. We were all feeling disconnected and discouraged. So, we were all in agreement when one of my colleagues walked into the room and proclaimed loudly, “It is good to be here.”

At its best, this is what church can be for us: that when we’re discouraged and disconnected, Jesus gathers together an extraordinary community, renewing our sense of hope. And this is what other communities—times of fellowship and time with our friends and family—can also be for us: gathered together, Jesus with us, hope renewed.

Reflection Questions

• Who can give the best impression of Peter on the mountain?
• What would you have said if you were Peter? 
• Where do you go when you’re feeling disconnected or discouraged?
• What are some things you do to help you feel more hopeful? What is something someone else has done for you?

Closing Activity

• Take a few minutes to draw or write about a place where you’ve been a part of a gathering that renewed you. Maybe it was a team meeting in a locker room before a big game, or during worship, or just getting together with friends. Invite participants to share their responses, if they’d like.

Final Prayer/Blessing

• Light a candle and place it on your drawing or writing, or carefully hold your work while you pray.
  • Encouraging God, you gathered Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, and John with Jesus on the mountain when they were feeling challenged, stretched, and even frustrated. When we’re uncertain about the future, disconnected from one another, or discouraged, put your hope within us. Fan it from a spark into a flame, that we may be sustained in community with one another, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Bio

Adrianne Meier is an ELCA pastor who serves among the people at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Indiana. When she’s not working—and even when she is working—you can find her furiously knitting.

Contributed by John Wertz, Blacksburg, VA

Warm-up Question

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus famously said, “The only constant in life is change.”  Name three things in your life that have changed since the beginning of the school year?

Transcendent Moment

Chances are that you or someone in your family was one of over 115 million people who watched the Super Bowl last weekend.  When the game was over, Joe Flacco was  named as the Most Valuable Player for the game.  Now to be sure, Flacco is still the same person he was before the game, but by shining brightly in the biggest game of the year, Flacco will now be seen in a different light by those around him.  People around the world will suddenly know his name.  Companies will ask him to endorse their products.  He’ll be lifted up by fans and celebrated as a hero in his community and eventually his team, or another team interested in his abilities, will probably pay him more money in his next contract.  Thanks to this one event on this one day his life will change.

Most of us will never play professional sports, but our lives often have transformational moments when our gifts are revealed to the world.  These moments may happen on a large public stage, like the Super Bowl.  These moments may happen in the quiet of a family room.  These moments may happen through a paper written for school.  We rarely know when these moments will occur, but when they happen, the people around us –our family, our friends, and our peers, begin to discover who we are and what we are capable of accomplishing.

Discussion Questions

• Have you experienced transformational moment when you discovered something new about yourself or someone else?  How did you react?  How did the people around you react?
• Can anyone in the group name the last five Super Bowl MVP’s?  What do you think makes some transformational moments lasting and others only temporary?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, February 10, 2013 (Transfiguration of Our Lord)

Exodus 34:29-35

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Luke 9:28-36 [37-43]

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

In our Gospel reading today from Luke, we see Jesus undergo a powerful transformational moment of his own.  Jesus takes Peter, James and John with him to the top of a mountain to talk to and listen to God in prayer.  In Luke, we see Jesus praying at his baptism (3:21).  We see Jesus praying the night before he calls the apostles (6:12).  We see Jesus praying following the feeding of the five thousand (9:18) and during his final days, we will see him praying in the Garden of Gethsemane (22:41) and on the cross (23:34, 46).  For the disciples, seeing Jesus in prayer would have been a fairly normal part of their faith and life, but their experience on top of the mountain with Jesus was certainly unique.  While he was praying, his clothing became dazzling white; his face began to change, and Moses and Elijah appeared in their glory.  Just as Peter appears to be getting a handle on what is happening, a terrifying cloud moves over them and a voice from heaven says, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”  Within moments, the whole experience was over.  Jesus’ face and clothing returned to normal.  Moses, Elijah, and the cloud disappeared.  The voice faded away, but the there is no doubt that the disciples and Jesus were changed by this transformational moment.

In this time of prayer on top of a mountain, Jesus’ true nature is revealed by God’s presence and power.  For Jesus and the disciples, prayer was not an afterthought or something you only did at meals.  Prayer was an important part of a relationship with God and a place where they expected God to be present and active.  The dazzling clothing, the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and the booming voice from heaven during this time of prayer affirm Jesus’ mission and ministry and make it clear to the disciples that Jesus is more than just a teacher, miracle worker, and prophet.  Now certainly every time of prayer in scripture is not accompanied by a dramatic transformational event, but the story of the Transfiguration reminds us that through prayer we can experience God’s presence in our midst and we can discover more about who we are and who God is calling us to be.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think Jesus took Peter, James and John with him to pray?  How is praying with a group different than praying alone?  How do you think you would have reacted if you had been on the mountain top praying with Jesus?
• The voice from heaven affirms that Jesus is God’s Son, just as it did at Jesus’ baptism, but the focus of the overall message changes.   At the Baptism of Jesus, the voice says,  “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  At the Transfiguration, the voice says, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”  Why do you think the message changed?  What does this message at the Transfiguration mean for Jesus? for the disciples? for all of us?
• Prayer is clearly a part of Jesus’ relationship with God.  How is prayer a part of your relationship with God?  What is one question you have about prayer?

Activity Suggestions

• Try a one-word prayer.  Say a prayer by having everyone in the group say one word.  Pick someone to start and then have the person to their left add the next word.  For example, the first person might say, “Dear,” the second person might say, “God,” and the third person might say, “we”.  Have people continue to add words until you get a complete prayer thought.
• If your congregation participated in the Super Bowl of Caring, find a creative way to share the story of how your donations will help fight hunger in your community.  If your congregation did not participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring, use their website: souperbowl.org to learn about this exciting ministry.

Closing Prayer

Loving God, we give you thanks for sending Jesus to be a light in the world and a model for ministry.  Transform us by your presence with us and inspire us to be your hearts and hands and voices in the world.  Amen.

Contributed by Eric Ullestad, West Des Moines, IA

Warm-up Question

How do you use social media like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, etc.?

Transfiguration:  Changed But Unchanged

A little over one year has passed since protests in Tunisia marked the beginning of Arab Spring.  These demonstrations sparked similar outbursts in other cities in the Middle East and North Africa; across the region thousands spoke out against human rights violations and oppressive regimes.  Use of social media has been credited with increasing the effectiveness of these civil uprisings.  Government leaders in some countries attempted to shut down the Internet in the hopes of disabling communication between people.

Since the mid-2000s when “social media” became a buzz phrase, skeptics have wondered if these web sites have a useful purpose.  Sharing statuses (Facebook), hashtags (Twitter), locations (FourSquare), videos (YouTube), and pictures (Flickr) provide voyeuristic entertainment, but are criticized for being a big waste of time.  Over the past year, people in these Arab countries have demonstrated that social media provides the power to organize people around a cause in ways that were not possible in previous generations.

Discussion Questions

• What do you know about the ongoing protests taking place in Middle East and North Africa?
• How has the use social media changed the way you relate to people?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, February 19, 2012 (Transfiguration of Our Lord)

2 Kings 2:1-12

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Mark 9:2-9

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Let it not be said that Jesus lacked a flair for the dramatic.  He had just finished a feeding frenzy (4,000 people – Mark 8:1-9), an optometry experiment (Mark 8:22-26), and a hard-core conversation with Peter about his own demise (Mark 8:27-38).  After all that, he goes for a hike with three of his closest friends – James, John, and the aforementioned Peter.  One might think that this was his chance to take a break from it all.  Instead, he pulls off one of the most paranormal activities of his life: the transfiguration.  Not only did his appearance change, but two of the most prominent leaders of God’s people – Moses and Elijah – show up unannounced.  It’s easy to understand if the disciples didn’t quite know what to do.

We know now what the disciples may not have at the time: the man who ascended the mountain with them was the same man with the dazzling white clothes.  Though aspects of Jesus’ physical form were altered, he was the same person who had been with them all along.  After coming down from the mountain, Jesus continued his inevitable march to the cross by teaching, healing, performing miracles, and proclaiming the Kingdom of God.  The Mount of Transfiguration simultaneously left Jesus changed and unchanged.

In a similar way protests, demonstrations, and acts of civil disobedience are not new.  Those  events have occurred for millennia.  However, the ways in which people are brought together have changed because of advances in technology.  Not only are these countries being transfigured, but various forms of social media have been transfigured to become powerful agents of change across the world.

Christians have a history of embracing this kind of simultaneity.  We are people that are broken and healed; enslaved and free; lost and found; sinner and saint.  The Transfiguration of Jesus gives us hope that in the midst of historic changes in government, climate, and digital technology, the person of Jesus and his unfailing love for the world remain unchanged.

Discussion Questions

• What images of the Transfiguration jump out at you?
• How would you have responded if you were one of the disciples?
• Why do you think Jesus instructed the disciples to not tell

Activity Suggestions

Think of ways your congregation can use social media to spread the Gospel message.  Consider asking students to “donate their status” each week to letting people in their social circles about what’s going on in the congregation.  Perhaps students could make suggestions of how to improve the church web site or Facebook page.  Could your congregation incorporate mass text messages to keep its members connected to Bible verses, church ministries, or prayer requests throughout the week?  Discuss these (and other) ideas and take steps toward implementing your plans in the days ahead.

Closing Prayer

God, thank you for being with us through the uncertainties of our life.  Help us to know that your love for us never changes.  Amen.

Contributed by Aaron Matson, Leganger Lutheran Church, Toronto, SD

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been a part of a great celebration? What were you celebrating? How did feel to be a part of such a celebration?

From Mountaintop to Spring Training

A few short months ago, the San Francisco Giants were on top of the baseball world, celebrating a World Series Championship. Winning the World Series is the dream of any baseball player from the first time he picks up a baseball and bat. It is the pinnacle, the mountain top, of achievement for a baseball player. It is an experience that can never be taken away:  the final out,  the celebration on the field and in the locker room,  the parade in front of the cheering hometown fans.

But right now, the Giants, like every other Major League Baseball team, are going through the daily grind of spring training. Like everybody else, the Giants are taking grounders, running sprints, and practicing bunting and base running. While they are hoping for another championship at the end of the season, they know that the life of a baseball player is not primarily mountaintop celebration, but the daily routine of honing his skills to be the best player he can be. The life of a baseball player is filled with ups and downs, but through the ups and downs, baseball players do what they have been trained and coached to do – play baseball.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever had to practice or rehearse for an activity in which you were  involved?
• Do you ever get tired of practicing or rehearsing? Was the joy of being a part of the activity worth it?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 6, 2011 (Transfiguration of our Lord)

Exodus 24:12-18

2 Peter 1:16-21

Matthew 17:1-9

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Have you ever had a mountaintop experience? That is, have you ever had an experience where you felt the presence and love of God in a way you never had before? Maybe you felt that way at a week at camp, or at a retreat. Maybe you  had one at a conference or Bible study with a particularly engaging and insightful speaker or teacher.

Mountaintop experiences are wonderful things. They can renew your spirit, refresh your faith, and inspire you to live a more healthy, faithful life. In the rhythm of the life of the Church, weekly worship services are meant to be mini-mountaintop experiences.  Hopefully you leave worship renewed, refreshed, and inspired—at least some of the time. Ideally, somewhere in the liturgy,  scripture readings, fellowship, hymns, or sermons you hear the Gospel preached and your faith is renewed and refreshed for the next week.

The season of Epiphany is a season of mountain top experiences, and in today’s Gospel lesson, we literally see a mountaintop experience in the transfiguration of Jesus. Six days after he predicts his suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to a high mountain. Jesus is transfigured before them; that is, his appearance and very being are changed.  His clothes are a dazzling white and Moses and Elijah appear with him. A voice from heaven speaks words very similar to those uttered when Jesus was baptized, “This is my Son, the beloved, listen to him!” And then, as suddenly as the experience started, it ends; Jesus is alone again, and he tells them to tell no one what they have seen until he had risen from the dead.

And in the middle of this miraculous event, the disciples are terrified, scared stiff–as  I imagine any of us would be. This is the mountaintop experience to end mountaintop experiences, an Epiphany overload of awe and wonder and revelation. They have an experience where Jesus is revealed to be divine, the Son of God. Shown in the presence of the two biggest names in the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah, Jesus is revealed as the completion and perfection of what God had been doing throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and Israel’s collective history.

In the middle of this awesome and amazing event, Peter, not knowing what else to say, proposes building dwellings for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. As terrified as he is, he knows what a miraculous event he witnessed and he doesn’t want it to end. In his mind, this is a mountaintop experience that can’t be topped – and won’t be, until he had seen the risen Christ.

But the experience did end; Jesus and the disciples had work to do. Jesus did not come to this world to stay on mountaintops; he came to bring God’s kingdom to earth in his ministry, death, and resurrection. Like Peter, we too want to stay in mountaintop experiences.  That is understandable. Who wouldn’t want to stay in the place where we can see the glory and power of Christ in amazing ways?

But the life of faith is not meant to be spent on mountaintops, it is meant to be spent in active engagement in the life of the world – in getting our hands dirty, in using our voices to speak for the oppressed, in speaking truth to power, and speaking words of compassion and love to our neighbors. Sometimes words of love need to be a kick in the pants so that others straighten up, and sometimes they need to be words of gentle understanding and comfort. But either way, they need to be words of Christ’s love and compassion. Put simply, it is our work to be engaged in the world, proclaiming the Gospel by loving and serving the neighbor.

A boat in a port is safe, but that is not what boats were made for.  Jesus could have stayed on the mountaintop, but that’s not what he was sent for. Life on the mountaintop is safe, but that is not what our Christian vocation is. Our vocation, our calling, is to spread the Gospel of Christ in word and deed, and to be engaged in the world in lives of love and service, so that the light of Christ shines through us.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever had a “mountaintop experience” in your faith life? Did you wish you could stay there?
• Has that experience helped you to live out your faith in the daily grind of life?
• What are some ways you can live out your faith and be engaged in the world?

Activity Suggestions

• Review the promises that parents and sponsors make in Baptism and that people make when they affirm their Baptism (pages 228 and 236). Talk about how theses faith practices help sustain and strengthen a Christian’s faith in between mountaintop experiences.
• Bring newspapers or news stories from the Internet and find stories of people in your community and around the world that need us to be engaged in the world as signs of God’s loving presence. Go to the ELCA Advocacy (http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Advocacy.aspx) page to find some ways you can be engaged as Christ’s hands and feet in the world.

Closing Prayer

Everlasting God, we thank you for all those mountaintop experiences where we have felt your presence in amazing and incredible ways. Holy Spirit, help us sustain our faith as we come back down from those mountaintops to engage the world. We pray for all those that need the help of your Church and we pray that you awaken the compassion within us so that we may bring your love and healing presence to them. Amen.

Contributed by Pastor Seth Moland-Kovash, All Saints Lutheran Church, Palatine, IL

Warm-Up Question

Who are the historical figures you look up to the most?

Signs of the Times

We all have historical figures to whom we look up. We admire what they accomplished. We are thankful for what they did for the rest of us. We use them as examples of what we could accomplish or how we should behave. Heroes of the past are an important part of any culture. 

In our culture, as in many others, some of our most-admired heroes are sports figures. Halls of Fame are places where heroes of the past are especially remembered. In the summer of 2010 Andre Dawson was chosen to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In a career that spanned 1976 through 1996, Dawson played for four major league teams and amassed a career batting average of .279 with 438 home runs. 

One important factor in remembering our heroes is how they are remembered. Do we remember them as baseball players or as humanitarians? If as baseball players, for which team do we remember them playing?  For Dawson, as for many others, there has been some controversy over which team’s cap his Hall of Fame bust will wear. The final decision, which was up to the Hall of Fame committee, is that Dawson will wear the cap of the Montreal Expos instead of a Chicago Cubs’ cap, which was his choice. 

Discussion Questions

1. When you picture your favorite historical figure, how do you know that it’s him/her?
2. How much control should public figures have over how they are remembered? Should Dawson be able to choose which team’s cap his statue wears in the Hall?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, February 7, 2010 (Fifth Sunday after Epiphany)

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Exodus 34:29-35

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]

Gospel Reflection

When Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him up the mountain, they met the greats of the past.  It was as if Mt. Rushmore or the Baseball Hall of Fame had come to life for them on the mountaintop. They saw Moses, the author of the law  they had been studying since they were little boys. They saw Elijah, the prophet above all prophets, promised to come again before the Messiah. And they saw their friend Jesus in all his glory. 

I’ve often wondered (and I know I’m not alone) how Peter, James, and John knew that it was Moses and Elijah they were talking with. They didn’t have pictures of them. How could they have known? What was it about the experience that helped them understand it? 

Remember that the version we’re reading was written down a long time later. Perhaps it took them a long time to figure out what had happened to them. Perhaps it was only after Jesus’ death and resurrection that they looked back and realized completely what they had experienced. Maybe only after talking it over with others (and with Jesus) as they came down the mountain, did they start to figure it out. 

Discussion Questions

1. In religious history, who is the figure (let’s say other than Jesus) with whom you’d want to sit down and have a chat? What would you talk about?
2. How do you recognize someone as a great person?  What are the qualities of greatness that you look for?

Activity Suggestion

Sit down with the historical greats of your congregation.  Find several persons who have been a part of your congregation the longest and ask them about what they remember of the congregation’s past.

Closing Prayer

Good and gracious God, we thank you for all the saints and great ones whom you have given to us as examples and teachers. Help us to learn from their example as we try to follow you. Amen.