{"id":10840,"date":"2026-02-11T08:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=10840"},"modified":"2026-02-11T14:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T20:56:10","slug":"feruary-15-2026-it-is-good-to-be-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/feruary-15-2026-it-is-good-to-be-here\/","title":{"rendered":"February 15, 2026 &#8211; It is Good to Be Here"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><b>Prepare<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To begin, let\u2019s admit that the Transfiguration is a weird story. We\u2019ve got heroes from the Bible\u2019s past. There are voices from heaven. People faint from fear. Jesus <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">transfigures, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">whatever that actually means. This story is just weird.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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\u2019s the same mountain &#8211; 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">cross<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And, when Jesus, Peter, James, and John come down from the mountain, they\u2019ll learn the other disciples have been trying, and failing, to help a little boy with epilepsy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Transfigured<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> means <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">changed<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2014not like a costume change, but a change in form. Yes, Jesus\u2019 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 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">good<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to be here.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Opening Exercise<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You\u2019re hosting a dinner party for yourself and five other people\u2014some you know now, some from history you wish you could\u2019ve met. Who do you invite? Why? How do you introduce them to one another? What kinds of conversations would you hope to have?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Text Read Aloud<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=260126384\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Matthew 17:1-9<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h4><b>It is Good to Be Here<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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\u2019t have water in their homes anymore because of the war with Russi<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10841\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/35f22ea0-fec2-11f0-b7e1-afb6d0884c18-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10841\" class=\"wp-image-10841 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/35f22ea0-fec2-11f0-b7e1-afb6d0884c18-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/35f22ea0-fec2-11f0-b7e1-afb6d0884c18-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/35f22ea0-fec2-11f0-b7e1-afb6d0884c18-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/35f22ea0-fec2-11f0-b7e1-afb6d0884c18-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/35f22ea0-fec2-11f0-b7e1-afb6d0884c18-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/35f22ea0-fec2-11f0-b7e1-afb6d0884c18-2048x1151.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/35f22ea0-fec2-11f0-b7e1-afb6d0884c18-250x141.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/35f22ea0-fec2-11f0-b7e1-afb6d0884c18-623x350.jpg 623w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10841\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">BBC News. Watch: Frozen river hosts dance party in Kyiv.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a. It is easy for things to feel helpless. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/videos\/c5yvw9zq5q0o\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But the people have started to throw dance parties on frozen rivers and lakes.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> They\u2019ve 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, \u201cIt&#8217;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.\u201d When the way looks helpless, God kindles hope in our hearts within communities where we know it is good for us to be.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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\u2019t be enough. Jesus told them that disciples carry crosses, instruments of torture and death.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it wasn\u2019t 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So when Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain, and they see the heroes of their bedtime stories\u2014Moses and Elijah\u2014we can understand why Peter says, \u201cIt is good for us to be here.\u201d Things were hard, and Jesus drew together this extraordinary community, renewing his disciples\u2019 sense of hope.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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&#8217;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, \u201cIt is good to be here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At its best, this is what church can be for us: that when we\u2019re discouraged and disconnected, Jesus gathers together an extraordinary community, renewing our sense of hope. And this is what other communities\u2014times of fellowship and time with our friends and family\u2014can also be for us: gathered together, Jesus with us, hope renewed.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Reflection Questions<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Who can give the best impression of Peter on the mountain?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What would you have said if you were Peter?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Where do you go when you\u2019re feeling disconnected or discouraged?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What are some things you do to help you feel more hopeful? What is something someone else has done for you?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Closing Activity<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Take a few minutes to draw or write about a place where you\u2019ve 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\u2019d like.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Final Prayer\/Blessing<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Light a candle and place it on your drawing or writing, or carefully hold your work while you pray.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li>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\u2019re 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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Bio<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Adrianne Meier is an ELCA pastor who serves among the people at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Indiana. When she\u2019s not working\u2014and even when she <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> working\u2014you can find her furiously knitting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/09\/FaithLens_logoalt.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10727\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/09\/FaithLens_logoalt-300x162.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/09\/FaithLens_logoalt-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/09\/FaithLens_logoalt-1024x551.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/09\/FaithLens_logoalt-768x414.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/09\/FaithLens_logoalt-1536x827.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/09\/FaithLens_logoalt-250x135.png 250w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/09\/FaithLens_logoalt-650x350.png 650w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/09\/FaithLens_logoalt.png 1950w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prepare To begin, let\u2019s admit that the Transfiguration is a weird story. We\u2019ve got heroes from the Bible\u2019s 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":310,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1400],"tags":[483,16729,909,527,16730],"class_list":["post-10840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post","tag-hope","tag-matthew-171-9","tag-peter","tag-transfiguration","tag-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>February 15, 2026 - It is Good to Be Here - Faith Lens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Faith Lens reflection on the Transfiguration explores hope, community, and why it is good to be gathered together with Christ.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/feruary-15-2026-it-is-good-to-be-here\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"February 15, 2026 - It is Good to Be Here - Faith Lens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Faith Lens reflection on the Transfiguration explores hope, community, and why it is good to be gathered together with Christ.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/feruary-15-2026-it-is-good-to-be-here\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith Lens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T14:40:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T20:56:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/02\/35f22ea0-fec2-11f0-b7e1-afb6d0884c18-300x169.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"pastorcogan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"pastorcogan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/faithlens\\\/feruary-15-2026-it-is-good-to-be-here\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/faithlens\\\/feruary-15-2026-it-is-good-to-be-here\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"pastorcogan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/faithlens\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9dcc3c02c079750230320b7b3965472e\"},\"headline\":\"February 15, 2026 &#8211; 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