This Sunday is transfiguration Sunday. The lectionary brings together the story of Moses having to put a veil on his face after his encounter with God on Mt. Sinai when he brought the Ten Commandments down to the children of Israel, with Jesus' transfiguration on the mountain top with Peter, John and James, and Paul's commentary on the freeing presence of the Spirit and Christ's setting aside the veil so that we can directly experience the glory of God.
In Luke 9, verse 29 we see the use of the Greek word ἕτεροv, which means "another of a different quality, which the disciples observed in the countenance of Jesus' face. They would never be the same. How could they be? See Joshua Woods' "Forever Changed."
The Rev. Robert Chase in Mountaintops and Intersections tells us that the story tells us to listen to what God's son has to tell us, to be prepared to be surprised by God, and to look each other in the eye and move forward together rather than just stand there looking up, transcending our differences - there are things to do coming off the mountain.
The Rev. David Copley, in "To Be Sent Out," reminds us that we are an "incarnational" church, internalizing the understanding that God has created all humanity in his image and that we are all sisters and brothers in Christ - we cannot refuse to feed the hungry, or help the poor, the outcast and suffering, when we encounter God in the flesh of Christ, and in the face of our brothers and sisters.
The Rev. Alan Brehm talks about the life giving presence of God transforming us free from fears which plague us, and bring us down in "No More Fear."
Finally, think about what we can be and do as a church as you read Walter Bruggemann's "A Church Aglow."
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