The Last Sunday after Epiphany

Encountering the Holy

Readings: 2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9

This morning in Scripture we hear stories of encounters with God.  They are encounters full of vivid imagery that can help us to understand how we come face to face with God. 

The first is the story of Elijah being taken up into Heaven.  His journey begins in Gilgal in the hill country.  Elijah invites his protégé, Elisha, to go no further.  It is a test.  Elisha passes.  He will not leave Elijah to make the journey alone.  They arrive at the Jordan River.  Elijah strikes the water.  It parts, allowing the two of them to cross over away from the rest of the company of prophets.  Elijah asks the younger Elisha what he can pass on to him. 

“A double share of your spirit,” Elisha tells him.  It is not that he thinks he needs twice as much of the gifts and talents of Elijah to do the job.  It is that he wants affirmation.  As the eldest son in a Jewish family inherited the double portion of his father’s estate, so Elisha wants a double share of Elijah’s spirituality.  He knows that Elijah’s spiritual strength is what has carried Israel through difficult times.  

“If you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not,” he is told.  He sees the departure.  It is a dramatic vision in which he sees Elijah being taken into Heaven in a chariot of fire drawn by horses of fire.  It is for him a powerful glimpse of God’s presence.  It is a wonderful affirmation that God is with him.  He knows that the mantle has passed on to him.  He knows that God has great things in store for his life.  It is a moment of transformation for him, one that he can carry with him throughout his prophetic ministry. 

The second story is the account of the transfiguration.  Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain.  So many things happen on the mountain, mountaintop experiences that affirm that God is with us.  There on the mountaintop, Jesus is transfigured, changed.  He appears before them in dazzling white, a sign of God’s presence.  When they see Jesus transfigured, brighter than the brightest star, pure light before them, they see more than his future and risen life.  Jesus shows them who they are becoming.  He shows them the glory and destiny of all of humanity. 

It is a watershed moment in their lives and ours.  Once again we hear the voice from Heaven, “This is my Son, the Beloved.  Listen to him.”  It takes us back to the moment of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan.  God is present in the cloud.  Jesus, the Son of humans, is revealed to be the very Son of God. 

The vision ends as quickly as it began, like a bursting bubble.  The disciples are quickly transported back to the valley.  It is in the valley that they are called to serve lovingly and faithfully.  It is in the difficult arenas of the world that their ministry will unfold.  But they will carry their mountaintop experience with them.  Later when they look back on what has happened, it will help them to face the difficult days, days of loss and confusion. 

Hopefully those two epiphanies remind us of such encounters in our own lives.  Such moments can be unpredictable, fast moving, noisy, or so fleeting and gentle that we almost miss them.  Yet they are encounters with God that carry us through the difficult times of life.  They affirm that God is with us. 

When have you encountered God?  More importantly, how did it change you? 

I was reminded at a quiet day this past week about what a story of transformation the Broadway Musical, Cats, portrays.  It is based on T.S. Elliott’s wonderful poem.  It tells the story of the Jellicle Cats.  Each year at the Jellicle ball one cat is chosen to be reborn.  They compete for the honour, and the most worthy is chosen.  It is the most unlikely cat, the one scorned by the others, one who has wasted her life as a prostitute, who is finally given the second chance.   It is because she looks back on her life and truly sees what she could have become and allows that to transform her. 

We all have those encounters in our lives, times when the boundaries between Heaven and earth disappear and we see the infinite goodness of God.  It is that which allows us to see the possibilities in our own existence.  Those encounters allow us to make changes in our lives, to begin to put God first, to answer God’s call. 

I have many such moments in my life.  I treasure them, knowing that they were times of affirmation that God is present, that God loves me.  All of them are transformative.  Most are simply flashes of insight, what I like to call “aha” moments.  A few are truly dramatic.  I suspect that it is no accident that most of them have to do with nature. 

One of my most significant memories is of a beautiful place, a real place, up near the Forks of the Credit, not too far from here.  I was visiting a friend.  It was a lovely fall day.  We went for a walk to see the changing colours.  She took me along a country road and then down to the river.  We walked along the shore for some time.  The river at this point was wide and very calm, yet I could hear the roar of water.  The river began to narrow, then turned sharply to the right.  There was a cliff on one side of us, so that the only thing we could do was to take off our shoes and wade through the water.   The roar of water was deafening, and yet I still could not see any reason for it.  As we went around the bend the cliff widened into a cave.  It extended out across the river, forming a falls.  Water was cascading down into a pool.  In the centre of the pool was a huge rock.  We climbed up on the rock and sat there; looking up at the falls, water cascading all around us.  It was a place of sunlight and shadow and mist.  It took my breath away.  We were aware, not of one another, but only of the presence of God.  For the next hour or perhaps even longer we sat on the rock meditating, allowing the sounds and sights of that mystical place to wash over us.  I have returned there many times, both physically and in my meditations.  It is, for me, a place of refreshment, renewal and transformation. 

Lent begins this week with Ash Wednesday.  Lent is a spiritual journey, which can bring about transformation in our lives.  It is said that forty days is the optimal time in which to bring about change.  Let us use it wisely as a time of spiritual renewal and transformation in our lives.  Begin by coming to the service on Wednesday evening.  Let the ashes remind you of your need to allow God’s grace to transform your life.  Then each day in Lent let yourself remember those times when you have been most aware of God’s grace.

Our Lenten study will focus on the process of change, on transformation, through giving up, giving out, getting wise, getting real and finally on growing up. 

If you cannot come to the Lenten study, then find a study for yourself.  There are many resources on line that can help you to focus.  I have included a few resources for you on a sheet that is available at the back of the church this morning. 

May God’s divine illumination shining on us help us through the difficult times in our lives and allow us to see the glory that is God!