Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018 (full size gallery)
We collected last Sunday $175 for the Village Harvest in the Souper Bowl collections compared to $125 a year ago. Catherine also took some of the children to the Waterways exhibit on Sat at the Fredericksburg Museum.
Another rainy Sunday – off and on rain, fog. We still had 33 in the service. We recognized the birthday for one of youngest and oldest members , Clarence who turns 88. Chris as Lay Euchatistic Visitor to the Pannells. A big week for the church coming up and Lent begins in Feb 14 with Ash Wednesday and the day before is Shrove Tuesday, the first since 2013.
This Sunday was also the Thirteen concert later in the day at 7pm beginning with a reception by the Heimbachs at 6pm. Here is a review of the concert.
The key word associated with the readings this week is "transformation."
The sermon concentrated on Peter’s desire to build a dwelling place on the mounting in the transfiguration.
It is rooted in scripture from Psalm 84 "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. The sermon sited other hymns, Rite I, Gospel of Luke to build a case that "What better way to honor Jesus, Elijah and Moses than to make three dwellings to shelter them, to provide a comfortable place for them to continue their conversation—on Peter’s part, this impetuous and audacious offer of architecture that could actually hold heaven was one of well meant and heart felt hospitality." But today I say, “Hey, way to go, Peter!”
In the readings from Kings, Elisha receives the mantle of prophetic responsibility from Elijah. This story recounts the bodily ascension of Elijah and the commissioning of Elisha as his successor. “The company of prophets” (v. 3) come to meet Elisha. They are members of the prophetic guilds, often advisors to the king. When they come to the Jordan, Elijah parts the waters like Moses at the Red Sea and Joshua at the Jordan. Elisha asks Elijah for “a double share” (v. 9)—the portion of a firstborn son—of his spirit. The fire that separates the two men is associated with the power of God acting through Elijah.
Paul pictures the changes brought by the light of Christ.The God of creation is now manifested in the new creation through Christ. The light of Christ is unfading, in contrast to the fading light of the law. It now shines in the hearts of believers, gradually changing them into Christ’s likeness.
In Mark’s Gospel, Peter, James and John are forever transformed by Jesus’ transfiguration. The reading is appropriate for the last Sunday in Epiphany. Both Last Epiphany (Transfiguration of Jesus) and the First Sunday (Baptism of Jesus) after the Epiphany are texts where God (a voice from heaven) makes Jesus known to the world. ("epiphany" = "to make known"). Here like the transforming experiences of Moses and Elijah, Jesus receives heavenly confirmation of his special role in God’s purpose for his people
These scriptures also mark the beginning of Lent. The theme of transformation signals that the time of our conversion is at hand. The transfiguration took place at the beginning of the apostles’ “Lent,” a dark time as Jesus moved surely and steadily toward his passion. They were probably as confused about his mission and their part in it as we are, as reluctant to follow, as needful of light for a murky way.
The sublime silence of the mountaintop frightened Peter into jabbering talk. Ironically, Peter’s later writing reveals that he has cherished that moment of insight on the mountaintop over years that must have often seemed dark or confusing. The vision of light sustained him through the darkness of the passion, the torture of his own betrayal and the Church’s tumultuous early years when he must have been bewildered about which direction his leadership should take.