Episode Transcript
Hello friends and welcome to this week's episode of Grits in the Gospel. My name is Reverend Katie Griffiths and I am so thankful to be with you today. On this Transfiguration Sunday, this is not just a Sunday where we celebrate the time when heaven and earth were closer than ever on that mountain top with Jesus and Moses Elijah, but it is also a communion Sunday and as I say every time we share a communion, it is my hope that this is just a supplement of a worship service for wherever you find local community of worshipers. It is my hope that and I want to encourage you to go in person to a place where you are loved and cared for and in communion and community with people. It is a very special time at the table together and it is my hope that you have that in your own life. As we come together today, let us celebrate Transfiguration Sunday as we move toward a season of Lent and Easter. The Lord be with you and also with you. Today's epistle lesson comes from 2 Corinthians, the 3rd chapter, verse 12, through the 4th chapter, verse 2. Here now the word of the Lord. Since then we have such hope we act with complete frankness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But minds were hardened. Indeed to this very day when they hear the reading of the Old Covenant, the same veil is still there. It is not unveiled since Christ. It unveiled since in Christ. It is set aside. Indeed to this very day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds. But when one turns to the Lord the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as the reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. Therefore since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful underhanded ways that we refuse to practice cunning or falsify God's word. But by the open statement of the truth, we commend ourselves to the conscious of everyone in the sight of God. Here ends the first reading. Let us come together now and repeat those words that are the tenets of our faith. Friends, what do we believe? I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ and only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried. The third day he rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and siteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Let us pray together. Dear Lord, let us be inspired and in awe of the things that happened on the mountaintop that day. Let us remember the light that shone brightly through your face, through the faces of Moses and Elijah and the presence of your disciples, so that they may take that light out into the world. Here is now as we pray those words that you, Son of Christ, taught us to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as a way forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Today's Gospel lesson comes from the Gospel of Luke, the 9th chapter, verses 28-43a. Here now the words according to Luke, the Gospel according to Luke, the story of the transfiguration. Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him, Peter, John and James, and went up to the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory, and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill and Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but as they awoke, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us set up the three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, not realizing what he was saying. While he was saying this, a cloud came, and overshadowed them, and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, This is my son, my beloved. Listen to him. When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone, and they kept silent, and in those days no one, in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth. It mulls him, and will scarcely leave him. A bagged year disciples to cast it out, but they could not. Jesus answered, You faithless and perverse generation. How much longer must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here. While he was being brought forward, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions, but Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded by the greatness of God. The word of God, for us the people of God, thanks be to God. Would you pray with me? Do you, Lord, as we come together today, let us receive the joy and excitement that you have waiting for us so that our faces change. So that people can see a difference in us because of your light and love. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in my sight, oh Lord, I strengthen my redeemer. Amen. Skincare was never something that was important to me. It was not until just a few years ago that I got tired of looking at the wrinkles and decided to do something about it. Frankly, I was using the denial method of skincare, the one that goes like this. To put on any makeup, I have to take off my glasses. So I can be in denial about how bad my skin is looking if I can't see it. But I have some great friends that have told me what to buy. And now I have a whole regiment of drops and serums and lotions. And it's really not about getting rid of wrinkles. I'm kind of proud of how far I've come in life. And that comes with a few laugh and frown lines. It's more about being healthy. And fellas, don't think this sermon is not for you. Believe me, we can all use a little wrinkle cream around here. I saw my cousin Molly not too long ago. She took one look at me and said, you are glowing. You look so happy. It made me feel like the investment in my serums was not in vain. But it also was about much more than lotions and potions. I am truly happy. I've said it a lot lately. My hardest day in ministry is better than my best day at that lizard insurance company. I love what I'm doing. I'm filled more now with the Holy Spirit than I have ever been. I can look back on weeks at camp in my youth and remember feeling this way. I've been in worship services that were overflowing with love that has had this feeling, but the consistency with which I feel closer to God and closer to the people I am surrounded by is something new. It's quite literally changed my face. It has changed how people see me. It has changed how I see the Holy Spirit at work in me. When I read the Transfiguration story again this week, the one verse that stood out differently this time was verse 29. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed. And his clothes became as bright as a flashing light or a flash of lightning. Jesus had taken James and John along with Peter up to the mountain to pray. And right before the veil of heaven and earth became very thin. We see the appearance of Jesus' face change. Heaven and earth were coming together at that moment. And it changed how Jesus looked. Jesus was already the embodiment of the Trinity. He already was God and Holy Spirit, but here on this mountain, while he prayed. Right here in the middle of his ministry, in the middle of his time, preaching and teaching, he goes to the mountain to pray. And his face is changed. He reveals that part of himself to the three disciples that witnessed it. They of course become very confused. It is very confusing when the veil between heaven and earth is thin. It is a wild scene. We have Jesus with lightning bolts and glowing clothes. Not only does Jesus change in his appearance, but two men suddenly appear with him. We know from the text that it is Moses and Elijah, but I wonder if they figured it out when it happened. They did not have the digital record we have now. There is no facial recognition, recognition, software to help them figure things out. But they were aware of who it was and even offered to pitch the old guys some tents upon the mountain. This time on the mountain is vaguely familiar. In the Old Testament scripture for today, we see it happen with Moses the first time. When Moses first receives the Ten Commandment tablets, we see his face shining just as it did on the mountain with Jesus. Exodus 34 says this. Moses came down from Mount Sinai and he came down from the mountain with two tablets of the covenant in his hand. Moses did not know that the skin on his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining and they were afraid to come near him. Being filled with the Holy Spirit changes your face. People would tell you're different. When the veil is thin, those around you can see the difference in you. And just when you think it can't get any weirder on that mountain top, with two resurrected apostles in Jesus glowing, the cloud comes and engulfs them and scares the living daylights out of the disciples. Then from the cloud came a voice that said this is my son, my chosen, listen to him. Does that proclamation from God sound vaguely familiar? The other time in the New Testament, when we see the veil this thin is when we first see the idea of the Trinity. At the baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit descends like a dove and God proclaims, this is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased. When the veil is thin, we can see the beauty of God and the majesty and divinity of Jesus more clearly. I think the beautiful thing about what we're finding here on the campground and the beautiful thing that I'm finding in my own life is that when the veil is thin between us and God, when we are living into His calling, when we are finding peace and rest and happiness and our worship and our spiritual loves, it changes our faces. There are no magic serums or lotions or potions that any of us can use. They can make us glow more than the peace and joy we find when our own veils are thin. I think that's why people love being here so much. I think that's why our visitors are bringing more visitors. I think that is why people tell me they hate missing church so much. We are bringing things back to life for this community. We are creating a place where the veil is thin, where people can see the Holy Spirit at work in a new and powerful way. But unlike Peter, James and John, who keep this crazy and weirdly wonderful experience to themselves, we are so excited that we are telling everyone about it. We can see it on our faces. How are you showing that love to others? When people see it on your face that you are happy and actually like coming to church, what do you say to them? When others see church on Sundays as the thing they are supposed to do here in the Bible Belt, how are we showing people around us the different feeling that we have when we come here? Now look, don't get me wrong. I'm still going to ease all the products. I like it when people think I'm in my 30s. For the record, they are not even close, but heck, I'll take it. But ultimately, there are not enough products on the market that will equal happiness and contentment. When people recognize the difference in my face, a difference in how happy I am, I tell them that it is what it looks like when you live into your calling. This is what it looks like when you serve a church where the love and light of God shines so brightly, it's like lightning striking. People see it and want it more than any face cream on the market. And because of that, all will be astounded at the greatness of God. There's no time for us now that the veil is as thin as it is during the sacraments. When we remember our baptisms and come to the table for communion, our time together in communion is a way for us to come together in community. But for us as individuals, it is an outward sign of the invisible grace that we receive from God. It is how we can be closest to the one that makes us shine through the thin veil of faith and gives us a glimpse of being in full communion of God in eternal life. As we come to the table together today, let us look through the thin veil to the joy that we can take from these walls and share with others. Honey agrees. Amen. Bless you. As we go out into the world this week, as honey and I make walks around the campground and learn to love this place so much, let us remember how thin the veil is between heaven and earth. And let us show that to those around us. Because in life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God. Amen.
