Sometimes God Is There -- So Quickly!
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
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Object:
Dear fellow preachers,
The lectionary texts for March 2 invite us to think about the translation of Elijah into heaven and the Transfiguration of Jesus, as well as Paul's views on the character of a changed life. It seems to us here at The Immediate Word that all these events, which remind us of how quickly and unexpectedly epiphanies occur, have a bearing on the uneasy days in which we live. With war talk and job losses and a fragile economy, our culture could use an epiphany that lays the answers on us.
But that was not the function of the biblical epiphanies. So for the March 2 installment of The Immediate Word, team member Carter Shelley explores the significance of God's presence and transfiguring power in the midst of anxious, uncertain and scary times -- biblical and current.
Worship resources offered for this week, including prayers, litanies, and a children's sermon, will help worshipers reflect on their fears and uncertainties in the light of the many ways God appears in our world.
Sometimes God Is There -- So Quickly!
By Carter Shelley
2 Kings 2:1-12
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9
The February 24th cover story in Newsweek magazine deals with "Anxiety and Your Brain: How Living with Fear Affects the Mind and Body."1 The story was sparked by our government's declaration that citizens need to be on a heightened state of alertness for terrorist attacks, and that we need to be prepared to face an enemy who could strike from any of a thousand different angles and in different ways. Thus, we were told to buy duct tape and canned food supplies, to stockpile water and first aid kits, and to have a family crisis plan in place to cope with the anticipated enemy attack. A few days later we were told not to go overboard with our preparations and that it is premature to apply duct tape to house windows now, so we should go about our lives as normally as possible while the United States moves inexorably towards war with Iraq.
The point of the Newsweek article describes the way the human body reacts to danger and crisis. The initial orange alert activated many people's "fight and flight" mechanisms, left over from an earlier millennium in which literal fighting and literal running for one's life were essential survival skills for humanity. Lucky for us, most Americans don't have to worry on a day-in, day-out basis about fighting or fleeing. Yet, our brains possess something called amygdala. It is "the fear system's command center ... a small, almond-shaped structure that rests near the center of the brain and is elaborately tied to other regions through nerve fibers. ... An activated amygdala doesn't wait around for instructions from the conscious mind. Once it perceives a threat, it can trigger a body-wide emergency response within milliseconds." Such responses come in handy when one is in a major crisis, such as getting out of a burning building, jumping for cover during a random sniper attack, or gingerly examining an envelope with no return address. But such responses are also hard to turn off when the crisis is over or the problems that have triggered it seem to have no end. Some Americans have been anxious ever since 9/11. Others have become significantly more anxious as troops are deployed to the Gulf and precautions are prescribed for the general population. In fact, for many, the anxiety is heightened by the uncertainty of it all. Many of us have been braced for war for weeks, no months, already. We don't know what's going to happen with Iraq, with North Korea, or with faceless terrorists. Of course we're anxious. Who wouldn't be?
Human anxiety is nothing new. But people deal with it in different ways. Some of those ways find parallels in this week's biblical readings that concern both human anxieties and divine epiphanies that confront those anxieties. Thus, this Sunday's sermon will consider what happens when human anxieties encounter divine epiphanies.
Quick Epiphanies
"Sometimes there is God -- so quickly" says Blanche Dubois in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire. What she means is a sudden epiphany, an insight, a discovery of blessing and blessedness that ordinarily cannot be discerned in our grubby, difficult, mundane world. This week's lectionary texts all deal with instances when God is present -- so quickly, taking Elijah up into heaven and away from his friend and follower Elisha; revealing God's grace and approval of Jesus at the Transfiguration, witnessed by disciples who recognize the holiness in their midst yet are unable to grasp its full purpose; and through Paul's words in 2 Corinthians expressing Paul's confidence that in Jesus Christ, God graciously has revealed God's face, image and purpose to humanity.
2 Kings 2:1-12
You'll recall that Elijah's years as a prophet were extremely difficult. Time and time again, Elijah was called upon by God to confront and condemn the irreligious and unjust actions of King Ahab and his Queen Jezebel. The latter bore such hate for Elijah that she put a price on his head to reward whoever might deliver him dead or alive. Victorious in a prophetic showdown with the prophets of Baal, Elijah could not rest easy or feel safe in the towns and countryside of Israel. The 2 Kings 2:1-12 narrative describes the conclusion of Elijah's work as a prophet and the beginning of that of Elisha. As the heir apparent to the uneasy prophetic mantle of Elijah, Elisha needs to know that he will have God's support and God's spirit/charisma to see him through once his mentor Elijah has been taken by God. The language of the text reflects the tensions Elisha feels.
Elisha does not dispute Elijah's readiness to be taken by God; however, Elisha does not want to be separated from Elijah any sooner than is necessary. Three times Elijah orders Elisha to "Stay here," while Elijah goes on alone; and three times Elisha refuses: "As the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will not leave you." After each exchange, a company of prophets approach Elisha and declare, "Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?" Each time Elisha replies with both acceptance and denial. "Yes, I know; keep silent." Yes, I know it is God's time to take Elijah, but no, I do not want to hear about it. Elisha wants to hang on to his mentor as long as he possibly can. When Elisha is finally forced to let Elijah go, he asks for the one thing Elisha believes can sustain him: "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." Powerless himself to fill this request, Elijah can only promise, "If you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." God, not Elijah, will grant or deny Elisha's desire.
Elisha's anxiety at being the prophetic successor to Elijah demonstrates Elisha's awareness of the awesome and difficult task he faces in the future. Elisha's desire to postpone that moment and to stay by Elijah's side until the last possible moment is not dissimilar to our own desire to remain in the presence of family or friends when we are anxious and face difficult crises. "Don't leave me! Stay with me!" are cries not only of small children in doctor's offices or scary, new surroundings, but also the response many of us express when faced with a fearful future.
God responds to Elisha in the way that will best bolster Elisha's confidence for his own future as prophet to four successive kings. God's support is immediate and dramatic: "a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, 'Father! Father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!'" The revelation confirms that the double share of Elijah's spirit, his charisma from God, has been granted to Elisha, who tears his own clothes into two pieces once he can no longer see Elijah and the celestial hosts who take him. First there is grief at his loss, then Elisha goes forth confirmed as God's prophetic successor to Elijah.
Mark 9:2-9
The transfiguration of Jesus in Mark 9:2-9 offers two perspectives on human anxiety; one embodied in Peter the disciple and the other read into the text by the context in which Jesus' transfiguration occurs. We can't explain exactly what happened at Jesus' transfiguration any more than we can explain what happened when Elijah was elevated to the heavens by God. Both events are understood as divine epiphanies and the details we read are the details recalled. Mark's language is rather matter of fact. "Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And Jesus was transfigured before them, and his clothes became a dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them." The dazzling white of Jesus' clothes suggests bright light and a glow coming from him. This inference gets more likely when the next verse states that Elijah and Moses appear and "were talking to Jesus." Both Elijah and Moses have themselves been recipients of divine epiphanies that included bright light, glory, and a sense of awe. Moses' took place on the mountaintop, while Elijah's occurred at the mouth of a cave.
While the three disciples are not themselves the subjects of the transfiguration, Peter seems to recognize that what he's experiencing is worth holding on to for as long as possible. "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Matthew then adds that Peter, known for putting his foot in his mouth faster than the other disciples (remember Caesarea Philippi?), speaks because he doesn't know what to say and is terrified. Who can blame him? If any experience merits the fight or flight response, witnessing this event does. It also mirrors a common human religious response. Faced with a choice between a mountaintop experience and the grubby, difficult, and mundane world, who wouldn't want to stay in the moment as long as possible? Sometimes there is God -- so quickly! But it's not over yet.
"Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!'" What a bombshell -- was it an illusion? Was it the residual effects of last night's wine? Was it God? Peter, James and John don't have time to ask questions or analyze. It's over as quickly as it started. "Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead."
We know from Peter's betrayal and from all three disciples' desertion of Jesus in Gethsemane that none of them grasped the implications of Jesus' mission until after his resurrection. We are not so different. Faced with a potential cross and persecution, who among us wouldn't choose to retreat back to the safety of the convent or monastery, or to the lulling comforts of alcohol or drugs, or to the earthly greatness which is what John and James desire when they seek to be appointed Jesus' right and left hand men. Put to the test, who among us would seek to listen to Jesus more carefully when what Jesus has to say is so terribly hard to hear?
In affirming the God in the man, it is sometimes easy to overlook the man in the God. In fact the four Gospels do not offer insight into Jesus' personal thoughts or feelings as he goes about his ministry and steels himself for the hard steps he must take. Ordinarily, Jesus' own words present him as confident and sure in everything he says and does. Only two instances suggest Jesus' inner anxiety, Jesus the human being. The first we infer from the Transfiguration itself. It's not happenstance that Mark 9:2-9 gets sandwiched between two texts anticipating the Passion. Jesus, transfigured on the mountaintop, receives divine confirmation that the hard and painful road to the cross is the right one for him, God's Beloved Son, to take. Challenged and misunderstood by disciples who want him to take another, less difficult road, Jesus needs reassurance from his God.
He gets it to the hilt. The dazzling white clothing signifies the presence of heavenly beings reminiscent of Daniel in the fiery furnace. Standing on a mountain, speaking to two of the greatest Old Testament prophets, all are enveloped in a cloud from which comes the voice of God, an incident that recalls God's exchange with Moses centuries before. Yet the word God utters irrefutably proclaims Jesus' unique relationship to God and Jesus' superiority to both Moses and Elijah. "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Exclamation point!
Pheme Perkins writes in the New Interpreter's Bible Commentary on Mark: "Despite providing the most dramatic evidence of Jesus' relationship to God of any epiphany in the Gospel, the transfiguration cannot override the necessity of Jesus' suffering and death."2 What it does do is certify for Jesus himself that salvation for God's children can only be achieved through the suffering of God's Son. Thus, Jesus squarely faces both his anxieties and his future with courage and determination.
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Perhaps the most exciting epiphany experienced in the Bible is that of Saul, who is literally blinded by a vision of Christ on the road to Damascus. The result is one of the most dramatic and best known conversion experiences ever. Even the name must be altered to testify to the complete transformation that has taken place in the man Paul. The details are sparse but sufficient. There's a bright, bright light and a query, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" The remainder of Paul's life serves as the reply. The many letters he wrote to churches he helped organize suggest a man anxious for his charges.
The Christians Paul addresses in 2 Corinthians are at odds with their church founder over many things. Paul's own anxieties about their future and their faith are expressed throughout the letter, but in chapter 4:3-6 Paul reminds them of the gift of God's glory and grace which is theirs. Blessed with the "light of knowledge of the glory of God," they have the means to reflect and share both with others. Thus, they are given eyes to see and minds and hearts to understand God's purposes and plans in ways that those for whom the gospel remains veiled cannot. Paul understands Christ as "the clear, visible reflection of God." Jesus is the ultimate epiphany for Christians. Pauline scholar Paul Sampley writes:
Basic to Paul's construction here is the notion that the glory of God is reflected, not seen directly. How true to life that God's surprises break out in the most unexpected ways and places. In that little moment where someone reaches out to you in a time of need; where you have joy over being of assistance to someone, or where a baby shows up in a manger and changes lives and history. Maybe God has to surprise us in order to get our attention sometimes. The problem with that, however, is that we might not notice the reflections of God's glory that are happening around us. Part of the task of worship is the rehearsing of how we learn not only to look for God's surprises in life, but also how to recognize them.3
Anxiety and Epiphany
What do we learn about human anxiety and divine epiphanies from these three biblical texts? First, we learn that divine epiphanies are offered to bolster courage and faith during hard times in the believer's life. Second, we learn that epiphanies are not offered in the same way to each person who experiences one. Third, we learn that divine epiphanies do not promise an easier, problem-free future for the one who receives them. Fourth, we learn that epiphanies come and go in the blinking of an eye, but the experience of one is potent and unforgettable for the one who receives it. Finally, the Good News for Christians is God is with us -- sometimes in the blinking of an eye or the split-second insight of the moment.
The Good News of Jesus Christ is that nothing separates us from God; therefore, God is always present. God is present with us in an anxious and scary world. God is present with us now. We may not always sense it, feel it, or even believe it. We may long for the mountaintop experience or the warm glow and bright lights to support us on our way, but that's not God's way on a daily basis. That's not God's way, because God calls us to be God's witness:
Elisha: Go prophesy!
Peter: Get off that mountain and pay attention to your Master's teachings!
Jesus: I love you and affirm your path as the true path!
Paul: I need your zeal and your witness!
All Christians: Seek God's support in the face of anxiety ... then seek to be the one who helps others come to know my will and my love ... Sometimes there is God -- so quickly -- and sometimes there are God's faithful -- the human epiphanies of God's grace and God's love.
Notes
1 Newsweek, February 24, 2003, 46.
2 p. 631
3 New Interpreters Bible Commentary, Vol. 11, 78.
Team Comments
George Murphy responds: You say, "Challenged and misunderstood by disciples who want him to take another, less difficult road, Jesus needs reassurance from his God," and "What it does do is certify for Jesus himself that salvation for God's children can only be achieved through the suffering of God's Son. Thus, Jesus squarely faces both his anxieties and his future with courage and determination."
The accounts of Gethsemane certainly show Jesus' anxiety and his struggle to accept the road of suffering. But what is there about the transfiguration narrative that suggests that this was intended to reassure Jesus? In the Lucan account Jesus talks with Moses and Elijah about the (in the Greek) exodon [i.e., his death and resurrection] which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem, but even here there's no indication that they were "reassuring" Jesus about it. There is nothing in Mark's text about Jesus' own reaction to the event, and it seems more natural to see it as something directed to the disciples' and our anxiety. In the midst of doubts about following someone who is dying a humiliating death, we're reminded by the transfiguration of who he is.
Perhaps there is some reason to see this as reassurance of Jesus, but I think more would need to be said to establish that.
Wes Runk responds: I find George's comments interesting regarding the concept of reassurance. I have always thought of the meeting on the mountain as exactly such a moment. The meeting and the words of God to Jesus indicate to me that it is a long road, but armed with the treasures that God invested in these two giants, Jesus will find his way to the cross with confidence and knowledge that all will be well with him.
I think we must read a lot into many things in scripture without clear evidence of what Jesus was thinking. That is why the scriptures are for all men and women in all times.
James L. Evans responds: Drawing parallels to Elisha and the disciples of Jesus is really helpful. All of these characters experienced earth-shattering shifts in their perception. One moment they see the world operating according to a set of accepted principles and shared perspectives, the next minute that world is gone. The situation for them is very much what our world has been like since 9/11 -- and anxiety is the right word for describing how we feel.
There is a sense in which all major changes in perspective result in the "loss" of a certain worldview. In our case we lost a sense of safety and security, which may have been an illusion, but it was still what we believed about ourselves. In the case of the transfiguration, however, there is both loss of world, and the offer of a new world. Elijah, Moses, and even Jesus' momentary radiance pass. We are left with Jesus standing alone and the words of God echoing overhead: "Listen to him!"
It does not yet appear if a better world will emerge from the loss of our pre-9/11 world. But if it does, it will be because we did in fact "listen to him."
Related Illustrations
In the moviePhenomenon, John Travolta plays the part of an ordinary man who suddenly develops incredible mental powers. He is able to move objects with his mind. He reads hundreds of books in just days. He develops an amazing plant nutrient that is able to turn barren earth into fertile farmland. His friends look on him with fear and awe. They wonder if some power from outer space has seized their friend and changed him into the "phenomenon" he has become.
As it turns out, it is not alien power that changes Travolta's character. His phenomenal powers are the result of a spectacular tumor that has spread out across his brain like a spider. The tumor awakens unused parts of the brain, making the incredible mental prowess possible. Unfortunately, the tumor is also killing him.
As the weight of the awareness of his impending death sweeps over him, Travolta's character falls to the ground weeping in mental agony. As he does, he digs his hands deep into the earth. Strangely, he is calmed by this. His fear dispels. He lifts his eyes and notices the trees around his house swaying in the breeze -- back and forth. He smiles as he watches them.
Later in the movie, as Travolta's character is trying to comfort his girlfriend, he asks her, "When your children are frightened, what do you do?" She closes her eyes, places her arms across her chest and rocks gently back and forth. Travolta directs her attention to the trees as they sway back and forth. "It's the same for all of us," he tells her.
For Travolta, the comforting life-force of the earth became an epiphany of the presence of God. In that appearance he found comfort, and was able to give comfort to others. Where will we see God in our own troubled time, and find relief from our anxiety? (From James L. Evans)
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Life brings many transitions, and they're not easy. Often we grieve the loss of the old, even as we welcome the birth of the new. Both of this week's scripture passages deal with transitions: Elijah passing the mantle of leadership to Elisha, and Jesus standing briefly on the mountain that marks the transition between his carefree days as an itinerant preacher and his determined journey to Jerusalem and the cross. Living through transitions requires trust: trust in God, who will help us to rise, even when we fear we are falling.
"Don't step on the cracks, or you'll break your mother's back." The cracks in a sidewalk mark the transition from one slab of pavement to another. Even the lore of children recognizes that transitions are hazardous places. The "cracks" in individual lives bring out strong emotion: putting the kindergartener on the school bus, watching the graduate march down the aisle in cap and gown, the mother crying at a wedding, the once-healthy person suddenly become a patient -- and then there is the greatest transition of all, the transition between death and new life in Christ. Fearsome ... emotion-laden ... beautiful at times ... always accompanied by anxiety: such are times of transition.
Even as a nation, we're in a time of transition. Ever since 9/11, we've been aware that something old has ended, and something new and as-yet-mysterious is still over the horizon. No wonder we're all jittery! In his song "Anthem," Leonard Cohen says: "Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack, a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in."
In a memorable movie image, Indiana Jones feared the chasm that yawned before him, until he tossed some gravel into the void, revealing a hidden bridge.
It's natural to fear stepping on the cracks that run throughout this human life of ours: yet faith reassures us that we need not hesitate to do so (and no one's back will be broken as a result). The times of transition are often the moments when God chooses to work wonders in our lives. (From Carlos Wilton)
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During the bombing of London by the Nazis during World War II, this verse from Psalm 23 was a favorite one for Communion services: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." There was even one instance where the service continued while part of the church was hit. The Lord's Supper was God's table spread for worshipers, and it continued to nourish them spiritually even while their city was under attack.
There are parallels to this in the natural world. In Africa, for example, especially during times of drought, animals that are normally predator and prey, such as the lion and gazelle, can sometimes be seen drinking at the same time from scarce water holes. The common problem they face, needing water, seems to impose a sort of truce on them, and the available water becomes the table spread in the presence of enemies. I've also read somewhere of a coyote in the American West who lived several contented years right under the nose of the trapper who was trying to get him. (From Stan Purdum)
Worship Resources
By Larry Hard
OPENING PRAYER
God of the ages, making your glory known on mountaintops and in places of worship; to individuals and to groups, in times past and in our time, in sounds and in silence, in visions and in meditations, we come to experience your glory and your goodness.
CHOIR OR CONGREGATION SING:
"Gloria, Gloria" (Berthier and Community of Taize)
or "Gloria in Excelsis"
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: We live in fearful and uncertain times.
PEOPLE: IS THERE A WAY TO SEE GOD AND KNOW GOD IS PRESENT?
Leader: We wonder where to find direction and truth.
PEOPLE: IS THERE A WAY TO KNOW THAT JESUS IS THE WAY AND TRUTH?
Leader: We need to know that we can trust what Jesus tells us.
PEOPLE: WHY SHOULD WE LOOK TO HIM AND LISTEN TO HIM?
Leader: God is here! Jesus is present as we worship today.
PEOPLE: WE WILL OPEN OUR EYES TO SEE, AND EARS TO HEAR.
HYMNS
"Christ, upon the Mountain Peak"
"Open My Eyes, That I May See"
SONG
"Holy Ground" (Words and music: Geron Davis)
INVITATION TO CONFESSION
You are invited in silence to be aware of your need for light, for understanding, for affirmation and assurance. Confess this need in prayer.
CONFESSION
God of continuing mercy, receive our individual prayers. We confess our doubts, our fears, our confusion, our failures. Forgive us for not trusting what you make known to us in our prayers and meditations. We would see you, and listen to that which we need to hear.
WORDS OF PARDON
Jesus, who offered forgiveness to all who would receive it, is present here in this sacred space to grant pardon to all of us. Be thankful!
HYMNS
"O Wondrous Sight! O Vision Fair"
"Be Thou My Vision"
SONGS
"Sweet, Sweet Spirit" (words & music: Doris Akers)
"Surely the Presence of the Lord" (words & music: Lanny Wolfe)
PASTORAL PRAYER
God, we are grateful that you make yourself known in many ways. Like Elijah, Elisha, and the prophets who are invited to stay until together they see signs of you, we pray that as we are together here, we will see and recognize the signs of your holy presence. As you made Jesus known in a new and transfiguring way to disciples, we pray that we will see Jesus as more than another teacher, and therefore listen to him, obey him and follow him in the way of servant love. We want to experience your presence and power, that we may be renewed in our journey of faith, hope and love.
We pray not only for ourselves, but for others.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
(Invite the congregation to offer silent prayers for the sick ... for the lonely ... for the church ... for our elected leader ... for world peace.)
CLOSING HYMN
"Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies"
CLOSING SONG
"We Are Called" (words & music: David Haas)
Children's Sermon
By Wesley Runk
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Text: "For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake." (v. 5)
Object: a large wooden matchstick and a candle
Good morning, boys and girls. Today we have listened to some wonderful stories from our Bible readings. First, we heard about Elijah and how he was swept up into heaven by a whirlwind while riding in a chariot. Then we read about Jesus becoming radiantly white as God called him his Son in whom he was very pleased. In both situations things happened quickly. God changed everything and all Elisha, Peter, James and John could do was to watch in amazement. First, it was Elisha watching his teacher Elijah being taken up into the heavens, and then it was Peter, James and John witnessing Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah on a mountain.
I brought along a couple of things that show us how change can happen. Let's pretend that we are living in a very dark room. Let's all put our hands around our eyes and slowly move our hands closer and closer together until everything is dark. Is everything dark? Do you know what darkness is? (let them answer) Ok, then you can open your eyes but still pretend it is very dark. I have a match in my hand and I am going to strike it so that it makes a very bright light. (strike the match) How many of you can see the light? (let them answer) Very good, but what will happen to our match if we don't do something with it? (let them answer) That's right, it will go out if we don't do something else, won't it? (let them answer) It has chased away the darkness but we want it to last longer so I am going to take our match and light this candle. (light the candle and blow out the match) Now, we will have light for a long time.
Saint Paul teaches us that Jesus brought a new light into the world. It chased away the darkness and it brought change. The change came fast but God wanted it to remain for a long time. So Jesus passed the light on to people like Peter, James and John. The three disciples passed the same light onto others like Philip and Matthew and Thomas. Those disciples passed it on to others, and finally it came to us and we are passing it on to each other. Now you have the same light that shares the love of God that Peter, James and John received from Jesus. It is the same light that came so quickly that day when God made Jesus brilliantly white on the mountain. We are part of the light and we share the light with others.
God changes some people quickly like he did Elijah and Jesus. Like a flash before our eyes things happen. That's how a match burns. But once the light has come, it must be passed on to others and the light must remain forever. That is what the match does to the candle. It shares the light so that others may also live in the light forever. Peter, James, John and all of us are like the candle. We receive the light and we share it with others. Our light is the love of Jesus, something to share with our friends and one another. Amen.
The Immediate Word, March 2, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
The lectionary texts for March 2 invite us to think about the translation of Elijah into heaven and the Transfiguration of Jesus, as well as Paul's views on the character of a changed life. It seems to us here at The Immediate Word that all these events, which remind us of how quickly and unexpectedly epiphanies occur, have a bearing on the uneasy days in which we live. With war talk and job losses and a fragile economy, our culture could use an epiphany that lays the answers on us.
But that was not the function of the biblical epiphanies. So for the March 2 installment of The Immediate Word, team member Carter Shelley explores the significance of God's presence and transfiguring power in the midst of anxious, uncertain and scary times -- biblical and current.
Worship resources offered for this week, including prayers, litanies, and a children's sermon, will help worshipers reflect on their fears and uncertainties in the light of the many ways God appears in our world.
Sometimes God Is There -- So Quickly!
By Carter Shelley
2 Kings 2:1-12
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9
The February 24th cover story in Newsweek magazine deals with "Anxiety and Your Brain: How Living with Fear Affects the Mind and Body."1 The story was sparked by our government's declaration that citizens need to be on a heightened state of alertness for terrorist attacks, and that we need to be prepared to face an enemy who could strike from any of a thousand different angles and in different ways. Thus, we were told to buy duct tape and canned food supplies, to stockpile water and first aid kits, and to have a family crisis plan in place to cope with the anticipated enemy attack. A few days later we were told not to go overboard with our preparations and that it is premature to apply duct tape to house windows now, so we should go about our lives as normally as possible while the United States moves inexorably towards war with Iraq.
The point of the Newsweek article describes the way the human body reacts to danger and crisis. The initial orange alert activated many people's "fight and flight" mechanisms, left over from an earlier millennium in which literal fighting and literal running for one's life were essential survival skills for humanity. Lucky for us, most Americans don't have to worry on a day-in, day-out basis about fighting or fleeing. Yet, our brains possess something called amygdala. It is "the fear system's command center ... a small, almond-shaped structure that rests near the center of the brain and is elaborately tied to other regions through nerve fibers. ... An activated amygdala doesn't wait around for instructions from the conscious mind. Once it perceives a threat, it can trigger a body-wide emergency response within milliseconds." Such responses come in handy when one is in a major crisis, such as getting out of a burning building, jumping for cover during a random sniper attack, or gingerly examining an envelope with no return address. But such responses are also hard to turn off when the crisis is over or the problems that have triggered it seem to have no end. Some Americans have been anxious ever since 9/11. Others have become significantly more anxious as troops are deployed to the Gulf and precautions are prescribed for the general population. In fact, for many, the anxiety is heightened by the uncertainty of it all. Many of us have been braced for war for weeks, no months, already. We don't know what's going to happen with Iraq, with North Korea, or with faceless terrorists. Of course we're anxious. Who wouldn't be?
Human anxiety is nothing new. But people deal with it in different ways. Some of those ways find parallels in this week's biblical readings that concern both human anxieties and divine epiphanies that confront those anxieties. Thus, this Sunday's sermon will consider what happens when human anxieties encounter divine epiphanies.
Quick Epiphanies
"Sometimes there is God -- so quickly" says Blanche Dubois in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire. What she means is a sudden epiphany, an insight, a discovery of blessing and blessedness that ordinarily cannot be discerned in our grubby, difficult, mundane world. This week's lectionary texts all deal with instances when God is present -- so quickly, taking Elijah up into heaven and away from his friend and follower Elisha; revealing God's grace and approval of Jesus at the Transfiguration, witnessed by disciples who recognize the holiness in their midst yet are unable to grasp its full purpose; and through Paul's words in 2 Corinthians expressing Paul's confidence that in Jesus Christ, God graciously has revealed God's face, image and purpose to humanity.
2 Kings 2:1-12
You'll recall that Elijah's years as a prophet were extremely difficult. Time and time again, Elijah was called upon by God to confront and condemn the irreligious and unjust actions of King Ahab and his Queen Jezebel. The latter bore such hate for Elijah that she put a price on his head to reward whoever might deliver him dead or alive. Victorious in a prophetic showdown with the prophets of Baal, Elijah could not rest easy or feel safe in the towns and countryside of Israel. The 2 Kings 2:1-12 narrative describes the conclusion of Elijah's work as a prophet and the beginning of that of Elisha. As the heir apparent to the uneasy prophetic mantle of Elijah, Elisha needs to know that he will have God's support and God's spirit/charisma to see him through once his mentor Elijah has been taken by God. The language of the text reflects the tensions Elisha feels.
Elisha does not dispute Elijah's readiness to be taken by God; however, Elisha does not want to be separated from Elijah any sooner than is necessary. Three times Elijah orders Elisha to "Stay here," while Elijah goes on alone; and three times Elisha refuses: "As the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will not leave you." After each exchange, a company of prophets approach Elisha and declare, "Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?" Each time Elisha replies with both acceptance and denial. "Yes, I know; keep silent." Yes, I know it is God's time to take Elijah, but no, I do not want to hear about it. Elisha wants to hang on to his mentor as long as he possibly can. When Elisha is finally forced to let Elijah go, he asks for the one thing Elisha believes can sustain him: "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." Powerless himself to fill this request, Elijah can only promise, "If you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." God, not Elijah, will grant or deny Elisha's desire.
Elisha's anxiety at being the prophetic successor to Elijah demonstrates Elisha's awareness of the awesome and difficult task he faces in the future. Elisha's desire to postpone that moment and to stay by Elijah's side until the last possible moment is not dissimilar to our own desire to remain in the presence of family or friends when we are anxious and face difficult crises. "Don't leave me! Stay with me!" are cries not only of small children in doctor's offices or scary, new surroundings, but also the response many of us express when faced with a fearful future.
God responds to Elisha in the way that will best bolster Elisha's confidence for his own future as prophet to four successive kings. God's support is immediate and dramatic: "a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, 'Father! Father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!'" The revelation confirms that the double share of Elijah's spirit, his charisma from God, has been granted to Elisha, who tears his own clothes into two pieces once he can no longer see Elijah and the celestial hosts who take him. First there is grief at his loss, then Elisha goes forth confirmed as God's prophetic successor to Elijah.
Mark 9:2-9
The transfiguration of Jesus in Mark 9:2-9 offers two perspectives on human anxiety; one embodied in Peter the disciple and the other read into the text by the context in which Jesus' transfiguration occurs. We can't explain exactly what happened at Jesus' transfiguration any more than we can explain what happened when Elijah was elevated to the heavens by God. Both events are understood as divine epiphanies and the details we read are the details recalled. Mark's language is rather matter of fact. "Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And Jesus was transfigured before them, and his clothes became a dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them." The dazzling white of Jesus' clothes suggests bright light and a glow coming from him. This inference gets more likely when the next verse states that Elijah and Moses appear and "were talking to Jesus." Both Elijah and Moses have themselves been recipients of divine epiphanies that included bright light, glory, and a sense of awe. Moses' took place on the mountaintop, while Elijah's occurred at the mouth of a cave.
While the three disciples are not themselves the subjects of the transfiguration, Peter seems to recognize that what he's experiencing is worth holding on to for as long as possible. "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Matthew then adds that Peter, known for putting his foot in his mouth faster than the other disciples (remember Caesarea Philippi?), speaks because he doesn't know what to say and is terrified. Who can blame him? If any experience merits the fight or flight response, witnessing this event does. It also mirrors a common human religious response. Faced with a choice between a mountaintop experience and the grubby, difficult, and mundane world, who wouldn't want to stay in the moment as long as possible? Sometimes there is God -- so quickly! But it's not over yet.
"Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!'" What a bombshell -- was it an illusion? Was it the residual effects of last night's wine? Was it God? Peter, James and John don't have time to ask questions or analyze. It's over as quickly as it started. "Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead."
We know from Peter's betrayal and from all three disciples' desertion of Jesus in Gethsemane that none of them grasped the implications of Jesus' mission until after his resurrection. We are not so different. Faced with a potential cross and persecution, who among us wouldn't choose to retreat back to the safety of the convent or monastery, or to the lulling comforts of alcohol or drugs, or to the earthly greatness which is what John and James desire when they seek to be appointed Jesus' right and left hand men. Put to the test, who among us would seek to listen to Jesus more carefully when what Jesus has to say is so terribly hard to hear?
In affirming the God in the man, it is sometimes easy to overlook the man in the God. In fact the four Gospels do not offer insight into Jesus' personal thoughts or feelings as he goes about his ministry and steels himself for the hard steps he must take. Ordinarily, Jesus' own words present him as confident and sure in everything he says and does. Only two instances suggest Jesus' inner anxiety, Jesus the human being. The first we infer from the Transfiguration itself. It's not happenstance that Mark 9:2-9 gets sandwiched between two texts anticipating the Passion. Jesus, transfigured on the mountaintop, receives divine confirmation that the hard and painful road to the cross is the right one for him, God's Beloved Son, to take. Challenged and misunderstood by disciples who want him to take another, less difficult road, Jesus needs reassurance from his God.
He gets it to the hilt. The dazzling white clothing signifies the presence of heavenly beings reminiscent of Daniel in the fiery furnace. Standing on a mountain, speaking to two of the greatest Old Testament prophets, all are enveloped in a cloud from which comes the voice of God, an incident that recalls God's exchange with Moses centuries before. Yet the word God utters irrefutably proclaims Jesus' unique relationship to God and Jesus' superiority to both Moses and Elijah. "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Exclamation point!
Pheme Perkins writes in the New Interpreter's Bible Commentary on Mark: "Despite providing the most dramatic evidence of Jesus' relationship to God of any epiphany in the Gospel, the transfiguration cannot override the necessity of Jesus' suffering and death."2 What it does do is certify for Jesus himself that salvation for God's children can only be achieved through the suffering of God's Son. Thus, Jesus squarely faces both his anxieties and his future with courage and determination.
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Perhaps the most exciting epiphany experienced in the Bible is that of Saul, who is literally blinded by a vision of Christ on the road to Damascus. The result is one of the most dramatic and best known conversion experiences ever. Even the name must be altered to testify to the complete transformation that has taken place in the man Paul. The details are sparse but sufficient. There's a bright, bright light and a query, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" The remainder of Paul's life serves as the reply. The many letters he wrote to churches he helped organize suggest a man anxious for his charges.
The Christians Paul addresses in 2 Corinthians are at odds with their church founder over many things. Paul's own anxieties about their future and their faith are expressed throughout the letter, but in chapter 4:3-6 Paul reminds them of the gift of God's glory and grace which is theirs. Blessed with the "light of knowledge of the glory of God," they have the means to reflect and share both with others. Thus, they are given eyes to see and minds and hearts to understand God's purposes and plans in ways that those for whom the gospel remains veiled cannot. Paul understands Christ as "the clear, visible reflection of God." Jesus is the ultimate epiphany for Christians. Pauline scholar Paul Sampley writes:
Basic to Paul's construction here is the notion that the glory of God is reflected, not seen directly. How true to life that God's surprises break out in the most unexpected ways and places. In that little moment where someone reaches out to you in a time of need; where you have joy over being of assistance to someone, or where a baby shows up in a manger and changes lives and history. Maybe God has to surprise us in order to get our attention sometimes. The problem with that, however, is that we might not notice the reflections of God's glory that are happening around us. Part of the task of worship is the rehearsing of how we learn not only to look for God's surprises in life, but also how to recognize them.3
Anxiety and Epiphany
What do we learn about human anxiety and divine epiphanies from these three biblical texts? First, we learn that divine epiphanies are offered to bolster courage and faith during hard times in the believer's life. Second, we learn that epiphanies are not offered in the same way to each person who experiences one. Third, we learn that divine epiphanies do not promise an easier, problem-free future for the one who receives them. Fourth, we learn that epiphanies come and go in the blinking of an eye, but the experience of one is potent and unforgettable for the one who receives it. Finally, the Good News for Christians is God is with us -- sometimes in the blinking of an eye or the split-second insight of the moment.
The Good News of Jesus Christ is that nothing separates us from God; therefore, God is always present. God is present with us in an anxious and scary world. God is present with us now. We may not always sense it, feel it, or even believe it. We may long for the mountaintop experience or the warm glow and bright lights to support us on our way, but that's not God's way on a daily basis. That's not God's way, because God calls us to be God's witness:
Elisha: Go prophesy!
Peter: Get off that mountain and pay attention to your Master's teachings!
Jesus: I love you and affirm your path as the true path!
Paul: I need your zeal and your witness!
All Christians: Seek God's support in the face of anxiety ... then seek to be the one who helps others come to know my will and my love ... Sometimes there is God -- so quickly -- and sometimes there are God's faithful -- the human epiphanies of God's grace and God's love.
Notes
1 Newsweek, February 24, 2003, 46.
2 p. 631
3 New Interpreters Bible Commentary, Vol. 11, 78.
Team Comments
George Murphy responds: You say, "Challenged and misunderstood by disciples who want him to take another, less difficult road, Jesus needs reassurance from his God," and "What it does do is certify for Jesus himself that salvation for God's children can only be achieved through the suffering of God's Son. Thus, Jesus squarely faces both his anxieties and his future with courage and determination."
The accounts of Gethsemane certainly show Jesus' anxiety and his struggle to accept the road of suffering. But what is there about the transfiguration narrative that suggests that this was intended to reassure Jesus? In the Lucan account Jesus talks with Moses and Elijah about the (in the Greek) exodon [i.e., his death and resurrection] which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem, but even here there's no indication that they were "reassuring" Jesus about it. There is nothing in Mark's text about Jesus' own reaction to the event, and it seems more natural to see it as something directed to the disciples' and our anxiety. In the midst of doubts about following someone who is dying a humiliating death, we're reminded by the transfiguration of who he is.
Perhaps there is some reason to see this as reassurance of Jesus, but I think more would need to be said to establish that.
Wes Runk responds: I find George's comments interesting regarding the concept of reassurance. I have always thought of the meeting on the mountain as exactly such a moment. The meeting and the words of God to Jesus indicate to me that it is a long road, but armed with the treasures that God invested in these two giants, Jesus will find his way to the cross with confidence and knowledge that all will be well with him.
I think we must read a lot into many things in scripture without clear evidence of what Jesus was thinking. That is why the scriptures are for all men and women in all times.
James L. Evans responds: Drawing parallels to Elisha and the disciples of Jesus is really helpful. All of these characters experienced earth-shattering shifts in their perception. One moment they see the world operating according to a set of accepted principles and shared perspectives, the next minute that world is gone. The situation for them is very much what our world has been like since 9/11 -- and anxiety is the right word for describing how we feel.
There is a sense in which all major changes in perspective result in the "loss" of a certain worldview. In our case we lost a sense of safety and security, which may have been an illusion, but it was still what we believed about ourselves. In the case of the transfiguration, however, there is both loss of world, and the offer of a new world. Elijah, Moses, and even Jesus' momentary radiance pass. We are left with Jesus standing alone and the words of God echoing overhead: "Listen to him!"
It does not yet appear if a better world will emerge from the loss of our pre-9/11 world. But if it does, it will be because we did in fact "listen to him."
Related Illustrations
In the movie
As it turns out, it is not alien power that changes Travolta's character. His phenomenal powers are the result of a spectacular tumor that has spread out across his brain like a spider. The tumor awakens unused parts of the brain, making the incredible mental prowess possible. Unfortunately, the tumor is also killing him.
As the weight of the awareness of his impending death sweeps over him, Travolta's character falls to the ground weeping in mental agony. As he does, he digs his hands deep into the earth. Strangely, he is calmed by this. His fear dispels. He lifts his eyes and notices the trees around his house swaying in the breeze -- back and forth. He smiles as he watches them.
Later in the movie, as Travolta's character is trying to comfort his girlfriend, he asks her, "When your children are frightened, what do you do?" She closes her eyes, places her arms across her chest and rocks gently back and forth. Travolta directs her attention to the trees as they sway back and forth. "It's the same for all of us," he tells her.
For Travolta, the comforting life-force of the earth became an epiphany of the presence of God. In that appearance he found comfort, and was able to give comfort to others. Where will we see God in our own troubled time, and find relief from our anxiety? (From James L. Evans)
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Life brings many transitions, and they're not easy. Often we grieve the loss of the old, even as we welcome the birth of the new. Both of this week's scripture passages deal with transitions: Elijah passing the mantle of leadership to Elisha, and Jesus standing briefly on the mountain that marks the transition between his carefree days as an itinerant preacher and his determined journey to Jerusalem and the cross. Living through transitions requires trust: trust in God, who will help us to rise, even when we fear we are falling.
"Don't step on the cracks, or you'll break your mother's back." The cracks in a sidewalk mark the transition from one slab of pavement to another. Even the lore of children recognizes that transitions are hazardous places. The "cracks" in individual lives bring out strong emotion: putting the kindergartener on the school bus, watching the graduate march down the aisle in cap and gown, the mother crying at a wedding, the once-healthy person suddenly become a patient -- and then there is the greatest transition of all, the transition between death and new life in Christ. Fearsome ... emotion-laden ... beautiful at times ... always accompanied by anxiety: such are times of transition.
Even as a nation, we're in a time of transition. Ever since 9/11, we've been aware that something old has ended, and something new and as-yet-mysterious is still over the horizon. No wonder we're all jittery! In his song "Anthem," Leonard Cohen says: "Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack, a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in."
In a memorable movie image, Indiana Jones feared the chasm that yawned before him, until he tossed some gravel into the void, revealing a hidden bridge.
It's natural to fear stepping on the cracks that run throughout this human life of ours: yet faith reassures us that we need not hesitate to do so (and no one's back will be broken as a result). The times of transition are often the moments when God chooses to work wonders in our lives. (From Carlos Wilton)
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During the bombing of London by the Nazis during World War II, this verse from Psalm 23 was a favorite one for Communion services: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." There was even one instance where the service continued while part of the church was hit. The Lord's Supper was God's table spread for worshipers, and it continued to nourish them spiritually even while their city was under attack.
There are parallels to this in the natural world. In Africa, for example, especially during times of drought, animals that are normally predator and prey, such as the lion and gazelle, can sometimes be seen drinking at the same time from scarce water holes. The common problem they face, needing water, seems to impose a sort of truce on them, and the available water becomes the table spread in the presence of enemies. I've also read somewhere of a coyote in the American West who lived several contented years right under the nose of the trapper who was trying to get him. (From Stan Purdum)
Worship Resources
By Larry Hard
OPENING PRAYER
God of the ages, making your glory known on mountaintops and in places of worship; to individuals and to groups, in times past and in our time, in sounds and in silence, in visions and in meditations, we come to experience your glory and your goodness.
CHOIR OR CONGREGATION SING:
"Gloria, Gloria" (Berthier and Community of Taize)
or "Gloria in Excelsis"
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: We live in fearful and uncertain times.
PEOPLE: IS THERE A WAY TO SEE GOD AND KNOW GOD IS PRESENT?
Leader: We wonder where to find direction and truth.
PEOPLE: IS THERE A WAY TO KNOW THAT JESUS IS THE WAY AND TRUTH?
Leader: We need to know that we can trust what Jesus tells us.
PEOPLE: WHY SHOULD WE LOOK TO HIM AND LISTEN TO HIM?
Leader: God is here! Jesus is present as we worship today.
PEOPLE: WE WILL OPEN OUR EYES TO SEE, AND EARS TO HEAR.
HYMNS
"Christ, upon the Mountain Peak"
"Open My Eyes, That I May See"
SONG
"Holy Ground" (Words and music: Geron Davis)
INVITATION TO CONFESSION
You are invited in silence to be aware of your need for light, for understanding, for affirmation and assurance. Confess this need in prayer.
CONFESSION
God of continuing mercy, receive our individual prayers. We confess our doubts, our fears, our confusion, our failures. Forgive us for not trusting what you make known to us in our prayers and meditations. We would see you, and listen to that which we need to hear.
WORDS OF PARDON
Jesus, who offered forgiveness to all who would receive it, is present here in this sacred space to grant pardon to all of us. Be thankful!
HYMNS
"O Wondrous Sight! O Vision Fair"
"Be Thou My Vision"
SONGS
"Sweet, Sweet Spirit" (words & music: Doris Akers)
"Surely the Presence of the Lord" (words & music: Lanny Wolfe)
PASTORAL PRAYER
God, we are grateful that you make yourself known in many ways. Like Elijah, Elisha, and the prophets who are invited to stay until together they see signs of you, we pray that as we are together here, we will see and recognize the signs of your holy presence. As you made Jesus known in a new and transfiguring way to disciples, we pray that we will see Jesus as more than another teacher, and therefore listen to him, obey him and follow him in the way of servant love. We want to experience your presence and power, that we may be renewed in our journey of faith, hope and love.
We pray not only for ourselves, but for others.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
(Invite the congregation to offer silent prayers for the sick ... for the lonely ... for the church ... for our elected leader ... for world peace.)
CLOSING HYMN
"Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies"
CLOSING SONG
"We Are Called" (words & music: David Haas)
Children's Sermon
By Wesley Runk
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Text: "For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake." (v. 5)
Object: a large wooden matchstick and a candle
Good morning, boys and girls. Today we have listened to some wonderful stories from our Bible readings. First, we heard about Elijah and how he was swept up into heaven by a whirlwind while riding in a chariot. Then we read about Jesus becoming radiantly white as God called him his Son in whom he was very pleased. In both situations things happened quickly. God changed everything and all Elisha, Peter, James and John could do was to watch in amazement. First, it was Elisha watching his teacher Elijah being taken up into the heavens, and then it was Peter, James and John witnessing Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah on a mountain.
I brought along a couple of things that show us how change can happen. Let's pretend that we are living in a very dark room. Let's all put our hands around our eyes and slowly move our hands closer and closer together until everything is dark. Is everything dark? Do you know what darkness is? (let them answer) Ok, then you can open your eyes but still pretend it is very dark. I have a match in my hand and I am going to strike it so that it makes a very bright light. (strike the match) How many of you can see the light? (let them answer) Very good, but what will happen to our match if we don't do something with it? (let them answer) That's right, it will go out if we don't do something else, won't it? (let them answer) It has chased away the darkness but we want it to last longer so I am going to take our match and light this candle. (light the candle and blow out the match) Now, we will have light for a long time.
Saint Paul teaches us that Jesus brought a new light into the world. It chased away the darkness and it brought change. The change came fast but God wanted it to remain for a long time. So Jesus passed the light on to people like Peter, James and John. The three disciples passed the same light onto others like Philip and Matthew and Thomas. Those disciples passed it on to others, and finally it came to us and we are passing it on to each other. Now you have the same light that shares the love of God that Peter, James and John received from Jesus. It is the same light that came so quickly that day when God made Jesus brilliantly white on the mountain. We are part of the light and we share the light with others.
God changes some people quickly like he did Elijah and Jesus. Like a flash before our eyes things happen. That's how a match burns. But once the light has come, it must be passed on to others and the light must remain forever. That is what the match does to the candle. It shares the light so that others may also live in the light forever. Peter, James, John and all of us are like the candle. We receive the light and we share it with others. Our light is the love of Jesus, something to share with our friends and one another. Amen.
The Immediate Word, March 2, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
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