03/02/2025: Transfiguration Sunday, Glowing for God

You are the light of the world. You are the body of Christ. You are a person with the capacity for more. The endless, unconditional, unfathomable, unending love of God dwells in you.

Guest preacher, Rev. Betsy Ouellette

Sermon by Rev. Beth Demme
For more information, visit www.graymumc.org

Transcript

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Today's gospel rating is from Luke chapter nine verses 28 through 43. About eight days after these sayings, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 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 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 three tenths, 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 chosen, listen to him. When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone and they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. On the next day when they come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then, a man shouted, teacher, I beg you, look at my son. He's my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him and at once he shrieks it convulses him, and he foams at the mouth. It mals him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast him 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. And 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 at the greatness of God. Here ends the reading, the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Okay, I guess it's my turn now, and I just realized that I don't have a traveling mic, so I need to stay in one spot, right? Oh, that's okay, because I think I can speak loud enough. So good morning. It's good to be with you here at Gray Memorial. Last time I was here was in 2023. I know exactly when because you have a picture of the event and the foyer. I was here for the Gary Mason event, which was really lovely. I adore Beth. You are so blessed, as you know, to have her as your pastor. She and I, we both came out of Korne UMC many years ago. We crossed paths there and then I went into the ministry and much later I was just delighted and thrilled to have her as my associate for some time at Good Samaritan in the Southwood area, and then Covid came and lots of things changed and I still believe to this day, although I hope, are these recorded? Oh yeah, they're over. Okay, nevermind. I can't say it, but she's fabulous and I'm delighted I got to work with her and I'm glad I got to get to be with you today. So this morning I was thrilled to have so many choices for preaching. I love that Beth does the traditional thing of reading the psalm and reading the Old Testament scripture and then offering gospel. Thank you for sharing all those sacred texts with us. One of the beauties of doing the lectionary readings reading, is you get to see the correlation and you get to see the flow of the great drama that is being revealed to us in Christ, right? So we saw in the first Testament Old Testament reading, we saw, oh yeah, I should get my sandwich. That is one of my things I often do. I forget to bring it. We saw that Moses went up to the mountain to meet with God, and his face was transformed and it was so shiny that when he left the mountain to bring the word of God to the people, they were astounded and frightened almost, and he had to cover his face. There's something about being in the presence of God that ignites our inner light. Each of you has been invited to be transfigured and has already been transfigured, but the thing about our God is there's always, always more. There's more light, there's more love, and there's more capacity in our hearts for that love. And as we spend time alone with God on the mountaintop of perhaps our living room or wherever it is that you like to pray, maybe a walk in the woods listening, you are transformed. But what happens in life is sometimes we get in old routines and old habits and that little light of mine, this little light of mine that I'm going to let it shine, shine, shine. Sometimes we actually do hide it under the bushel or sometimes we just hide it under the heaviness of what's going on in the world. So this morning I'm going to unpack a few things and invite you to shine, to invite you to turn up the light, to invite you to glow. I met a woman in China, and that's what fell to the ground was my album that I went downstairs and dug out this morning, my album from the year that I went to China, I was in seminary and we went to be with Chinese Christians and some of the underground churches. We packed bibles to bring with us because while the three self churches were legal, there were some legal churches, there were mostly state controlled. And in China there are certain provinces and certain places under the communist ruler of that area that we're not allowed to have scripture. They're not allowed to have bibles. And so we brought them in. So you'll see the pictures. I brought them here so you can see. But most significantly, I want to tell you about the story of a woman that we didn't know her name because it was too dangerous for us to know her name. Under the cover of night, this young woman younger than me, and I was young then I think I was 38 or nine in those pictures under the cover of night, she would put as much as she could carry without causing a lot of notice food. She carried the scripture, but very few just pieces of scripture. And she would ride out into the woods, into a secret place where North Korean refugees were hiding. They had escaped North Korea. I was there in 99. From 95 to 99, there was an extreme famine in North Korea, and they say between two and 3 million people died from starvation. So the North Korean people that lived along the Yalu River, it would freeze in the winter and they were taking their children to get them out of this horrific regime and the reality of starving to death. And they would hide them in the snow banks on the river. Obviously it was guarded, it was difficult to get out, but some of them made it. They hid their children in the snow and then Christians on the Chinese side would go and rescue them. And so they had started a secret orphanage and then some of the adults had also escaped. One of the things that they did when they first came through, obviously fed them, cared for them, taught them about Jesus, but they also showed them the news because they had been told in North Korea that the whole world was starving. But that was not the case. The starvation and the famine was due to many factors, but one was just the horrific regime that was in place. But the reason I share this story is because I had never met anyone who glowed before. She literally glowed her face. You've seen people that are shiny. You've seen people when they're telling a story. Maybe right now I'm starting to glow a little. I mean, I see you when you're smiling. You have an aura, some of you around you. This woman glowed. We were invited to visit with her very briefly. We had a small van. There was I think 11 of us on this trip, 11 Asbury seminarians. The van pulled to a spot near her home. We had to get out. It was fictitious gathering. We went to her home, took off our shoes because you can't wear your shoes inside. Many of the homes in other countries, especially in China was true. And I worried. I can remember worrying there's a pile of shoes by her door. We got here quickly and no one saw us and the van pulled away and we were given 25 minutes before we had to leave. And I was so worried about the shoes at the tour. Anyway, that just a memory that just came back. And when we went into her tiny home, she served us orange soda pop. I'm sure it costs money. She thought, what do Americans drink? They don't drink tea. She bought a big liter. I think she had two liters because there was 12 of us of orange soda. And then she had a bunch of bananas that she cut in half and she used every single vessel in her home. So we drank out of little bowls and tiny cups, and she tried to pull together 12 vessels so she could share with us hospitality. She was covered with the glory of God. Kabad is the Hebrew word for glory. Kabad means to be loaded down with riches. Kabad loaded down with riches, heavy with riches. This poor woman filled with the power of Christ, filled with the courageous love of God. The sacrificial love of God was loaded. She didn't have the world's riches. She had a commission from Christ himself to share the word of God, the bread of life with the North Korean refugees that had escaped this regime and that we're now trying to recover hope. I will never forget that woman. I'll never forget the light on her face. That same sort of light is what dwells within each of us. I love being a Christian, challenging as it is at times because the capacity for love and grace and light is continuous and evolving. We see him face to face one day, but we have the opportunity to see him face to face and hear him now. She was a great example of someone brimming with the glory of God. God's presence was so full in her, and I'm grateful for the risk she took that day just to have us seminarians in her home. We quickly left after we had our drink and our banana and a prayer and we prayed for her. And that was, I haven't told the story in a while, so I'm feeling it. That was in 1999 and I've never forgotten it. And I guess I'm sharing with you today to inspire and empower you, but clearly I'm sharing it with myself in this moment to remind myself to be courageous, to stand for Christ and stand for the light of Christ and the love of Christ. So she was my shiny one in my example today. And now let's look at the gospel story. So Jesus goes up to the mountain similar to what we saw Moses doing, went up to the mountain and he took Peter and James and John with him, and Peter and James and John as usual don't get it. They fall asleep. They almost miss it. But on that mountaintop, they do wake up in time to take a glimpse of Jesus completely transformed. Today is transfiguration Sunday, by the way. Today is the last Sunday before Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday. Today we celebrate transfiguration Sunday, a time when God came in a special way to Jesus, who is God by fully human to encourage him. He went up to the mountain to pray, and he took his to disciples. And while they slept, he met with Moses and Elijah and a cloud came over them. Who knows what they were discussing. We don't know. It's not recorded. It's not recorded the whole thing because the disciples were asleep. But the understanding is that Jesus needed to be strengthened for the journey ahead. He was about to go down the mountain and give his life for all mankind. He was strengthened by Moses and Elijah and just in the nick of time, as he stood brilliant, his clothes transformed, his face shining. The disciples woke up and glimpsed the glory of God, glimpsed to the glory of God and heard the voice from heaven. And the voice from heaven said, listen to him. This is my beloved son. Listen to him. Well, they almost missed it, but they did catch that part and it was recorded later. Have you ever noticed how certain things happen, whether it's an encounter with a loved one and a counter that's kind of maybe just a random encounter at a grocery store. Maybe it's something you read years ago and then today you go, oh, they recorded this later in the gospels because later they understood more than they did at the moment. What kinds of things maybe is God trying to get your attention around this morning? Maybe it was a Sunday school lesson that came into your life when you were a child, and this morning I'm inviting you to listen to that voice, reconnect with the calling that's been placed upon your life, reengage. I don't know. I make this stuff up. As I stand here with the spirit of Christ flowing through me to you, the spirit of Christ flowing from you to me. You feel it? The power of God is here. Well, this is my son, my chosen one. Listen to him. They didn't quite understand, but it came became clearer later. So last night I was with my neighbors. They invited me to go to a play a musical at FSU. And these are my neighbors that we've gathered from time to time. I was on this clergy and interfaith clergy panel called the God squad for many years. And these are my Jewish neighbors and they have come to hear me preach. Joanna has come to hear me preach. And she said, so what are you doing this weekend that you're not at the beach? My husband's at the beach. I said, well, I'm getting to preach at Grey Memorial. And she goes, oh, I wish I had known I would've come. And she said, what are you preaching on? And I said, well, in the Christian calendar, it is transfiguration Sunday. What does that mean? I said, it's when Jesus went up to the mountain and he met with Moses and Elijah and the disciples. And Jerome said, wait, no. Jesus came after Moses and Elijah. And I said, yes, and before and after, and for all eternity. You see, we do live in a space time continuum on this side of heaven, but God is not limited by that. So we see supernaturally, Moses and Elijah meeting with Jesus Christ still in his human body, about to become eternal for all time or return to eternity. And I didn't have time to unpack all that, but I thought, I thought how interesting it was that Moses and Elijah. And so I went on to share with them the reason why Moses and Elijah was there was because Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets. And so we see the representation of the law and the prophets. The whole Bible is for us, not just the New Testament, the whole Bible, but as we come to Ash Wednesday and as we come into this period of Lent, as you know, it's a time of reflection. It's a time to rethink, re-engage, reconsider. It's a time to commit to shine. If there's been something covering your light, maybe it's time to move it. If there's something holding you back from hearing, it's time to let that go. My chosen one, listen to him. I suggest to you that a listening practice is a way we turn the light up. I'm suggesting to you and confessing as well might as well. It's communion Sunday, good day for a confession that the news has kept me down. It has kept me distracted. And if you have managed to leave the news off or not to listen to it all day long or not to reengage like I do on my phone, what's happening now? What could be next? Listen, this is affecting me personally. My husband's at Florida State University so far. He has a job. I don't know what the next cuts will be, but these are the kinds of things that I will allow myself to engage with, and that's not helpful. I want to listen to Jesus with fresh ears. I want to remember the stories of this courageous woman in China that fed those refugees with the bread of life. And then I want to ask God, I want to ask Christ, where am I to be engaged right now in this time of disruption? I need to listen. So as I always do, I'm not preaching to the choir. I'm preaching to myself. By the way, choir, I'm going to reengage with the gospels. If you're not sure what Jesus says, what Jesus intends, well encounter him in his own words. How many of you still have a Bible with red letters? You still have that one. I know, me too. I have my first with a little white. It was a white Bible with a little zipper. The words of Jesus were in red. We need need to read the words of Jesus in just the words, the gospels, because the reason why they were read is they carry more significance. It doesn't mean that the Old Testament isn't sacred. It doesn't mean that the Psalms aren't sacred and holy. It doesn't mean that the epistles in the letters and the teachings of Paul are important. It means somewhere along the line, the folks that turned the letters of Jesus read understood that we are to listen to him, engage for the gospels. How else do we listen? We listen to one another and we may hear the voice of Christ. We listen through art, through music, through poetry, through active contemplation, through new spiritual practices, maybe during this time of lent your to expand your capacity for forgiveness. I don't know. Have you forgiven everybody? You're supposed to forgive. I'm working on it. Maybe this is a time where we are to expand our ability to be with people that don't think like us, but we can still be in their presence with grace. I'm working on it. Or maybe we're supposed to actually avoid some folks too. That's a legitimate thing to do. You're known by the company you keep. So what company are you keeping these days? We are to listen and be faithful to the unique revelation of Jesus Christ. I am a person who really enjoys engaging with people of other faiths. For 13 years, I was on the God squad, which is a program of the Village Square. And I was one of the Christian Protestant voices on this panel. So we had Rabbi Romberg for many years. He and I were on the panel together and we have pastor, father Tim, a Catholic priest. And from time to time we would have a Hindu representative or a Muslim representative. We had African-American Protestant church representatives, and we would engage in discussion about it could be the school shooting. Oftentimes it was things in the news from a faith perspective. Also, we had a representative from First Baptist and honestly, the Rabbi and I usually saw things more eye to eye than my Baptist colleague and I, although we loved each other. And that was what was interesting. So why do I share this with you? Because I personally have been reflecting on all I know about other faiths and how much I love other faiths and honor them and the truth that's in those other faiths. But I personally am called to the revelation of Jesus Christ. I'm personally called to engage with the story of Jesus and so are you. And we can do that with a lot of grace and a lot of mercy and a lot of interest in other ways of understanding God. And it will broaden our own understanding of God. It doesn't diminish my faith to have a conversation about Elijah and Moses on the mountain with my neighbors. It expands my faith and it doesn't expand my faith because I think I'm more right and it doesn't expand my faith. I want them to convert. It expands my faith because it reminds me of who I am. Who I am in Christ. So I'm here this morning at Beth's invitation to remind you who you are. You are a shining light. You are the light of the world. You are the body of Christ. You are a person with the capacity for more. The endless, unconditional, unfathomable un end love of God dwells in you. So of course you have more capacity, right? You are the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are the mouthpiece of God in the hands of Jesus. Wow, all that. And little church, because you are a little church, right? You are mighty. I want to share one last piece of that story in China in this photo album, and I'll leave it here. You'll see there is this gigantic church with a big cross, like a mega church, and it's in one of the Chinese cities. And then there's this tiny little church, and you'll see it says on the border of North Korea. Well, the mega church was a government sponsored church. A government controlled church with lots of money and lots of flash. That little tiny church was the church of the woman that glowed the way heaven works. The way the kingdom of God works is with the widow's might with a little leaven that leavens the lump. The small in the hidden is where the power is. The small, in the hidden is where the light shines brightest. Thank you, church. Thank you, my brothers and sisters in Christ for allowing me to stand and share these stories with you, for allowing me to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns within you, around you, and for you. Amen.