A
Reflection for Last Sunday of Epiphany (Quinquagesima) All Saints’,
Southern Shores, NC
February
11, 2018 Thomas E. Wilson, Rector
Transfigurations
In
today’s Gospel lesson Jesus and his disciples have a vision.
Visions are those things that we tend to be skeptical about because
they are outside of our usual scientific rational mind where things
are real or they are not real; there is either an objective reality
in which we place our trust or there is a subjective feeling which
cannot really be trusted - end of story. When I was a therapist, if
someone came in having a vision, I would make the assumption that
they were having a break with reality, either caused by stress or by
some organic problem.
Now,
decades later, I know visions are indeed breaks from reality - our
puny concept of reality, when we can see that, not only are some
people crazy, but our whole concept of reality is crazy, the world
is crazy. Jesus came to point out our crazy tendencies in how we see
people divided by class, caste, race, enemies, and kin and about in
who or what do we place our trust. In the name of God, people are
willing to kill images of God or allow them to suffer because they
don’t have enough resources even though there are more than enough
to go around if we would only share, where people are treated as
objects of plunder rather than subjects of love, where wealth is
worshipped and truth is debased. This is crazy but it seems to pass
as normal.
Many
cultures used to have organized into their culture the idea of a
vision quest, where a young man or woman would be pushed to break
with what was normal in order to see what is the deeper reality. Now
we just spend time hoping our children will adjust and prosper in
this world’s insanity where one’s worth is determined by our
being in control and by the amount of possessions we have accumulated
and by selling ourselves out for the approval of others.
Challenging
our concepts of reality is what prophets do. They are see-ers,
seers, people who see differently, seeing what God is doing. They
tend to speak using mythopoetic language which explodes our narrow
view of creation, where God is up there, somewhere far away, and we
are safe down here away from divine pesky interference. Elijah and
Elisha in the Hebrew Testament lesson from 2nd
Kings have been struggling against the corrupt governments of Israel
and Judah that want to act as if God is on vacation and out of
communication range and people are thought of as just so much prey at
the mercy of the predators in power. Elijah is coming to the end of
his time on earth and everybody knows it. Elisha in the vision sees
that Elijah’s death is not just the end of his narrow earthly life,
but a continuation of his life in God’s reality. They both have a
vision about the flaming chariot carrying Elijah into uninterrupted
union with God; this is the deeper reality using mythopoetic
language.
Paul
is writing to the Church in Corinth warning them of the puny gods of
this world which try to blind people to the light of Christ. He is
saying that the world is crazy but we need to break the so-called
reality to see deeper and see the Christ, the image of God, Jesus who
was once dead but is in union with the Christ that lives in our very
being. Paul himself had visions where he saw the Risen Christ
blinding him to the so-called real world in which Paul had placed his
trust in order for Paul to see with new eyes the deeper reality.
The
Transfiguration story in Mark’s Gospel is also a vision of how
Peter, James, and John are able to see the union of this Jesus, who
they knew as an ordinary human being, with the fullness of God and of
the other see-ers, Moses and Elijah. If we stop the story there, what
we end up with is that Jesus was an exception to the rule of God and
humans, but the Gospel tries to tell us that Jesus is not an
exception but the rule of the deeper reality that all of us are
called to be transfigured by having God’s light, the Christ light
shine through us. The reality of what happens to Jesus in mythopoetic
language is what those of us who claim to follow Jesus will be called
to experience in everyday life and not just in church.
Many of my
moments closest to Christ happen away from the service times. Let me
stop myself with a caution and say that I find the service times
helpful to get me ready to want to have moments close to Christ in
the larger world. Church is like the dress rehearsal for the
performance of the rest of the week.
Here
on the Outer Banks I find those moments when I am walking on the
beach feeling the quiver of the sand as the waves come in, reminding
me that there is a power greater than myself. When I feel that in my
feet, I am more aware of the majesty of creation. In my time away
from religion when the Priest would say, “The Lord be with you” I
would be thinking ,“Not in this place!” I would find the Christ
without the Episcopal Church in things like Joan Sutherland singing
the first act, first scene aria from Bellini’s Norma
, where she follows
the Druid Priests in Ancient Gaul who are praying in the Sacred Woods
for strength to destroy the Roman Invaders, and she alone sings Casta
Diva, Chaste Goddess,
the Spirit of the Moon, who she asks to shine over these ancient
plants and “spargi in terra quella pace” Scatter peace across the
earth. For a good version see:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK2LwLyZAlc]
It
is Bel Canto singing at its best with trills and runs lifted
heavenward. I still pull it up on YouTube since I wore my vinyl
record out playing it. When I hear it I am reminded of my faith to
scatter peace over every path I take.
In
all three of the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke all lead up
to this story with the caution given by Jesus that “If anyone wants
to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my
sake and for the sake of the Gospel will save it. For what will it
profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” If you
make a choice to hold on to all the bankrupt delusions of this world,
you will miss what life is really all about.
I
have a weekly meeting with some people where we discuss three
questions: 1) What was your moment closest to Christ since we last
met?, 2) How have you grown closer to Christ through study?, and
3)What was your action in this world to share that reality of
Christ’s presence? The three questions are part of the classic
Christian Spiritually where 1) you try to get a deeper vision other
than the world’s delusions, 2) you open yourself up to learn, and
3) you see yourself as operating in union with Christ in healing the
world. Each week as I know those questions will be asked I start
making choices for those seven days.
Spirituality
is fundamentally about making choices with our free will instead of
spouting dogma while just going along with an insane culture - about
how I will see, about how I will open my mind, and how I will spend
my resources of time, energy and money. I have been attending such
meetings on and off since 1977 and I am still working on those three
questions. There are times when Christ’s light shines through me,
and at times I grab ahold of empty darkness in my fears of missing
the shiny objects that look so alluring.
Today
make your choices in your own free will to answer those three
questions; what were the moments closest to Christ, how did you try
to learn more about Christ and how did you unite with Christ to
scatter peace over your path on earth.
Transfigurations
Today
I’ll make choices in my free will
that
I will look for Christ in all of things,
like
beach walks or Sutherland singing
Bellini’s
Casta Diva
with notes that trill.
Beaches
don’t have many wooden pews
and
Norma is singing to a Druid sprite,
but
both are giving all without respite
as
a way of guiding us by giving of clues
of
that which is important to hold on to
beneath
all the smoke and mirrors false
that
should be taken with a dose of salts
to
see clearly what is life’s treasure true.
Today
I seek and trust the deeper reality
so
might thy light shining as You in me be.
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