Transfiguration

Let Your Light Shine

Introduction

Sunday Schools the world over have been singing a song since the 1920’s; this little light of mine; but have you ever stopped to think about the words.

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine

This little light of min, I'm gonna let it shine

Let it shine/Let it shine/Let it shine…

Now, what does that mean? What are we saying? What “light” do we have that we are singing about? What does it mean to shine?

This is Transformation Sunday. The time when we think about Jesus on the mountaintop and the way that he revealed God’s light to the world.

The idea of the light of God being revealed through people did not begin there though, it is as ancient as we are… Before Jesus, think about Moses; who went up on the mountain to talk to God about the ten commandments and came down with a glowing face… we are talking about people who are a lightning rod to the divine. Siddhartha Buddha for example became enlightened while meditating under a tree; or Mohammed who is said to have spoken to the angel Gabriel e on Mount Hira outside of Mecca and came away from that experience totally changed.

When someone is transfigured, it means, literally, that we become able to see the holy in that person, it means that they become on fire for God. It means seeing the light.

And it is not only in people that this can stop us in our tracks. Who has not stopped to look at a sunset, or the Northern Lights, or even the lights of fishing boats bobbing on the sea… Light has a power to make us feel awe and beauty. It brings out the best in the world around us…

So today we explore light.

Children’s Time

Stained Glass – Seeing the beauty means seeing the light inside…

Down the Mountain

So, if God came down the mountain right now and stood in front of you, glowing, I would wager that none of us would have a problem believing it.

It would be easy to see that this was someone different, powerful, holy… and we would probably listen to what they had to say.  Just like the folks did to Moses, or to Jesus…

But the thing is, those moments are rare, or non-existent in our lives. Even those perfect sunsets and candlelight dinners and northern lights are rare. The things that make us stop and focus on the beauty of the world are rare… in our day to day lives, it is harder to see God; it is difficult to see the light when it isn’t so obvious. We have to look for it.

The thing of it is, transfiguration is not something that happened once, a long time ago, it is something that has happened over and over to those who become closer to God.

In our gospel story we have Jesus taking his closest friends up the mountain with him while he prays. And there are a lot of things that could be said about the imagery here; about the people he seems to talk to, about the reaction of the disciples… but instead I want you to see it, with your mind’s eye, for what it is.

All of a sudden Jesus lights up. Whether he glows with real flames, or the sun shines through the clouds and falls on him, or what does not matter. What matters is that in this instant he becomes transfigured, he becomes alive with the light of God.  He becomes, if it is possible, even closer to God and even more Holy.

And even those who see this, even after they have looked closely and opened themselves up to this… even then, the disciples do not see it for what it is.

What matters most is that in being transfigured Jesus becomes capable of something he might not have been before; he becomes capable of coming down the mountain.

Walking in the Darkness

Hide it under a bushel, no, I’m gonna let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, no, I’m gonna let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, no… I’m gonna let it shine,

let it shine, let it shine, let it shine….

You realize that is the disciple’s reaction, right? Wow, you are the son of God, this is great, let’s stay up here… I don’t know, there could be a hundred reasons for this reaction, they had everything they ever dreamed of and wanted to stay, they were afraid of what people would do when they saw the glowing Jesus, they just sensed, rightly, that this was not going to work out well….

So they want to hide the light, keep the light, maybe even pretend they never saw it.

Again, this is not a once long ago story. This is a story that plays out every day in almost every place… everyone has those moments where they see the light… but what good is it if we don't recognize it?  What good is it if we don't see that God is shining through?  What good is it if we don't embrace these moments?

Perhaps the reason that we don’t always recognize the light of God in our midst is because transfiguration can only be seen in action.

When I began I pointed out places where we see light and it overwhelms us. And light is easy to see… the lights of a city, a candle, the stars, a campfire…. But what about the light in people… is that as easy to see?

Well, I think if I asked you for a list of famous people who have been light to others you could make a fairly good list. Think about Martin Luther King Jr. from last week, or Ghandi, Mother Theresa, even Pierre Trudeau seems to have made a difference to people.

Even if I asked you to name the types of people – a teacher or a firefighter… perhaps the stranger who stops to help someone stranded on the side of the road…

All of these people are the types of people who bring light to others.  The weird thing, is that we do not regularly talk about them as bringing God to others. In essence, we hide goodness… ask someone why they went into a burning building to save a cat, and they will say, I did not do anything special, I am no one special, anyone would do it.

But doesn’t that take away from the fact that there are people out there modelling God all the time? There are people out there BEING God all the time. And most of them have no idea they are doing it.

We do not need to hide these things under a bushel, we need to be celebrating the people who do the right things, those that do the good things, those that love unconditionally… these should be our heros. And we can find them around us every single day.

Bring it on Home Jesus

This is the transformation we witness. This is the transformation for today. This is how God is seen these days.

And a funny thing will happen when you start to recognize this. When you start to see the light in the world...when you really see it...you will start to change the way you live your life; the light will change who you are.

This week we are having an annual meeting. Let's see if we can see where the light is shining in our church, in our community. Let’s see where there are opportunities for us to reflect God’s love into the world.

We are also about to go into the season of Lent...a darker season.  Amidst the stories of fear and struggle and challenge and suffering, it will be hard for us to see the light. But I want you to remember the images that you saw here today.  Know that the world is overflowing with light.

Some days it might be a blinding light that you can't deny as if Jesus is aglow on top of a mountain. Other days it might be a little flicker that you have to search deep for. But you will find it.  And when you do, use it.  Let it shine for all the world to see.  Amen.