TV makeover shows change people in an hour. Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain seems instantaneous. Transformation of spirit and community takes longer. It is a thoughtful step-by-step process beginning with prayer and discernment – with God. Then there is the release of self-consciousness, of preconceptions – a new openness to what might be. Jesus doesn’t seem aware that he looks different, that his clothing glows white. But he was different. His friends were captivated. Starry-eyed, Peter wants to stay in that moment forever. He says, “It is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings.” Let’s just camp out here forever, in this wonderful physical, psychological, spiritual space. Let’s not move or change – it’s soooo good. Many churches and other institutions do that. But Jesus knew they had to move. Even though they had a mountaintop experience, a spiritual high point, God was in the moving and changing, down in the valley, in the journey. There were people to be led to freedom from the past. “The appearance of his face changed.” What would Island United Church look like if our appearance to the world around us … changed? What could we look like if we created a more vital, outward-facing presence? Maybe, just maybe, we have been picked for a makeover.
Peace,
Pastor Carol
