Preaching text: Luke 9:28-43
Back when I served at my congregation in Davis, WV, one of my duties was to lead a brief chapel service at the local nursing home, Cortland Acres, about every three months or so. The worship service was pretty straight-forward and attendance varied wildly, but for a while there was one woman who I always knew would be there. Mary was in her 80s and struggled mightily with numerous health issues. Diabetes had robbed her of both her legs, but that didn’t matter to her. She was there every time I showed up, to sing and pray and worship God.
She told me once that she had no fear of death, that she knew her Lord was going to take care of her. She was particularly insistent that when she got to the world beyond, that “God was gonna give her a new pair of legs.” She was looking forward to that.
After a few years, Mary died from her illnesses. Those of us who knew her, the staff, the volunteers, the clergy, all talked about her after she passed and one thing kept coming up. “Mary’s got her new legs.”
I was thinking about that this week in light of a number of things. One was a conversation I had with someone who shared a similar courage towards their mortality. Another was my own war with myself as my body decided to do what it likes to do and I spent about half the day in bed on Thursday trying to regain my strength. And the last was the fact that this Sunday was Transfiguration Sunday. All these things intersect in my understanding.
Transfiguration is a bit of a weird holiday in the Church. On one level, it looks like the one time Jesus uses his miraculous powers to “show off.” Transfiguring into this brilliant figure doesn’t seem to serve any particular purpose. No one is healed. No one is fed. No one is raised from the dead. But on another level, I remember that Jesus does nothing by accident or for selfish reasons. So what is this really about? What does Transfiguration mean?
Well, like so many other things that Jesus does, he’s giving us a glimpse of the kingdom. He shows the disciples his true form, not simply to show off, but to reveal a truth of what is yet to be. What we are now is not what we will be.
That shouldn’t really be any surprise to anyone. We are told, numerous times, that God loves us as we are. And he does. But when God touches our lives, we find that we don’t often stay as we are. We grow, in faith, hope, and love. We become stronger. More courageous. More bold. We become more than we were before.
This is what God’s love does to us. And again, this should not be any real surprise to us. There are other times and places in our lives where this dynamic comes out. Consider what happens when we fall in love with that special man or woman in our lives. How we want to be better, to be more, for their sake. Consider what happens when we give birth to our children and how we want to be more for them. This is what love does. God’s love is no different. It grows us into our full potential.
As Jesus is glorified before the disciples, he shows them (and us) the end result of what love will do for us. We will become, as Scripture has often promised, a new creation.
For those of us who struggle, like myself, with physical ailments, illnesses, and disabilities, this is good news. What we are now will not always be. For those of us who struggle with addiction and vice, this is good news. What we are now will not always be. For those of us who struggle with loneliness, abandonment, and heartache, this is good news. What we are now will not always be. We will be more. Our lives will be more. We will have, as Jesus promised, abundant life.
And not just us alone. For those of us who weep over the state of the world, this is good news. For what the world is will not always be. For those of us who feel for the hungry and the poor, this is good news. For they will not always be so. All will be made new.
Transfiguration is about hope. What is now will not remain so. It be more. It will be greater. It will be glorious. That is the kingdom of God. That is what is coming.
Of course, it’s not here yet. Not in its fullness. And like the disciples, we cannot live on the mountaintop right now. We must return to the world as it is now. Just as Jesus and his disciples did in our Gospel story today. They come back to a world where children are taken by evil spirits, where there is hunger and poverty and sickness and all manner of difficulty.
And we may be impatient for that kingdom to come, as Jesus himself is, but it’s not here yet. So, like Jesus, we have our work to do. Bringing little pieces of the kingdom here and there by showing love and compassion to others. By becoming more our true selves by giving that same faith, hope, and love to others. Piece by piece, act of love by act of love, we grow into the person we are meant to be and bring that kingdom closer for us and for others.
This is the Christian life. Become more than we were before. Helping others see the kingdom we place hope within. When we are out there beyond these walls, that’s the person we’re being called to be. Giving the world a glimpse of transformed and transfigured life. The kingdom that comes. What God is doing with the world. Making all things new. Amen.
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