A Meditation on the Transfiguration---Sunday before the 40 days to Easter

 A Meditation on the Transfiguration---Sunday before the 40 days to Easter

  This week we are led up to a mountain , secluded, snowy ---  probably Mount Hermon with Jesus and His disciples to pray.  He had just spoken words of suffering and death ." Luke :23--- "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away."

  The Disciples had been called, and had seen the miracle of feeding the many people about 5, 000.  What was happening now on the Mountain?  He shows Himself to them, white and glistering .  His face was changed. They saw His glory.  

  We too have mountains in our lives where we stop and rest and pray.  It can be a place that we know, or a place we imagine in our homes.  We all need to stop, drop and pray and ask God, " What now?"  Pauses are needed.  Sometimes God gives us pauses when we get sick, and have to go to the hospital.  These times of suffering can be times of reflection as well in the middle and especially at the end of it.

  Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John. Moses and Elijah were there as well. They spoke of His Jesus' death coming in Jerusalem.  The message comes out of the cloud, "Luke 9:35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. 36And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. "

  Today as we meditate on this we soon too will celebrate His death on the Cross through receiving the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, Holy Communion.  It is spiritual food for us received by faith in Him.

  I entitled this message in the bulletin today, " Getting out of Dodge--the Transfiguration" .  The first Church I had as a solo pastor was in North Dakota.  The town was called Dodge, 100 miles west of the capital, Bismarck.  We left there to go into active duty service as a Chaplain .  We were young and curious about the future.  God called us out of Dodge, and we followed.  The Army was a good place to serve and talk to Soldiers and families as Chaplain and spouse.  

  I found that most of my time , although I had my own Service on Sunday, and in the field and trips ( deployments) to other countries as an Army unit, was spent in doing the things that the Soldiers did.  But it was great to be able to do that.  I found that listening to others was my main focus.  They asked for advice.

  I believe that we all have our Dodges to leave and places to follow Christ.  The place is not as important as the focus on what He is saying to us through the Scriptures. We worship on the Lord's Day, and ask Him, how we can best serve. Today as we receive the elements of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we should ask, how can I help ?   How can I serve?  What is He saying to us today?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.