Glowing With God

Luke 9:28-36

 “Glowing With God”

26 February 2017 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel Singapore

            People going up a mountain and meeting God, or at least basking in the physical presence of God. The disciples saw Jesus filled with the glory of God for a few hours. A fantastic and amazing experience. One that we would all wish to have and remove all doubts from our minds about God and our belief. An experience that would forever change the direction of our lives. We would be so filled with God that we would know exactly what to do in every situation and an experience that would permanently mark us as one of God’s children because we would glow with God forever. I don’t think I’m going too far out on a limb in saying none of us have had this experience. In fact, if this were to happen, I’d probably wet my pants out of fear while I’m curled in the fetal position.

            So what does this story mean for those of us here today, those who know we will probably never experience something like this and won’t see God on this side of eternity? Well, we can start understanding what this story means by not getting wrapped up in a discussion about what God may look like or about what exactly the disciples saw on that mountain. Sometimes we look so hard for the literal meaning of passages that we fail to see the real reason wise people passed down these episodes over the millennia.

            Jesus invites Peter, James and John for some time away from the demands of ministry they are encountering on their nation wide sellout tour. Once they get up there, Jesus becomes so filled with God’s glory that he is transfigured from a human into a supernatural presence that the disciples aren’t so sure about. Seeing Elijah and Moses appear before them they calm down and want to stay there forever in such a warm and radiant presence. Then a cloud arrives and downright frightens them. They were probably ready to sprint headlong down the mountain until they hear God’s voice saying, “this is my son, my chosen; listen to him!” I still would have probably run without looking back, but they stayed and it made all the difference in the world.

            There are some elements to this story that we can use as guides in our walk with Christ. First, everyone spent time alone with God. Now, I’m not saying that we’re going to bask in the presence of God in the same way the disciples encountered. I personally have never met anyone who has experienced anything like this. But that doesn’t mean we can’t encounter God and God’s glory in our daily lives. We can spend time each day with God’s word. Reading the Bible provides a window into God’s intentions for our lives and allows us to engage in a conversation that has spanned millennia. As we enter that conversation we catch glimpses of God and how God works in, through, and in spite of us. Time spent with scripture opens our eyes to God working through the people we meet each and every day.

            Once we expect to meet God in our fellow travelers in this world, we begin to see God in the faces of people we meet in our “ordinary lives.” George Strait’s song “I Saw God Today” sums up how God is around us all the time if we just take the time to stop and look. Here are a few lines of the song. “I saw a flower growing in the middle of the sidewalk pushing up through the concrete like it was planted right there for me to see. I stood there for a minute takin' in the sky lost in that sunset a splash of amber melted in the shades of red.  I've been to church I've read the book I know He's here, but I don't look near as often as I should.  His fingerprints are everywhere.  I'd just slow down to stop and stare opened my eyes and man I swear I saw God today.”

If we let them, people can show us God in some amazing ways, especially the children among us. Despite their precocious nature, children (especially those that aren’t ours) are like God in that they make us be ourselves around them. They aren’t afraid to call people out for faking who they are or putting up walls. They tend to do that in a way that doesn’t embarrass us, but makes us better. They provide a wonderful corrective to the way the world shapes us over time. Children constantly look for the good in life and in people, something adults could really strive to mirror. For the most part, following an encounter with children we leave full of hope, joy and happiness glowing from the warmth of that encounter. We have felt the presence of God.

            When we encounter God in this way, that full feeling deep within us is radiated outward and people notice. Much like the way that Christ was radiating following an encounter with God, we are marked in a similar way. Once we know how to see God around us and finally start encountering God throughout our day, people take notice. They notice that radiance and want to know our secret. They want to be a part of something that touches us so deeply that it affects our appearance in such a manner. This allows us to share God’s presence with others as it truly radiates. When something radiates, it travels away from its source to something else that needs it. We can radiate that presence to a world that needs to see and feel hope, joy, love and peace.

            It is on this point that I think that Peter, James and John got it wrong. We can’t be afraid of standing out in this way. We can’t cover up the radiance of our encounter with God. If we cover it up we become selfish. Church then becomes a country club, a place where only those who are glowing with God are welcome. That doesn’t work. In fact, it goes against what Jesus told us to do in the Great Commission. We are commanded to spread the good news to the world, and we can’t do that if we hide from the world. We can’t help the world by hiding God’s presence and warmth. We do no good holding on to something we can easily replenish and replace. And we definitely don’t do anything for the world holed up in these walls. Church truly begins when we leave this building.

            Like these heroes of the faith, we have to come down from the mountain, however reluctantly. We are called into the world and into the valleys of life. That is the necessary part of the story. We are called to carry God’s presence from here, from our encounters with others and from our time with scripture to others who need to feel God’s presence in their lives. This is the hardest part of the whole deal. We desperately want to have an experience that allows us to avoid the pain and suffering of life. We don’t really want to get down in the valley of life. But, we don’t have much of a choice. Not only does God command us to go down from the mountain, it is where we live. Valleys drain us, so we need to get back up the mountain back to God’s presence to refill our tanks with God’s glory.

These stories illustrate the cycle of faith. Kind of like the circle of life taught to Simba in the Lion King. We find God and bask in God’s presence for as long as we need. We may not realize it, but we are aglow with that presence and the world notices and wants to share in it. But, they only get to see that radiance and we can only share it when we go down the mountain to where we are called to live. This will drain us and eventually that radiance dims and we need to get back up the mountain and back in God’s presence.

This is mirrored in the church’s liturgical calendar. The excitement and shouting from the mountain that Christ is born and the epiphany of Christ to the world. Then the excitement wanes a bit as we delve into ordinary time with our fellow travelers. All the while we are climbing back up a mountain towards today and Transfiguration Sunday. On Wednesday we quickly return to the deep valley of Lent for 40 days until we reach the twin peaks of Easter and Pentecost. Then we are back visiting ordinary time until we begin the slow climb of Advent to the peak of the Christ’s birth.

So if you are in the valley, you can get back up the mountain and spend time in God’s presence through study, working with others who radiate God, prayer, church, etc. We must remember that we have to come back down again. We live in the valley because that is where God calls us to live and where we can do the most good. But, the good news of Christ is that we are able to come out of the valley and get replenished and nourished with God’s presence so that while we are in the valley we can truly glow with God.

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Perceptions of Grace

Luke 7:36-50

“Perceptions of Grace”

19 February 2017 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel Singapore

            Growing up, if you asked me about how much leniency and grace was given to my younger brother I could regale you with tales of unfair treatment. He got later curfews. He was rarely if ever to blame in any argument or fight that we may have had with each other. Not only did I have a perception that he never was punished for his wrong actions, and I would tell you all the wrong things he did without punishment, it appeared to my young mind that he received far more grace than I would receive.

            I mean, why would this innocent face not get any leniency and grace in the face of parental judgement. Why would I always get the blame and the punishment whenever there was a split decision on whom was causing the frustration and trouble for our parents? In my mind, my little brother could evade the long arm of parental law with skill beyond my comprehension and well outside my understanding of justice and grace.

            Anyone else have a sibling to which they felt that way (or maybe you still do)? What about how you may feel regarding those in your workplace? Those you may see in the news and the acts for which they may or may not face justice?

            So, I’m not alone in my righteous indignation at how I can feel I’m getting the smallest slice in life’s pie of forgiveness and grace am I?

            It’s a weird quirk of human nature that we are always assuming that others are getting the good deal. Someone seems to receive a larger portion of the world’s finite good karma. And it always seems to us that the person receiving a large portion of grace, love, and forgiveness doesn’t deserve such a gift. Well, that isn’t just a modern problem. Nor is it a problem confined to Christianity.

            We see that not only is grace available for all but it is given freely because it is a renewable and unlimited resource. Grace is also given in proportion to the need. If I need a truckload of grace one day, Jesus is backing the dump truck into the loading bay. But, if I only need a small amount of grace the next day, Christ is giving me the spoonful of relief required. This story also shows us that the attention and care of God is available to us all regardless of how society, or we, view ourselves and others.

             The fact that everyone is eligible for unlimited grace and attention from God can be quite difficult to comprehend and digest. In our day to day lives, most of us long for and know we need the lavish grace offered this nameless woman. Yet, like Simon the Pharisee, we mentally judge the amount of grace others should receive.

            What Jesus says is logically sound. But we don’t usually like that logic. Maybe that is our free market training and upbringing speaking. Maybe it’s just our human sense of fairness that we should all be given gifts equally and evenly regardless of our circumstances and need so that we all have a level playing field. But is there really an even playing field in anything surrounding our lives.

            Everyone’s circumstances are different. Just look around at the stories in this room. We all came from different places growing up. Different circumstances, countries, and cultures. Some of us, like my younger brother needed a bit more grace from our parents. Some didn’t need much grace to make it through life. What is important is that Christ offers the grace we need.

            Sometimes we walk away from the grace offered us because we don’t think we need grace. And when we are of the mind we don’t need grace we don’t show much thanks when it is offered. Mostly because we can’t see just how beautiful a gift is being offered us. When we realize the precious, life-changing quality of the smallest amount of grace, we bend down and wash feet to acknowledge just how unworthy we are to receive such a priceless gift.

            We are at times both Simon and the woman. Occasionally we recognize grace and forgiveness not only for what it is, but also for how precious and priceless such a gift truly is. However, we more frequently don’t sense the value of grace and forgiveness because it comes quietly into our homes and we fail not just to honor and give thanks for its presence in our lives, we fail to acknowledge grace and forgiveness when it is standing right in front of us, its eyes sorrowfully looking into our soul for just a flicker of recognition.

            We should strive to be a church full of people like this woman; people who recognize even the smallest portion of grace and forgiveness as the life-giving and soul-altering gift it is. A congregation where we point out grace in the lives of others so that they don’t miss out on what is right before them. Our concern shouldn’t be so much on the fact that a sinner is in our midst, for we are all sinful, but rather that grace is there for the taking, as much as we need. And when grace is received we should celebrate and give thanks for what God has done not just in our lives but the lives of others.

            A congregation like that serves two purposes. First, we become more honest with our own walk and where we can improve. This will also allow us to encourage each other to seek out, recognize, and give thanks for the grace that we individually and collectively need and desire. It will prevent us from looking at the distribution of love and grace less like how I viewed the “unfair” benefits for my younger brother. We’ll more likely realize we receive the same amount of grace as everyone else, measured not by some scientific scale but a one unit measurement called needed grace that we all receive from Christ.

            Secondly, a congregation that treats grace and forgiveness as an unlimited resource freely given to all provides a place for the woman in this story to go. Christ tells her to go in peace, but to where? Jesus’ words and actions changed her soul, gave her back her confidence and life. But, it didn’t change her social circumstances, nor did it stop the whispers about how she became labeled a sinner.

            If we are truly a congregation that accepts grace and forgiveness for all, then we must first accept that we are all in the same situation as the brave woman in this story. We needed a large measure of grace, received it, and are now supposed to go in peace along a renewed and changed life. This gathering of people we participate in each week has to transcend the division society will try to impose.

God’s grace and love erases the line between the godly and the sinner because we realize those two words are one and the same. For this reason, the church must welcome everyone because this is the place for forgiven sinners. We are all both sinful and forgiven, at times needing more grace and forgiveness than we may care to admit. When we approach the world from a posture of acknowledging our own need for grace and forgiveness rather than looking at the sin of the other then we will truly become a hospital for sinners rather than a museum for saints. And that is a place where forgiven sinners like us not only want to go, but one in which we thrive and see the Kingdom of God at work. 

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