Jesus is Introduced to the Disciples

           I am captivated by the story of the Transfiguration.  When Rosie and I were in the Holy Land on a visit, we spent some of our time in Galilee.  As a part of that tour, we visited Mount Tabor, the supposed site of the Transfiguration.  We got to the top of the mountain and heard a group of German tourists singing in the temple that has been built there.  There was a mist covering the whole of the place and it was easy to picture Jesus with Peter, James and John praying there.  It was the first time, I think, that Peter saw Jesus for who he claimed to be and heard the voice of God proclaiming Jesus to be his Son.  Peter lays this out in his second letter which we heard as our Epistle this morning.  It was absolute proof to him of what he had already suspected. 

            The powerful thing about this story is that these three disciples were really the only ones who had access to this kind of proof: the voice of God declaring the identity of Jesus.  Jesus told them not to tell anyone about it until he rose from the dead. Others could have watched him do his healing, his incredible preaching and thought that there was something beyond mortality about Jesus, but Peter, James and John had heard the voice of God tell them without a doubt.

            It wasn’t important to Jesus that everyone know that he was the Son of God. He wasn’t an egotist.  Jesus was in our lives to show us the presence of God.  He did this with compassion and care.  When he found someone in need, he took care of them. He offered in his Sermon on the Mount some ways for humanity to deal with the law.  Love your enemies is the best of these, but unlike the Pharisees his focus was never on who was keeping the law and who wasn’t.  What Jesus looked for as he walked through the villages and the towns and saw the crowds was always human need.  His apostles went with him, watched him and learned a great deal about what God’s presence means in this world.  After Jesus crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, they set out to continue that God-given ministry in the world.  You and I are the inheritors of that ministry.  It is our job to continue to offer compassion, forgiveness and mercy to the people whom we encounter in this world without asking them if they have done anything at all to obey the rules.  That is why we don’t have any rules at Atonement about who can receive the sacrament and who can’t.  Simply come to the altar, hold out your hand and I will give you the bread.  Then take the chalice to your lips to receive the wine, or dip the wafer in the chalice if you prefer.  The point is that you receive the sacrament offered by God, not that you have to earn it.

            I have met many people who have not kept the rules and have found themselves outcast because of the things that they have done.  What I have always hoped for them is that they can find their way back by receiving compassion, forgiveness and some level of understanding.  When that happens, it is a great victory for the presence of God in this world.

            We live in a fascinating society where people are blamed for their religion, for the color of their skin or for their ancestry.  We have some great agencies who try to reform our culture to accept all of us, no matter what religion, color or ancestry that we have.  I admire Amnesty International for the work that they do to free people who are unjustly held against their will.  I admire the NAACP for the work that they have done for decades to improve the lives of the African American population in this country and I love the way that religious leaders have helped us to understand the differences that we have in the ways that we worship our God and how our various prejudices have created pain in many lives.  But sometimes our religious leaders don’t help at all and are part of the problem.  The ones who promote their own denomination over all others or accuse Muslims of terrible crimes and encourage our prejudice are not helpful and keep the problem growing.  Jesus loved the people whom he met.  He encouraged understanding and told us how important it is to love one another. 

            I am appalled at the religious bigotry that seems to be abroad in this land.  The bombing of Muslim mosques and the killing of a whole African American bible study group in Charleston, South Carolina by a demented white nationalist who believed that people of color  were somehow inferior to him and needed to be eliminated.  There has been a trashing of Jewish cemeteries in St. Louis and in a blessed way a Muslim group has stepped up to pay for the damage.  They have done a wonderful thing. The point is that our Lord taught us to care for each other.  He accepted everyone who came to him, and sometimes they taught him.  I love the story of the Canaanite woman with the sick child who was outside of the Jewish faith and who came to Jesus asking for help with her child.  Jesus told her that it wasn’t right to give to the dogs the bread that was for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  She replied to him that even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from the table.  Jesus was struck by this woman’s powerful faith and he healed her child and learned something in the process that God’s incredible love was for the whole of humanity, not just the people of Israel. 

            Our continuing mission is to take that ministry to everyone who is in need and to make sure that they are included in the warmth of God’s love and mercy.   We can do that by paying attention to who we see in this world as we go through our lives.  Provide whatever help that you can and God’s powerful presence will be seen in the world.