Epiphany VII+B February 15, 2015 The Rev. Robert R.M. Bagwell+
Have any of you seen the movie ADave@?
In the movie ADave@, a man who looks very much like the
President, is hired as a double. Later
when the President has a heart attack
and lapses into a coma, he is persuaded to remain in his role with the
possibility that the President might recover.
Only one problem, he could not
hide his true self. Bits and pieces of ADave@
manifested themselves over and over. The
country excitedly thought a bout with death had brought them a new more
delightfully human president.
Because of his secret identity, APresident
Dave@ was able
to do great good and bring reform. This
theme is an old one from AThe
Prince and the Pauper@,
to ASister Act@. When each of these characters is revealed for
who they really are, people say AAh,
ha!@
It all makes sense now.
Epiphanies are about
"enlightenment", "revelation", and LIGHT. We began this season with the light of a star
after the light of angels. This is the final "epiphany". It is a
vision of the ultimate reality that God will finally accomplish in Christ
Jesus. It point out that God is here and
is doing something in our midst. Elijah
is taken up into glory, Paul writes in one of my favorite verses, published
also on my web page, of the glory God has placed inside the heart of the
Christian. Scripture repetitively
associates light with God. From Genesis
one where he said: let there be light", through repeated manifestations of
light in the plagues against the Pharaoh in Egypt, the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of
fire by night in the flight out of Egypt and the seven branch candle stand in
the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle. Scripture also notes our fear of the
darkness. Darkness is associated with
ignorance, falsehood, human evil and fear.
We humans often fear the dark.
Satan blinds with his lies and deceit. Light is associated with joy,
happiness, peace and safety, as well as understanding and clarity. Darkness
does not have substance. The Psalmist
tells us that God's Word is a lamp for our feet and a light upon our paths.
(119:105) Then later John writing in his
epistles says: "This is the message we have heard from him
and declare to you: God is light; in him there is
no darkness at all." (I Jn 1:5)
The story of Jesus begins and ends in light. The glory of angels, the Epiphany star and
Jesus being caught up into the Light of the Father. But this light is not exclusive to Jesus. This light he shares with us. As we just read
this morning: " For God, who said, “Let light shine
out of darkness,”[a] made his light
shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory
displayed in the face of Christ." (2 Cor 4) We have become in Jesus
Christ, creatures of Light, not human light, but God's Light. God, the Holy Spirit fills us with God's
Light., God's glory IN US. We walk
around as little Tabernacles of Light. Life-giving Light.
Have you ever wondered why some
are so antagonistic to God or even nonchalant? Paul gives us some insight. He
tells us that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to
prevent them from seeing the Light of the gospel and the glory of Christ. Our
world is replete with false Gods. Lucifer is called the God of this world, but
all the distractions that people find to fill up the God-void in them are as
well. The contention of the Christian faith has been one that it is not
God who must be foundCman=s
search for GodCbut that
God is eagerly, earnestly seeking human beings to bring humanity to HimselfCGod=s
search for humankind. One of the Old Testament writers cries out: ACan a man by searching find God@? The resounding answer of scripture to
this question is no! Yet
St. Augustine said nearly 2000 years ago that there is a God shaped void in
every human soul that can only be at peace in Him. There then is
something in everyone that instinctively has a consciousness that God is there
whether they believe it or not. Who then
can know God? The person that is open to Him, open to his self revealing, who
will see God=s
daily actions in the world around us. That is why and how God uses us to bring
our light into the lives of others that through us, God may bring his glory
into their lives. Perhaps this is why Jesus
took these threeCPeter,
James, and John to see His transfiguration. I believe that God only reveals to
us as much as we are ready, willing and able to receive. Yet without God=s
manifestation to us, we may doubt that He is really there. God appointed different means to reveal
Himself in history
The Law was part of God=s plan in a process of revelation and
salvation. St. Paul said, Athe
Law was God=s
schoolteacher to bring us to Christ@. Even as now, this church, this service we
attend, the programs we run, the newsletters we print, the sermons preached and
the hymns sung all are designed to point us and bring us to Christ. The gospel today is the event that coined
the phrase "a mountain top experience." So Moses is with Jesus in the
manifestation on the Mount in today=s
readingCHe who
represents one of the two marks of God=s
authenticity upon the people the Law. It would be as if George Washington or
Abraham Lincoln showed up from the dead. They say something fundamental about
who we are as a people. LaterCGod
sent prophetsCmessengers
reminders to the people of God=s
love and concern for them. Prophets had
one primary message. AReturn,
return, returnCto God' Elijah was the greatest of these. Humanity
seems to have a case of chronic, spiritual amnesia when it comes to God and
spiritual things. Prophets were an
authoritative voice for God and the people knew it, reminding them of God. What they said tended to happenCusually right awayCbut sometimes in the prophetic futureCespecially with Messiah and the
teachings of God=s future
kingdom. Commentators speculate that this epiphany was to prepare the disciples
for the events of the crucifixion soon to come.
This event was an epiphanyCA manifestation of GodCa uniting of heaven and earth in a
momentCa
revelation of JesusC From
this moment on the disciples would never mistake Jesus to be an ordinary manCHis veil had been lifted if only for a
moment. Jesus was God=s
SonCGod revealed! The voice of the Father spoke and
affirmed it! Sometimes we may doubt that God is present in our lives. Often this happens when times of hardship are
upon us. When Abad
things happen to good people.@ When did doubt afflicted the prophet ElijahCAfter a harrowing confrontation with
JezebelCthe evil
Queen. He despairingly looked for God:
first in a strong wind, an earthquake,
and a fireCall
dramaticCthen a
still small voiceCand God
was only in the still small voice. It is
such a danger in our driven society, all the noise, all the busyness, all of
the schedules, to lose God because we don=t
look for him, see him or hear him. Other
things are in the way. Is that not
darkness? Think for a moment: where is God present in my world? If we are not looking for God to act in the
still small voices, kindnesses, love and generosity of others, why should we
expect him to act at other times and in other ways? "Church is not where
we worship. Church is who we are.
As we approach LentCLet us give God the opportunity to
manifest Himself in usCto
us!! Lent is a time for us to be
transfigured. We may take on voluntary
disciplines to draw us closer to God. God wants to reveal himself to us and to
unbelievers just to say: AI
am here and I love you.@ God has spoken. Have we heard him? Or have we let other gods: in our driven society, all the noise, all
the busyness, all of the schedules, separate us from the one who wants to bear
us up and build us up. Have we made time
and space for God? Do we gather here in
this temple to that end?
If our human fleshly veils were
lifted this morning and who we really are was revealedCwhat
would be seen? Undoubtedly some things
we would not mind others seeing and some that we wouldCGod
has spared us thatCbut Lent
will give us the opportunity to be transformed so that our own transfiguring
will find in us the character of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is within us. Bishop Philips Brooks
said that AChrist is
the perfect man,@ and then
reiterated that this means that as far as we personally fall short of Christ,
we fall short of being fully human. It
is in our best moments, not in our worst, Brooks says, that we are most
genuinely ourselves. Let us pray that,
this Lent he may be revealed in us and that our truest selves, most reflective
of the new person in Christ who desires to live more fully in and through us
may be seen. This year as we
prepare to have a Holy and Spiritually
deepening Lent, may we find a greater
healing as we are transfigured in the glory of Jesus.
In closing, Paul wrote these
words about the gospel to the Church at Colossi: " I have become
its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in
its fullness— 26 the mystery that has
been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s
people. 27 To them God has chosen to
make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossian 1: 7-14)
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