Seeing the World the Way God Loves the World Preached on March 3rd, 2019 At Wollaston Congregational Church Scripture: Luke 9:28-43a It’s been a rough week in our corner of the world. Yet again, our attention has been drawn to the pervasive nature of human trafficking. This came to light through the charges of solicitation leveled against a popular celebrity. It also seems that the political administrations in this nation, as well as the United Kingdom, are in disarray. And our siblings in Christ, the United Methodist Church, voted to tear their denomination apart rather than welcome LGBTQ individuals to the church and ministry. In their General Conference, UMC delegates voted to pursue the “Traditional” plan which reaffirms the denomination’s prohibitions against same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy. From our vantage point, the world is not looking too lovable. Add to that the stream of local news: stories of anger and violence, drug deals in our communities, robberies and animal abuse. And the world is looking even less lovable. This Sunday we stand on the threshold of Lent, but still in Epiphany, the stunning season of light and revelation. The three disciples closest to Jesus experience light and revelation is on the mountain. What is their view down from that mountain, over the mountain’s base and out into the world? When we look out from the mountain what do we see? Is it a world in need of healing? Some years ago, I traveled with my family to South Africa for a very special vacation. I was celebrating a significant anniversary with my husband, and we had decided not to delay going to Africa any longer. We wanted to visit my younger cousin who had lived there for many years, and also to take in the experiences unique to that part of the world. Our first stop was Capetown, close to the southern most tip of the continent. We arrived during South Africa’s fall season and Capetown was characteristically windy and brilliantly sunny. On our first day we decided to stretch our legs and hike the nearby Table Mountain. Before we reached the summit the path changed from a hiking trail to more of a climbing trail and so I decided that was enough for me. My family went on and I found a rock on which to perch and take in the scenery. The view was spectacular, taking in all of Capetown: both the city and the bay. I basked for a while in the peaceful sounds of nature, the birds that flitted back and forth to the sparse bushes. And the sound of the town below drifted up to greet me. As well as my panoramic view, I could see details of the life going on at the foot of the mountain. I could hear church and playground bells, and take in the sights and sounds of children running and playing in their neat little uniforms. I could also take in the blue bay, and the harbor in the distance, and glimpse the infamous Robben Island out in the ocean. I enjoyed a spiritual time reflecting on the beauty of it all, and my good fortune – being on this amazing journey. That was just the beginning of course. The next day we took a ferry out of the harbor to visit windswept Robben Island. This is the place where anti-apartheid activists were imprisoned during the time of apartheid. We saw Nelson Mandela’s tiny cell and felt the chill of the place. A former political prisoner shared with us his horrific experiences of the prison. We viewed the quarry in which the prisoners were forced to break up limestone rocks, and learned that Mandela’s eyes and lungs were permanently damaged by the brilliant sun and the dust of the rocks. During the week, as we were walking around, sometimes children would stop and ask us for money for food, or offer to “watch” our car in exchange for a few rand. We always took up the offer. As we traveled we noticed the still vast wealth gap between white and black South Africans. The world does not look so lovable, when we are up-close and personal. It’s hard to love the world, when we drive by rundown strip malls, and notice those massage parlors, that are not about health and healing at all. It’s hard to love the world in the places where violence seems to rule, and those who should find a welcome do not. It’s hard to get engaged in the political process when those in power disappoint us. Sometimes it’s too hard to love, and all we can do is to turn a blind eye. Perhaps this is why we need a transfiguration experience on the mountain, to see the world the way that God loves the world. And, perhaps, that is why Jesus chose to take those first disciples: James, John and Peter, up the mountain that day. Maybe it was a hard hike. Or maybe the three disciples were exhausted from the teaching, healing and the casting out of demons they had been doing over the past months. Or perhaps they were simply weary from the needs of the world and their own inability to meet those needs. By the time they reached the mountain top and they began to pray, the disciples were falling asleep. Perhaps that is why they missed Jesus stepping a few paces away from them. Perhaps that is why the whole event seemed to take place in a dreamlike mist. And yet, they most definitely glimpsed the holiness embodied in Jesus, his face glowing and his clothes shining like lightning. They witnessed his mysterious meeting with the “greats” of the Jewish story: Moses and Elijah. Then a great cloud descended shrouded them all on the mountain top and they heard the mighty voice of God, blessing Jesus for the hard days ahead. God’s voice reminded them “this is my Son, the chosen one” and telling them to “listen to him.” Once the voice had spoken, the cloud lifted and they were alone again with Jesus. They were left with only the view, from the mountain top, over the surrounding land. Perhaps, at that distance, they could see the world the way God loves the world. They could understand why God would send God’s only dear Son for the sake of that world. They could return to the base, to the crowds, with a vision of that love. The next day, when they had come down from the mountain, they come across a chaotic scene. The crowds have not gone away. A man emerges from the huddle with his young son who is tormented by terrible seizures. He is understood to be possessed by a demon. The boy’s father cries out “teacher I beg you, look at my son, he is my only child.” The disciples who stayed behind have tried to heal him, but they have been unsuccessful. Only Jesus can heal the boy, which he does. James, John and Peter have seen Jesus heal many times before. Yet now they have a new perspective. On the mountain they heard God’s voice, and they heard God claim Jesus, once again as God’s own Son. Now they see the world as Jesus loves it. They see the child as Jesus sees him, beloved of his father and beloved of the Father in heaven. They see that God, in Jesus, loves the world up close and personal. Each child suffering from sickness. Each terrified trafficked young woman, held hostage in a sleazy massage parlor. Each young person, forced to choose between the church where they thought they belonged, and a life true to their God-given orientation and identity. The disciples have gone to the mountain top, they have seen Jesus transfigured, they have heard the voice of God claiming Jesus as God’s own Son. And they have seen the world as God loves the world, as Jesus loves the world. That love does not stop at the mountain top vista. In the weeks ahead they will learn about the extent of that up close and personal love. That love will take the Son all the way to the cross. And so we are left with the question: how do we see the world as God loves the world in every day life? It’s unlikely I’ll be going back to Table Mountain very soon. And even if I did, I doubt I’d be able to take you all with me. Still, there are ways even the ones of us who have no desire to go up any mountains may be able to see the way God loves the world. This past week, I attended my monthly meeting for supervision, a group of ministers and chaplains of various faiths. One member of the group had no childcare that afternoon, and so she had brought along her 9 month old baby boy. I laughed to watch the little one, clapping and waving from across the conference table. His secure and healthy attachment to his mom gave me another vision of the way God loves the world. And in the midst my social media stream there are little videos and photographs of Carrie and Katie’s delightful twins and Jenn’s beloved foster babies. I see LGBTQ colleagues resplendent in their robes and stoles, leading worship, preaching the word. Last week we admired Linda’s grandson, Silas, here for a visit on his first birthday showing off his walking skills. Another vision of the way God loves the world. We pause from daily life each week to come to worship, to sing the hymns, take in the lovely music provided for us by Jing and JiaRong, and lift up our prayers. We meditate on the stories of God so in love with the world, the only Son is sent to be with us, up close and personal. And, for that moment of transfiguration, from that beautiful view, we can see the world as God loves the world. Amen
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