The Bible v Facebook

 The Bible v Facebook

When war broke out in the Ukraine this week, I wanted to pray but prayer alone seemed so inadequate. Then the Spirit moved within me and I heard the ancient cry of Scripture. The words of Psalm 2 came to my heart and I cried out with the millions more of faith throughout time and place;

“Why are the nations in an uproar; *
why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
Why do the Kings of the earth rise up to warfare

against God’s People?
The Holy One whose throne is in heaven holds them in derision.
And now, you Kings, be wise; *
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Submit to God with fear, *
and with trembling bow before the Most High,
Lest God be angry and you perish, * 

For your time on earth is short and you will give and account for all that you have done.” 

I printed these words to my Facebook page thinking that the ancient words would help to express something deep within us all. But something in what I wrote was problematic.

Within moments my account was restricted. Apparently the words of Scripture give offense to one of Facebook’s algorithmic bots. I was astonished to think that the prayer of God’s people of faith down through the ages was met with rejection from this particular ubiquitous electronic medium.

Like many of you, I have been struggling with Facebook’s place in our culture of late and how it has occupied an outsized role in our national and international life. In fact I think Facebook has been used quite effectively to divide Americans and Europeans by a very clever and devious mind. The resulting weakness in the West gives the upper hand to anybody who may wish to launch a military campaign in Eastern Europe. 

It didn’t take long for me to finally draw the line. If my Facebook account can be restricted for quoting Scripture, then it has come time to delete my account and to declare a Solemn Fast for myself from Social Media.

What happened as a result of that action was a series of conversations with family and friends. And this I believe is what humankind needs more urgently than ever; the sacrament of human conversation. Whatever our point of view, let us at least find a way to speak to one another about it as if we were all children of the same God.

In today’s Scripture passages we do more than speak with one another. Moses and Jesus find themselves speaking directly with God. Imagine being in the Presence of the Living God!

When Moses held high converse in the Presence of the Holy One his face would shine and the people were afraid to come near him. So Moses put a veil over his face, until he went back again up the Mountain where the sacred conversation continued. Then he would remove the veil in the Presence and his face would shine yet again. 

Pay attention when you pray, something like that radiance begins to shine in your own heart and soul as you approach the Holy. Think about that for a moment or two…

In today’s Gospel the sacred conversation reaches a whole new level well beyond human understanding. Here the Disciples are confronted with Moses who represents our deliverance out of slavery and God’s gift of the Law. Elijah likewise appears representing the Prophets and God’s love of Justice especially on behalf of the poor. 

Jesus is there too and I can imagine what that might have been like. I’d be dumbstruck. And so they were for a while but Peter couldn’t help himself. “Let’s make three dwellings; one for you one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 

“Peter what are you talking about?” 

“I don’t know.”

How can anyone know what to say in the Presence of such an awesome experience of the Living Christ and his Transfiguration? How can anyone know what to say in the Presence of the Law and the Prophets and the Love of God made Flesh and Blood in Jesus?

You think you have something to say about that? Best you hold your tongue, listen and look.

Jesus is Transfigured. Moses and Elijah fade into the background and Jesus emerges from one Glory to another. His raiment is brighter than any fuller’s soap on earth could make. 

Moses at the Burning Bush asked God; “What is your Name”. Listen up and God will tell you.

Moses was summoned up to the Mountain of God and had nothing to say because God laid down the Law. 

After all it is God who asks the questions and we who give the answers. We learn that lesson time and again throughout history. No King or Queen, no Pharaoh, no dictator, no autocrat, no president on earth is god. Only God is God.

But Peter thought that somehow we could make three dwelling places; one for the Law, one for the Prophets and one for Jesus. But there is no way to put God in a box. God’s Glory shines in and trough and above and beyond anything our minds can fathom. Perhaps it is best for us to keep a holy silence in the Presence of the Living God.

But the Good News is not that God is beyond human knowing as Jesus reveals it. In fact it is all so simple. When Jesus died and rose again, the Love of God also came to life within each of us. As Jesus forgave us, so we forgive. As Jesus reconciled us to God, so we reconcile each to the other on earth. As Jesus stretched out his loving arms on the hard wood of the cross everyone comes within the reach of his saving embrace.

Which brings me back to the case of the Bible v Facebook. 

"Why are the nations in an uproar? 

Why do the kings of the earth imagine a vain thing. 

Do they not know that God is God?

We read in Scripture; “the fool has said in his heart; there is no God.” ~Psalm 14:1. 

Perhaps some algorithmic bot would take offense at that too. 

It is a tragic mistake for any King on earth to think there is no God.

Which is why I pray the prayer of Scripture. 

Today we all pray for those who suffer in the midst of warfare. For men, women and children whose homeland is under attack, and for refugees who have no home to go to.

May our hearts open to them as God’s heart opens to all humankind. 

In the Name of God the Most Holy Undivided and Everlasting Trinity. Amen.

Fr Paul

 

Below are the appointed readings for Transfiguration Sunday with words and sentences highlighted that speak to my heart. 

Transfiguration Sunday

The Collect:

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Exodus 34:29-35

Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he

had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Psalm 99

The Lord is King;

let the people tremble; *

he is enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth shake.

 

The Lord is great in Zion; *

he is high above all peoples.

Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; * he is the Holy One.

“O mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; *

you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”

Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God

and fall down before his footstool; * he is the Holy One.

Moses and Aaron among his priests,

and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *

they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.

He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *

they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.

“O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; *

you were a God who forgave them,

yet punished them for their evil deeds.”

Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God

and worship him upon his holy hill; *

for the Lord our God is the Holy One.

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.

Gospel: Luke 9:28-36

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

We're not in Boston anymore!

The Feast Day of the Transfiguration 2017

St. Peter’s Cathedral, Helena, Montana

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Boston anymore”

~Dorothy (a minor variation)

Last night Cindy and I were out shopping. We stopped to grab a bite at Shellie's Country Cafe. When we observed cowboy hats, boots and belt buckles, we looked at each other and said; “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Boston anymore”

Good morning folks and thank you for your wonderful welcome to Helena, Montana. Cindy and I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Bishop Brookhart, Sara Medley and the Cathedral Chapter, and to your wonderful Parish Administrator, Donna Gleaves. You have provided us with a very comfortable place to live in and a basket full of goodies to enjoy. Donna has prepared pages of agenda items for the interim dean to pay attention to as we begin this journey together. It sets my head to spinning as I contemplate; “Good Lord, where have I landed now!”

When we left Boston it was hazy, hot and humid. When we arrived in Helena, it was smokey, hot and dry. This folks, is a mighty Transfiguration! How appropriate that we begin our time together on the very day that Jesus was transfigured right before their very eyes, high up upon the holy mountain. We have what we call mountains in the Berkshires in my home state, but the Native Americans named the place Massachusetts: “Place of little hills”. Those hills are nothing like what we have around us here. How beautiful! I can hardly wait for the smoke to clear to see them in all their magnificent majesty. And as I say that, let us remember those who fight these wildfires. Several have lost their lives in the ongoing battle. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their courage and sacrifice, we owe them our prayers as they face the dangers of the work they do day in and day out. 

It was hot and dry in the desert places where Jesus and his disciples ministered. They focused their work around the sick, the poor and the outcast. They brought them the Good News of God’s love and their love. With courage and resolve they mightily ministered to their needs. 

Then the day came for them to climb the holy mountain. It was cold and windy up there if it was anything like the holy mountains we visited when we took a bus load of high school kids to the Holy Land. 

There was an encounter with the Holy, as so often happens when we are with Jesus. As they prayed there, suddenly Jesus was transfigured and his face shone like the sun, his clothing became a dazzling white. They spoke of his departure, interestingly enough, and as they did, Moses and Elijah appeared and the Glory of God radiated through them. 

Peter, dear Peter, our very own Peter didn’t know what to say. So he said the only thing he could come up with; “Lets make a couple of lean to’s of the sort you make in a mountain when you’re going to spend the night and lets stay a while. Let us dwell in this moment.” Imagine here is Jesus, the One with power over sin and death. Moses the one who brought us up out of slavery in Egypt and into freedom in the Promised Land and then gave us the Law. And Elijah the Prophet who did not shrink from confronting the Powers and Principalities of his time with the Word of God. Neither did Moses shrink from Pharaoh nor Jesus fall away from facing Pilate or the Temple authorities. 

Then as suddenly as they all appeared together, Moses and Elijah were gone and only Jesus remained before their eyes. They heard it plain as day; “This is my Beloved Son, listen to him now!”  

You will remember what Jesus said.  He spoke on the basis of what he did. After all in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus does say; "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who does the will of my Father in heaven." ~Matthew 7:21. You will remember the Sermon on the Mount. You will remember how he cured the sick, and those suffering from every form of mental illness, and how he went out of his way to visit the outcast and the lepers of his day. Not everyone was thrilled with this approach to human need. And Jesus paid dearly for his love for us all but he rose again from the dead and here he is now in our very midst this day in the power of his resurrection. 

Our church has undergone quite a transfiguration in recent years. We are seeking to understand anew what Paul meant when he said; “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” ~Galatians 3. The Gospel is not about Jew or Greek alone but about any race or ethnicity. It is not about slave or free alone but all economic classifications. Not even gender identity can factor into consideration about the love of Jesus when you think about it.  We are all one in Jesus. We have all put on Christ as a garment. 

Our own blessed Peter, the Rock upon which Jesus continues to build God’s Church, when speaking to the Gentiles, namely the “outsiders” the “foreigners” of his time, said in his glorious Easter Sermon; ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” ~Acts 10

Every one of you gathered here this morning shines with the same kind of Glory with which Jesus shines. I can see it in your faces. And I see no exceptions, even after these first 45 years in parish ministry 45, thanks be to God. 

Mind you there are characters in our midst. There are varieties of gifts, opinion, conviction, temperament, and every Dickensian peculiarity. After all, we are Episcopalians. But when we gather in this holy place and at this altar rail we bring who we are to God and to one another and somehow we gather rubbing shoulder to shoulder in the very midst of God’s Glory. The collect of the day proclaims that as Jesus is wonderfully transfigured so may we be “delivered from the disquietude of this world” and behold God in Glory. It is this very Glory which you show forth in your lives, it is your joy that will bring people to Jesus. Be radiant! Be joyful!

There is another Sunday in the church year when we observe the Transfiguration. I love the way the Collect for the Last Sunday after the Epiphany puts it; “O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory.”

We gather week by week delivered from the disquietude of the world we live in so that we may be transfigured from glory to glory. Bring yourselves and others to the Glory of God and the Joy of Jesus!

I hope you allow yourselves to live in this glory. From the moment I first entered this building, I could sense it; you know what I mean; that breathtaking sense of the holy. When Donna first showed me this place I was especially taken with the stained glass windows. Then come to find out, they were made by Charles J Connick in his studios in Boston. Aha! No wonder I feel so much at home here. As we bask in the beauty of this place may I invite you to allow yourselves to be transfigured from glory to glory especially in the inward places of your very souls.

Connick wrote of the beauty of our encounter with God in these words; “If churches are made radiant and beautiful places of worship, we can have a spiritual regeneration without anyone knowing what is going on. Beauty can preach as very few with bundles of words can preach. I want to make beautiful interiors for both churches and souls. I want folks to hear my windows singing.” 

What does God want of us and of this Cathedral as we seek a transfiguration of the human soul? My wife Cindy has a way of bringing me back to earth. Seems there are always bills to pay and stuff to do. You and I know that no matter how glorious the mountaintop moment may be, we always have to come back to reality. The fact of sin and wickedness and death is all around us. How shall we organize ourselves as a Cathedral to confront that sin and wickedness and death? It has been said of Mother Teresa that she was “something beautiful for God”. Her mission was anything but beautiful. She faced into the ugliness of death and loved them to the Gate of Heaven. Jesus came down from the mountain to face his crucifixion, followed then by his resurrection.

You are something beautiful for God especially when you organize your lives around the suffering of the people around you and when you have the courage to become agents of God’s Justice. No Toto, we’re not in Boston anymore. We're right here in Helena. May God grant that we may shine with the radiance of Christ’s Glory. And what is it that God requires of us but “to do Justice, to love Mercy, and to walk humbly with our God”. ~Micah 6:8. Stay tuned folks, next week we celebrate 150 years of mission and ministry in and from this place. God grant that what we do in our time together may guide us toward the next 150 years of worship and service.

In the Name of God, the most holy undivided and everlasting Trinity. Amen.

Fr Paul

"Glory be to God!"

The Feast Day of the Transfiguration 

The appearance of God was like a devouring fire on Sinai 

Jesus face shone like the sun, his clothes dazzling white.

A Voice said; “this is my Beloved Son, listen to him”

You rulers of the earth, be wise; be warned!

On the summit of Mount Washington and right here on Great Blue hill there are weather stations. The winds, the temperatures, the clouds, the views up there are all impressive up there. The climb, the rarified air, the exertion, the view, the very journey can change your life. To appreciate the experience, you had better dress appropriately. And you also better respect what can happen up on those mountains. There are many who have found that mountains can be dangerous places and can surprise them with uncompromising and unmerciful reality. Tuckerman Ravine, for instance, is notoriously risky for even for the well trained and experienced climber.

In Sacred History, the mountain has figured significantly in the experience of God's people. At Sinai, for instance, God spoke to Moses and said; “Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written.” 

I have been to the mountain of God. In fact a dear friend, Esber Tweel, an Episcopal priest of Arabic origin and I took a busload of high school kids on Pilgrimage to Jordan, Palestine and Israel twice. I’ve also taken kids on Pilgrimage to France and in this country to New York City, Washington, DC and to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

It was an amazing experience to walk in the footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land. Several times we made our way through the desert to Mount Sinai. It is also known in Scripture as Mount Horeb. I’ve seen what scholars believe is the “burning bush” because of the way it shimmers in the sunlight; it looks like it is on fire, and yet is not consumed. The location of this “burning bush” is at the foot of Mount Sinai at Saint Catherine’s Monastery, one of the oldest religious communities in Christendom. One wonders if that’s what Moses saw when God revealed his Holy Name to him, to us. "I AM", God told Moses. That is my Name. The God of ALL BEING where the very Name itself is so sacred that it must not be spoken out loud because all beings are sacred, all creation is sacred. It was in this sacred place that we encountered and remembered what happened there. The whole experience, I can assure you, transfigured us all, even a bunch of teenagers and their chaperones. I believe teenagers need such adventures. I call it the "Outward Bound" of our spiritual encounter with God. 

My son Michael rose early in the morning, somewhere before 3am and with the others they climbed the mountain. I was not so ambitious and stayed behind. The experience of that climb changed Michael that day. He told me that it was as if Moses himself walked with him along the way. These kinds of experiences happen on Pilgrimage. I remember celebrating the Eucharist on the Mount of the Beatitudes. That experience changed my life that day. 

Way up on that mountain God gave the Law to Moses written in stone. That Law, is now written not just in stone but in every human heart. You and I know what is right. We know what is wrong. Insofar as the Law transfigured the people of God in the wilderness, so too we; the Law transfigures us.

You know from your reading of Scripture that Ahab and Jezabel surrounded themselves with a priesthood that told them what they wanted to hear. This is often the case with politicians. Jezabel was a priestess of Baal as were the priests who surrounded her and Ahab. Baal was a nature god of Canaanite origin and reflected the common nature gods of the Ancient Near East. Baal was in charge of the weather, earthquake, fire and the whirlwinds, what we might call tornados. This reminds me of those who tell me that if they want to go to church they go for a walk in the woods or golf. Sounds too much like the Baals to me!

Elijah the prophet told Arab and Jezabel the truth; God is a God of history, a God of Justice especially for the poor and the alien among us. It was God who acted to bring the people up out of slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. Again and again, God has acted to bring people up out of the rod of oppression into a land of freedom. God still acts decisively in history. And to do so God needs a Moses or aMartin Luther King. God needs you!

We know that Elijah confronted Jezabel’s priests and revealed them for their falsehood. They came to an unpleasant end, we’re told. Jezabel pursued Elijah to kill him. Elijah fled in terror and fear for his life. Up on the mountain once more, he seeks the shade of a bush which withers and dies while Elijah likewise withers in spirit and asks God for death. God wants to know what the prophet is doing on the mountain when he is supposed to confront Ahab with his wrongdoing. Elijah was afraid for his life and well he might be. Jezabel was a fierce woman according to the biblical account.

Then in a most compelling encounter God reveals something of transfiguring power. A terrible wind passes, but God is not in the wind. A great earthquake shakes the mountain, but God is not in the earthquake. Then a fire passes before the mountain, but God is not in the fire. Then a "still small voice" or a "sheer silence", as the Hebrew might have it, comes to Elijah in his heart of hearts and asks, "What are you doing here, Elijah?” You see, God is not "in" any of the natural elements of wind, earthquake and fire. God is in your heart telling you what is right and wrong. God wants you to act in history to reveal God's love, compassion, and justice. Elijah then goes on to confront Ahab once more until he finally repents and returns to God. Jezabel however, not so well! 

In today’s Gospel the Law and the Prophets; represented by Moses and Elijah appear by the side with Jesus on the Holy Mountain. And then they were gone and only Jesus is left. We are told that Jesus face shone like the sun. This blinding encounter changed the lives of the disciples and left an indelible mark on their lives as they came to the realization that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets!

How does Jesus’ face shine into your life? We are told in the Gospel that a voice from heaven declares that Jesus is God’s Son; listen to him. What do you hear when Jesus speaks to you? When you read the Sermon on the Mountain of God as we have been throughout this Epiphany season; what do you hear Jesus say to you, to this church, to this nation?

What changes is God looking for in your life? In this church In  this community? In the nation? And in a world so much at conflict, at war and in terror in so many places. God is speaking clearly to each of us and all of us; "What are you doing here?" Hear it? That still small voice? That sheer silence in your heart of hearts?

“Why are the nations in an uproar” the Psalmist says. And then goes on to say; “and now, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Submit to the God with fear, and with trembling bow before him.”

As I look over the news in recent days I’m astounded that the attack on the freedom of the press by the current administration. The media always shines a critical light on politicians. That's just the way it is when you get into the public arena. In a democracy debate and disagreement goes with the territory. I could have much to say about this in the tradition of the Prophets, and will at the appropriate time.

But I believe that our more immediate task is to take a look at our life here at Trinity Church in Canton. Your vestry is meeting after church today to share some time together seeing what we can discern of God’s call to us over the next few months and years. What is God’s call? What is our mission? Who are we to be for one another and for the community in which we are set? How shall we make provision for the needs of this congregation and for those who do not yet belong? 

All in God’s good time. I look forward to this time together. We have much to learn about one another as we seek God’s will for us here.

The Guiding Star in all this is the One whom we encounter on the Holy Mountain. We know what he said. We know who he is. This is the one of whom the voice from heaven said; “This is my Beloved Son. Listen to him.” May God grant us grace to listen to that Sacred Voice here at Trinity.

In the Name of the God; the Most Holy, Undivided, and Everlasting Trinity. Amen.

Fr Paul.

Transfiguration and Trinity: Into the Silence of God

Transfiguration and Trinity: Into the Silence of God

Last week several folks asked me about the Trinity; one of “riper years” and another just budding in his youth. In both cases, it was more the third person of the Trinity that caused the doctrinal difficulty. Obviously, if we believe in God the Father, we believe in the One who is the creator of heaven and earth. Most of us get that.

No problem either with Jesus as Savior, although the fact that he was there with God at the creation is a bit of a stretch for some even though it says as much in Scripture. ~John 1:1,2.

But the business about the Holy Spirit; just who is that? and how do we experience the Spirit as the third person of the Trinity?

Please note that the word for the Holy Spirit in much of Eastern Christianity is "Sancta Sophia". She is the Holy Wisdom from God. I love that imagery. The great church built by Constantine in modern day Istanbul was named for her.

One thing about the word “doctrine” in Anglican/Episcopal theology may be helpful. When we speak of doctrine we are not speaking of a teaching in the didactic sense as if it is something that we merely pour into the believer’s head out of some kind of arbitrary authority.

Rather, we think of doctrine as a “signpost” for the journey. Doctrine is an invitation to consider the experience of God as something we encounter in life as a reality we seek to make sense of.

Elisha, for instance, encountered this amazing prophet Elijah. “Elijah” means literally God is my Yahweh, my very being. God is the Name as revealed to us on the Holy Mountain by Moses. That’s who my God is. Baal conversely is no god at all. In fact the is no other God other than Yahweh. That’s my God. That's what Elijah means. 

“Elisha”, means God is my salvation. Notice the closeness of the name for both prophets, as if Hebrew, by nuance sought to indicate that the two fellow travelers were of much the same spirit. Ah, there it is; the word “spirit”.

In fact, Elisha asks for a double measure of Elijah’s spirit. Alas, that was a difficult task. But then there was this experience of the chariots of Israel and the whirlwind, a very intense experience of a vortex of Godly spirit.

We know from a reading of Genesis, that the breath of God brooded over the waters at creation; ~Genesis 1:1,2. God saw the chaos, the void and the emptiness, and began the process of dividing the light from the darkness, the land from the sea, and then breathing the breath of God into humankind.

The Holy Spirit then has to do with the very act of breathing itself. Anyone who has ever suffered from asthma or pneumonia knows how much of the essence of life breathing is. 

Therefore all practitioners of meditation begin with the act of breathing to quieten the spirit. To listen to the silence. This is not easy for a noisy world. We don’t listen well, particularly to the silence. It is no wonder we, in this part of the 20th and 21st centuries have such difficulty with spirituality. We find it hard to listen, to be quiet “to be still and know that You are God” as the Psalmist says. ~Psalm 46:10

Without the ability to listen, it will be difficult to forgive.

Without the ability to listen, we test our ability to love.

Without the ability to listen, it is impossible to be reconciled.

Our inner conflict, our conflict with others, our political conflict, indeed, much of our warfare comes from the fact that our listening skills in our time are wanting in the extreme. To the contrary our language and our speaking to one another is often strident, rude and disrespectful. How can we learn anything from one another or from God unless we listen to one another’s hearts? 

Jesus came to us in this way; to teach us to listen to the Law and to the Prophets and to his way, his truth, and his life.

On the mountaintop Elijah and Moses appeared and were speaking to one another. What a conversation that must have been! Elijah representing the prophets, Moses representing the Law, and Jesus representing God made flesh and blood together. 

Peter, representing us; said “Let’s make some dwellings, “lean to’s” if you will” not knowing what to say. 

Lets face it, in the Presence of God, we don’t have much to say and need to have the sense to just be quiet. And my friends, we are always in the Presence of God. We don’t have anything to say. Thankfully the Church gives us an approach to the throne of grace in the Word of God and in the Eucharist. God has much to say, but the only way we can hear it, is to listen.

That is why the practitioners of Christians Spirituality begin with the Silence. We begin with the Spirit. We begin with the breath God breathed into us in the very first moments at the creation. 

We discover in our breath and more significantly, God’s breath within us, that we “live and move and have our being.” ~Acts 17:28 

Not only is my spirit and my breath my connection to God, it is also our connection to one another. It is our connection to the eternal. So then, as Moses removed his shoes from his feet at the burning bush, we must do the same with one another at least figuratively, for the ground we all stand on is holy ground.

What a difference it would make to the frantic, noisy, lives so many live, it would make a difference to our politics and our history as well.

Jesus came into the world not to condemn it but that it should be saved by knowing the way to the Father; through the person of Jesus who is the Incarnate Word of God; Love, Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Mercy, Obedience and so on.  God in the flesh and Blood of Jesus taught us the Way and The Truth and the Life. 

I am not saying that it is only through Jesus that there is salvation. I am saying that it is only through the kind of life Life he lived that salvation is even possible. There can be no salvation without Love and Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Obedience, Mercy and Kindness and so on. 

This way of life is a life of Joy and Wonder. So my friends we come to the Feast Day of the Transfiguration; the Last Sunday after the Epiphany. As Jesus was transfigured before their very eyes, so as the Collect of the Day puts it; “may we be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory”.

We begin with our breathing, our listening, and with the Silence of God. This Silence, this listening will most certainly bring us to the heart of God. 

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

Fr Paul