ABC Feast of The
Holy Cross Day
Introduction
When I was a kid, my mom told me she could always tell when I was lying because it was written all over my face. That's a serious condemnation—you can't lie or even deceive—two really great things for a kid to be able to do. And yet, we see from Exodus that Moses' face revealed his conversations with God: “Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” From Luke, we read that not only was Jesus' face changed but his clothes were dazzling white: “And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.” The simple truth is, when we experience dramatic events, we are ever changed. Perhaps we don't dazzle, but something about us visibly changes, for ourselves and for those who are close to us.
The event that changes us does not have to be something positive like being with God (for Moses and Jesus). For many the event that changing us is devastating—as the death of a child, a hard medical discovery, and other things. For most of us, there is a general feeling that if we can just get through the hard part, everything will return to normal; it will not. The event (positive or negative) has forever changed us (makes our faces shine?); it colors how we see everything, how we approach everything, how everything impacts us. It behooves us to embrace that we are forever changed (our faces are shining!) and look to our future.
Comments welcome.
From sermon4kids.com: “You and I have many wonderful experiences in our daily walk with Jesus. Others should see that we have the love of Jesus in our heart by seeing his reflection our bright shining faces!” Now sing, “Good morning to you / good morning to you / we’re all in our places / with bright shiny faces / good morning to you."
Scripture: September 14, 2023, Feast of the Holy Cross Day, Years ABC—Isaiah 45:21-25 (image); Philippians 2:5-11 (image) or Galatians 6:14-18 (image); Psalm 98 or 98:1-4 (image); and John 12:31-36a (image). Illuminating the scripture, an image and audio journey. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-viewimage.pl?SID=20230818802048495&code=act&RC=55664&Row=&code=act&return=act
Collect: Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world to himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Reflection: Look at Luke 9:35: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” Where have you heard words like these before in the Gospels? (Hint: see Luke 3:22.) Where have you heard words like these in your own life? When have you had a strong sense of being chosen, claimed, and called by God? How have you responded?
excerpted from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 1 (c) 2012 Westminster John Knox Press
Eye Candy:
"The Transformation", many sources from around the world
Ear Worm:
music from "Martin Guerre", Broadway musical;
"Christ upon the mountain peak" from Grace Cathedral;
"You are holy, you are whole" by Per Harling (lyrics)
Brain Food:
"Glows in the dark", by Stan Duncan, "How can you preach about Jesus who glows in the dark?";
poem and images by Jan Richardson;
Parables:
"Changing Lanes" (2002), two men in conflict;
"Widow of St. Pierre" (2000), couple remains steadfast;
"The Return of Martin Guerre" (1982), about man taking a new identity when returning from war;
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" (2023, PG-13), "I don't know where we're going, but it sure as he** ain't 1939!", Pew review
Hymn Notes: Read about Per Harling, author of "You are holy, you are whole" (referenced above).
"Per Harling is a Swedish priest , writer and composer . Harling has, above all, worked centrally in the Church of Sweden with worship development during various periods. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was the host of a series of TV programs and gave weekend sermons on radio from 1999–2001. He has also edited, among other things, the songbook "The whole world sings" with Christian songs. He was secretary 1986–1988 in the working group that produced Psalms in the 90s and wrote an addition to the 1986 hymnbook . He is also the author of several books, i.a. to "A moment in the air - Lina Sandell and her songs" (Libris, 2003) and "Our beloved hymns" (Libris 2007). His company Ton-Vis Produktion AB was started in 1994.
Harling is represented with his songs and hymns in numerous hymnals and songbooks around the world, such as in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Taiwan, Russia and others. countries.
During the years 2007–2012, Harling worked as a vicar in the Church of Sweden in Switzerland, based in Lausanne."
From Wikipedia
For families: Study guide and activities, (former guide), group activity, snacks, kid video
For children: See family guide/activities (other activity); bulletin, craft
For middlers: See family guide/activities (other activity); bulletin, craft
Coloring: Matthew 13, Transfiguration
For youth: Your dear friend asks you and 2 others to go with him to the top of the mountain (which you do). When you get there, your dear friend is greeted by two celebrities that you knew had already died. Before you can ask any questions, a voice comes from the heavens to declare that your dear friend is the voice's son. Are you the one who says, "Let's erect three tents—one for you (the dear friend) and each of the two celebrities"? or is that one of the friends who went with you? To cap this "event", your dear friend says, "Let's not tell anybody else about this." In my mind, there are a jumble of thoughts! How about you? Share them if you're willing.
Comments welcome.
Transfiguration
Sermon by Doug Graul in 2017
If you were to ask me if there was one passage of scripture where my understanding of it has changed the most, it would be the Transfiguration that we read today as our Gospel reading. There was a time when I saw this passage like this: Jesus knew that he was going to Jerusalem and knew that it would not end well. He also knew that this would be confusing to his followers, so he allowed them to see him as he truly is so that when they saw him crucified they would have the strength to go on until they could see him again as he truly is.
This would also be relevant to us because in our high holy moments Jesus gives us the strength to make it through this difficult world. That way when we are mired in the difficulties of our lives, we can remember that wonderful moment so that we have the strength to make it to another one of those mountain tops. I remember as a teenager having conversations with people talking about leaving youth retreats and returning to what we called “the real world.” When we would talk about the difficulty of going home we would find comfort in knowing that we could come back to this place apart.
Where my opinion changed was when I realized that Jesus’ Transfiguration and my mountain top experiences also happened in the real world. Jesus took his followers to a place apart from the concerns of their world but they did not leave the world. They didn’t have to worry about crowds or food or any of the things that prevented them from focusing on completely him, but they were still in this world. Without the distractions, they could see him clearly, in conversation with Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets. They could clearly see that he is God’s plan to renew and complete his creation. They could see that God was working right there bringing divine love.
Jesus’ disciples needed to see him clearly because he knew that when he went to Jerusalem that it would not be as easy to see. The arrest, the trial and the execution had the potential to cloud the image. But Jesus was the same on the mountain top as he was on the cross, because they were both part of the same world. It took the resurrection and the Holy Spirit at Pentecost for them to really get it and to become the church, but suddenly they could see Jesus working everywhere. They could see him fulfilling God’s promises and bringing about the renewed creation. Once they saw what Jesus was about they joined in and a chain of events began that has reached across even to us.
We need this same vision if we are to be the people that God calls us to be. I have spent many years helping develop youth retreats and once I made this shift I started thinking about how to promote an environment where Christ is obviously present. It became important to me that these events would be true communities where people felt loved and accepted for who they are. I wanted them to be a place so fulfilling that participants would ask, “Why can’t I have this feeling in other places as well?” And perhaps most importantly I wanted them to experience God’s present so fully that they would have the equivalent of Moses’ shining face when they when home, except it was for sharing, not hiding.
When we gather for worship we have that same opportunity. Everything we do here is intended to communicate God’s love to us so that it becomes our desire. When we meet as a diverse group of people at the rail and hear the unmistakable words that the gift of Body and Blood is for us, don’t we want to start seeing and experiencing and spreading that feeling in other places as well? Our Sunday worship is not supposed to prepare us to make it through the coming week; It is to prepare us to be a part of the transformation of the coming week.
Like Jesus’ followers on that mountain peak, we are given the opportunity to see him with true clarity. It is a gift to us. It is a gift for the world. Jesus is not only on mountain peaks, he is not only in our high holy moments. He is also in our low places and our less than holy moments. In every place, he is saying “Love like I have loved you” and is calling us to spread his kingdom wherever we go. So when you see him here, you will be ready to see him everywhere.
© 2017 Doug Graul