"Dazzling"
a condensed version of the sermon delivered by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday, February 3, 2008 at Union Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Somonauk, Illinois.

PODCAST of "Dazzling"

Six Days later. It seems like we’ve had a couple of Bible readings over the last few weeks that started off with something like this. Does it make you wonder what happened before?

Here’s the very brief rundown of what happened before:

• Jesus had some run-ins with the Pharisees.
• A whole bunch of people were fed when all they started off with was a little bit of bread and fish
• Jesus (and Peter – for a bit) walked on water.
• Jesus made a rude comment to a woman and then healed her daughter.
• Peter called Jesus, "Messiah."
• Jesus called Peter, ‘Satan."
• Jesus warned the disciples that tough times were ahead.

And then, with three of them (the disciples) up on the mountain, some strange things happened. One of those strange things was that Jesus’ face glowed. (his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white)

Have you ever experienced ‘face glowing?’ Maybe not in the same way it’s described in this week’s Bible reading from Matthew 17:1-9, but in more common, yet wonderful situations.

• The glow of a child's face as they open a birthday present
• The glow of a student who is walking up the aisle to graduation
• The glow of a bride or groom on their wedding day
• The glow of a parent's face when they see their new baby for the first time
• The glow of a parent or teacher who sees their student accomplish something they have worked on for a long time

I think that when you see someone "glowing" -- it's not something that is frightening. It's wonderful and awe-inspiring.

How about the glow of a person who has experience Jesus' unconditional love -- God's extravagant welcome?
Is that one harder to see?

What if that person's face was physically shining?

Would you be startled? Would you feel uneasy? Would you freak out?

Imagine it -- "Hey Gloria, your face looks like it has a light bulb in it. What's going on? Are you going alien or something on me? Did you just get taken up in a spaceship? Or have you been hanging around the nuclear waste dumps? You are really glowing! I think you should see a doctor or something about it. And I think I want to move a little farther away from you."

Now what if you know you were physically in the presence of God's Glory -- like Jesus with his disciples on the mountain?

Would you fall on our face? Would you be overcome with fear?

Peter, James and John got to see Jesus’ face glow – being physically in the presence of God’s glory – and they had no idea what to do. Peter offered to set up tents for glowing Jesus and Moses and Elijah. (Did I remind you that two dead guys were there? This sounds like a drug-induced hallucination, doesn’t it?)

Maybe Peter was completely out of it due to what he saw. But maybe he was doing the best thing he could think of. Offer them hospitality. Offer them a place to worship (Tent= tabernacle=a place to worship.)

Peter saw something dazzling and responded, whether he was confused or not, by offering a place of welcome and worship.

Let me say that today, everyone here looks radiant. It must be because today we had the joy of coming to church. J No one has had any negative thoughts today and the glow in the congregation isn’t from any reactions to medicine or any anger or anything other than God’s presence, right?

Jesus glowed and it must’ve been a marvelous, frightening sight. From that point in the Bible story of Jesus he was changed – prepared as he got closer to the time of his crucifixion and resurrection. I don’t know exactly what that means – ‘Jesus was changed," but after the mountaintop experience, the cross wasn’t far off.

We’re not headed personally toward crucifixion and resurrection. But we are about to enter the season of Lent – where we prepare to celebrate Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. And in all seasons, we’re living our lives following the one who has been crucified and resurrected. So what does all this glowing stuff mean to us?

Well, I think that the times we experience "glowing" with pride or accomplishment or happiness . . . fades. We get back to our normal selves and we're not always happy. Sometimes we're downright cranky.

"Phil sure was glowing yesterday at the graduation -- today he's back to his normal, grumpy self"

The mountaintop experiences and the spiritual and emotional "highs" we experience are not everlasting things. The joy and the adrenaline rush fade -- sometimes very quickly. But the God’s glory never fades.

What I'm trying to say is this:

Our relationship with Jesus Christ -- our encounter with God's glory -- is not dependent on our emotional state. It is not always visible as a huge smile or a big hug. We are not the ones who are glorious.

God is glorious

We can bask in the light of God’s glory. We don’t have to be afraid that the light will fade. God's light does not fade with our mood. God's light never fades. So we know that when we are out in the world – the light that comes from God will still shine. – No matter our mood or our situation. God's light may not even look like someone "glowing" or like an "excessively happy" person. God's light is what it is -- and that is good.

Tomorrow I hope people who see any one of us will notice that God’s light is shining. I don’t know exactly how. Let's just trust that God can take care of the how part -- we just follow what God wants us to do.

The next day may be difficult for us to let God’s light shine – not that it can’t – but I wonder. When you go to vote, pay attention to how God’s light shines. If you’re voting in the Republican primary, show kindness for everyone around – Democrats and Republicans – Independents too! If you’re voting in the Democratic primary, show kindness for everyone around – Republicans and Democrats – Independents too! Maybe that little bit of kindness at a time where people get to declare how different they are will plant a seed of love in someone’s heart.

Then in a few weeks -- in a different situation with a different mood maybe someone who saw us before will see us again and they'll notice something that they have seen before. And then as they experience God's light again through us they may even say aloud, "That’s dazzling!"

Close with prayer.

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