Encountering the Holy

The Last Sunday in Epiphany
Year B

Readings: 2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9

This morning in Scripture we hear stories of encounters with God. They are encounters full of vivid imagery that can help us to understand how we come face to face with God and the difference it can make in our lives.

The first is the story of Elijah being taken up into Heaven. His journey begins in Gilgal in the hill country. Elijah invites his protégé, Elisha, to go no further. It is a test. Elisha passes. He will not leave Elijah to make the journey alone. They arrive at the Jordan River. Elijah strikes the water. It parts, allowing the two of them to cross over away from the rest of the company of prophets. Elijah asks the younger Elisha what he can pass on to him.

“A double share of your spirit,” Elisha tells him. It is not that he thinks he needs twice as much of the gifts and talents of Elijah to do the job. It is that he wants affirmation. As the eldest son in a Jewish family inherited the double portion of his father’s estate, so Elisha wants a double share of Elijah’s spirituality. He knows that Elijah’s spiritual strength is what has carried Israel through difficult times.

“If you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not,” he is told. He sees the departure. It is a dramatic vision in which he sees Elijah being taken into Heaven in a chariot of fire drawn by horses of fire. It is for him a powerful glimpse of God’s presence. It is a wonderful affirmation that God is with him. He knows that the mantle has passed on to him. He knows that God has great things in store for his life. It is a moment of transformation for him, one that he can carry with him throughout his prophetic ministry.

The second story is the account of the transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain. So many things happen on the mountain, mountaintop experiences that affirm that God is with us. There on the mountaintop, Jesus is transfigured, changed. He appears before them in dazzling white, a sign of God’s presence. When they see Jesus transfigured, brighter than the brightest star, pure light before them, they see more than his future and risen life. Jesus shows them who they are becoming. He shows them the glory and destiny of all of humanity.

It is a watershed moment in their lives and ours. Once again we hear the voice from Heaven, “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.” It takes us back to the moment of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan. God is present in the cloud. Jesus is revealed to be the very Child of God.

The vision ends as quickly as it began, like a bursting bubble. The disciples are quickly transported back to the valley. It is in the valley that they are called to serve lovingly and faithfully. It is in the difficult arenas of the world that their ministry will unfold. But they will carry their mountaintop experience with them. Later when they look back on what has happened it will help them to face the difficult days, days of loss and confusion.

Hopefully those two epiphanies remind us of such encounters in our own lives. Such moments can be unpredictable, fast moving, noisy, or so fleeting and gentle that we almost miss them. Yet they are encounters with God that carry us through the difficult times of life. They affirm that God is with us.

When have you encountered God? More importantly, how did it change you? We all have those encounters in our lives, times when the boundaries between Heaven and earth disappear and we see the infinite goodness of God. It is that which allows us to see the possibilities in our own existence. Those encounters allow us to make changes in our lives, to begin to put God first, to answer God’s call.

Who has not been transformed by the beauty of a particular sunset even though there are hundreds of sunsets that they never noticed? Who has not responded to the smell of an April rain, or the quiet of an early morning, or the glitter of the stars on a wintry night?

Grace comes into our lives in other unexpected ways. Our relationships with other people can be transformative experiences that transcend the barriers between us and God. There are times of disclosure when we allow others to really see who we are. It is usually during some moment of crisis when life hangs in the balance.

Those are the moments that most clearly shape our lives. Without such moments others would never really come to know who we are. We would never really come to know them. And we would miss out on great insights into the nature and essence of the God we worship.

As humans, we are called to heights, to greatness, to moments when our souls take flight. To moments which illuminate our lives and help us to know who we are meant to be. They bring us to the place where we can truly understand who we are and the glory to which God has called us. They are the times that we can hold onto when our faith is rocky and our path uncertain. They are times of transfiguration and great joy.

Reluctant though we may be, being in the presence of God changes us. It changes us unmistakably and forever. A genuine encounter with God leaves us with a desire to act, to make a change in our lives. It may stem from awareness that God has plans for us. God may give us words to speak, or an action plan to follow. Or we may have been called on to make a change in our life.

Let us use this coming season of Lent wisely as a time of spiritual renewal and transformation in our lives. Begin by coming to the service on Wednesday. Let the ashes remind you of your need to allow God’s grace to transform your life. Then each day in Lent let yourself remember those times when you have been most aware of God’s grace.

May God’s divine illumination shining on us allow us to see the glory that is God!