{"id":4415,"date":"2025-03-02T20:57:30","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T20:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2025\/03\/02\/catching-glimpses-based-on-exodus-3429-35-and\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T17:54:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T21:54:41","slug":"catching-glimpses-based-on-exodus-3429-35-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2025\/03\/02\/catching-glimpses-based-on-exodus-3429-35-and\/","title":{"rendered":"Catching Glimpses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cCatching Glimpses\u201d based on Exodus 34:29-35 and Luke 9:28-36<\/a><\/h1>\n

The story of the Transfiguration is intentionally placed on this Sunday, the final Sunday before we start the season of Lent so that it can foreshadow the Easter narrative. Jesus is seen \u201cin his glory\u201d and Peter, James, and John get to see and hear his connection to God\u2019s-own-self. He became bright and shiny, like lightening even, reminiscent of how Moses looked after he\u2019d been talking to God.<\/p>\n

Because, the texts seem to say, God is bright and shiny, so amazing and beyond-this-world that those in close contact with the Divine are changed so they don\u2019t appear to be exactly from this world either. Holiness appears in them, and it changes how they\u2019re seen.<\/p>\n

In the story of Moses, the people are disconcerted by this shining, and he ends up having to wear a veil most of the time so they\u2019re less terrified. In the story of Jesus, Peter is more delighted than freaked out, but then again maybe not because delighted people aren\u2019t as apt to put their feet in their mouth as freaked out people are.<\/p>\n

In any case, the culmination of the Transfiguration is God saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him,\u201d yet another affirmation of the connection between God and Jesus.<\/p>\n

There is a tendency to think of Moses and Jesus as special, some versions of official Christian doctrine focus heavily on the \u201cuniqueness\u201d of Jesus. I\u2019ve always wondered about that. Clearly the life of Jesus and his teachings have had profound impact on the world and on my own life. That said, I\u2019ve always thought of Jesus as consistent with the other messengers of the Divine \u2013 that all those sharing God\u2019s love, God\u2019s grace, God\u2019s mercy, God\u2019s compassion, God\u2019s dreams for peace and justice are \u2026 well, on the same page, or at the very least in the same book ;).<\/p>\n

Clearly Moses and Jesus were both profound messengers for the Divine, ones from whom major religions developed. But, just as clearly, there is wisdom in each person and in each part of creation that can also speak to the wondrous love of God.<\/p>\n

Or, to put it in the words of the poetic anna blaedel, \u201cAll around me I see love swirling, too. Ferocious love. Liberating love. Love that leaves no one alone, and no one behind. Love that refuses siloing, and zero-sum-games of divide and conquer. Love that risks it all. Love that fights to stay open-hearted, tender, soft, here. Love that fights, to be with and for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

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CC0 licensed photo by Pawel Madeja from the WordPress Photo Directory: https:\/\/wordpress.org\/photos\/photo\/148645e33f\/<\/a><\/p>\n

There is holiness all around us. Sometimes it is easy to find when sunlight illuminates the veins on a green leaf. Sometimes one finds it standing by a river or stream and watching water flow. Sometimes one finds it seeing two people hug each other. Sometimes in watching someone walk down the street bopping to music. Most often, I see God\u2019s shiny, astounding love in the human beings I take the time to get to know. Because, heavens, people are extraordinary- creative and thoughtful, resilient and funny, loving and compassionate. Maybe not all people all the time, but most people much of the time.<\/p>\n

OK, fine, I can hear you all thinking it. There are exceptions, yes. Some of them seem very visible right now. But I think when people attempt to snuff out the love of God within it unusually because of a deep hurt within. But go with me on most people most of the time, and ignore the exceptions for now, can you?<\/p>\n

These days when I think of the transfiguration, it is less about the specialness of Jesus and more about the ways that reality snuck into the mundane. I think God\u2019s shiny love exists EVERYWHERE and in EVERYONE, even if some people try to smother it in themselves. And if we were able to see with people as they really are, they\u2019d shine like lightening too. So, too, would all of creation. Once piece of grace is the capacity to catch a glimpse of the holiness that is everywhere all around us, and every glimpse we get is a gift.<\/p>\n

The story says God was visible in Moses and Jesus, but let me assure you, God is visible in you too.<\/p>\n

And, because the world says otherwise, let me be very clear:<\/p>\n

God is visible in you, beloveds who are trans and nonbinary.<\/p>\n

God is visible in you, beloveds who are women and femmes.<\/p>\n

God is visible in you, beloveds with beautiful shades of brown skin.<\/p>\n

God is visible in you, beloveds who have immigrated, migrated, or become refugees.<\/p>\n

God is visible in you, beloveds who are living in poverty.<\/p>\n

God is visible in you, beloveds who are incarcerated.<\/p>\n

God is visible in you, beloveds who are unhoused.<\/p>\n

God is visible in you, beloveds who work in or for government.<\/p>\n

God is visible in you, beloveds who are scared and overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

God is visible in you, beloveds of God.<\/p>\n

And in everyone else too.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s holy wonder is with us all, and everywhere in the world. May we be blessed with the grace-filled capacity to notice. Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cCatching Glimpses\u201d based on Exodus 34:29-35 and Luke 9:28-36 The story of the Transfiguration is intentionally placed on this Sunday, … Continue reading Catching Glimpses<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[34,38,28,39,33,1265,1360,56,442],"class_list":["post-4415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-first-umc-schenectady","tag-glitter-sunday","tag-schenectady","tag-transfiguration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4415"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4641,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4415\/revisions\/4641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}