Creating God, awaken us to your glory all around us ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Though I’ve been the priest here for nearly nine years, there are some things that you might not know about me. For example, in college, I played the cymbals in the Wake Forest Marching Band; or, I’m a certified kettlebell instructor. A few of you know this about me, and my daughters certainly know it – I hate glitter. I refer to glitter as Satan’s dandruff and think that it might be one of the worst inventions in all of human history. Glitter gets everywhere and there is no such thing as getting all of it cleaned up once one of those little bottles of chaos has been opened. People who truly know me know that I abhor glitter.
I bring this up for two reasons. One is that we had a fantastic Vacation Bible School this past week with over 30 children from St. Luke’s and the Salisbury community participating. We also were blessed to have many volunteers who made it a great week. And I have a sneaking suspicion that, at some point in the week, glitter may have been used in an art project. If you were at VBS and you know anything about glitter being used, don’t tell me about it. The other reason why I’m thinking about glitter is because today, August 6, is the Feast of the Transfiguration. And just as glitter is a horrendous and despicable art supply, glitter is also a flawed way to think about what happened to Jesus on that mountaintop.
“Transfiguration” is the fancy church-word for the story we heard from Luke – about Peter, James, and John seeing Jesus in dazzlingly white clothing alongside Moses and Elijah. It’s an important and well-known Bible story and if you would like a visual to go along with the words, be sure to spend a moment in front of the icon of the Transfiguration on the back wall of the church.
It’s an interesting story, about Jesus shining brightly next to Moses and Elijah and having the voice of God the Father saying “Listen to him.” But what is it all about? Why is it such an important story that all four of the Gospels include it and St. Peter writes about it in one of his letters? Well, thinking about Jesus being shiny like glitter is all wrong.
The story isn’t about showing us how special Jesus is – even though Jesus is very special. Why anyone would ever use glitter, I don’t understand. But I suppose that it has something to do with people wanting things to be reflective and shiny. Essentially, glitter is a bunch of tiny colored mirrors – it reflects the light that shines on it and makes it sparkle. But that’s the opposite of what the Transfiguration is about. This is not a story about Jesus reflecting light and being a human flashlight. No, the Transfiguration is about translucence more than it is reflection.
In school, we learn about opaque things – that means no light comes through at all. Sort of like this pulpit. It’s opaque, you can’t see my legs through it. And then there are transparent objects – those are things like glass or air. You can see right through something transparent. Nothing is hidden. And neither of these makes sense when it comes to who God is. Because of Jesus, God is not opaque. In Jesus, we have seen and known God. But God is not transparent either, as there is always a depth and mystery to God that we can never fully comprehend.
Instead, we can say that God is translucent – meaning that we can know God, but not fully and not completely. It’s sort of like if you’re hiding under the blankets in bed or wearing a mask at Halloween, you can still see, but not completely clearly. Sometimes when we are frustrated, confused, hurt, or sad, it can be harder to see God through the veil of our situation. But there are other times when the veil between us and God is super thin and very translucent. And that’s what the Transfiguration is a story about – a translucent moment. Again, it’s nothing like glitter which just takes light and bounces it back. The Transfiguration isn’t about Jesus being glittery and shiny. It is about Jesus being translucent so that we can see more deeply into God’s love for us.
And so, as a looking-glass moment, the Transfiguration lets us see some really important things about God. This story helps us to see that there are possibilities we might not know about, there are things that God is doing that we cannot always see, there are connections that God is creating even when we don’t know it. This story is sort of like a telescope or a magnifying glass – it helps us to see things that we cannot see on our own. In special moments of translucence, we are given the confidence that we are forgiven, even if we still feel guilty. We can trust that we are loved and cherished, even if we don’t feel it. We can believe that we are worthy of dignity and respect, even when other people don’t treat us that way. We can have a reason to hope even when things don’t look good. In the limitless love of God, new possibilities are being created. We live in a world that is transfigured by the love of God that is making all things well. And in holy and translucent moments, that love shines through.
And at VBS this week, we talked about how God is always creating new possibilities in love. There were lessons about creating the Kingdom of Heaven, about creating beauty in art and story, and about creating beloved community through courage, generosity, and kindness. One of the most well-known Church leaders in our lifetime was the South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He wrote, “If we could recognize our common humanity, that we belong together, that our destinies are bound up with one other, that we can only be free together… a transfiguration would take place. God’s dream would become a reality.”
In talking about and practicing courage, kindness, generosity, and beauty, the children at VBS were creating a transfigured and translucent space to see the love of God. And I’m so thankful that so many of these children and their families are with us today. In a world and society that is so full of drama, anxiety, and strife, we all need to have a place of beloved community where the things that are most important, things like mercy, generosity, justice, and compassion are made translucent. We need a place and a community that gathers us together across difference and unites us with a love that is big enough to hold us all. We need to continue to hear the story of God’s love for us and receive Sacraments of grace that nourish us in this life.
St. Luke’s is a place that is open to all – regardless of what doubts you carry, what reservations you have about religion, no matter your past, no matter your politics, no matter your situation – all are welcome here because all of us are God’s beloved. You know what, even if you like glitter, you are welcome here. And, truth be told, we need you here. This is a wonderful and amazing community, but we haven’t achieved perfection. You have lessons to teach us, gifts to offer, stories to share, wounds to be healed, and love to grow in. If you don’t have a church home or if you feel the Spirit nudging you be a part of a community of faith, this might be the mountain that God has brought you to so that you can receive a transfiguring experience of love. As we say in our identity statement, this is a beloved community, a place of translucence, for all to come and see the difference that Christ makes. We heard in the reading that St. Peter said on that mountain top “It is good for us to be here.” Indeed, it is good to gather in the name of the God who is love.
