Jesus' Nature

"While Jesus was praying, his appearance changed, and his clothes became dazzling white." Luke's account of the transfiguration

We have each learned our own techniques for putting a veil over our face and diminishing the good that should come from our mountain top spiritual experiences. Are you ready for an inflection point in your spiritual adventure?

For: 
February 27, 2022
Luke 9:28-36
Epiphany 8
Transfiguration Sunday
…all the people were baptized …Jesus also had been baptized and was praying

People gathered each day to be baptized by John for the repentance of their sins and to prepare them for the Kingdom of God. And in this crowd of people just like us, Luke gives us Jesus.

For: 
January 9, 2022
Luke 3:15-22
Epiphany 1
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice

This Christmas learn to rejoice, not because things are going well, but because Jesus is near. He promises to be near as we face difficulty. He is also near in terms of his coming kingdom. 

For: 
December 12, 2021
Philippians 4:4-7
Isaiah 9:2
Advent 3
Remember those in Prison
But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.

How is Jesus like a refiner's fire or the fuller's wash-tub? In my own life Jesus appears as the refiner's fire when my problems and misdeeds have become too great for me to ignore. It is like what they say at AA, "I've come to believe that it will take a power greater than myself to restore me to sanity." That's when Malachi's Jesus becomes good news.

For: 
December 5, 2021
Malachi 3:1-4
Advent 2
"...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone." - Jesus

To be in a body is to be in a particular body. We have as much choice over these things as a seed does in where it falls to earth. Do you believe God has a plan for your life? It sure beats the alternative. Gods plan is that you die to your seedy, individualized self.

For: 
March 21, 2021
John 12:20-33
Lent 5
God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world... - John 3:17

This is a good time to speak about our need for healing and the compassionate love of Jesus. The current global pandemic could make us wonder if God is testing us. Did the coronavirus come into our world to test our faith?

For: 
March 14, 2021
John 3:14-21
Numbers 21:4-9
Lent 4
Jesus was transfigured before them... - Mark 9:2

Jesus has been doing things with his disciples. We read about his miracles. We try to make sense of what he taught. But Jesus knows what lies ahead. He is really at the mid-point of his mission. And at mid-points, it is good to pause, take stock, and reconnect with what matters for the journey. We tend to think that religion is about what we do; the songs that we sing, the offerings that we bring, and the words that the preacher says. Religion is really about the doorway, the emptiness, the wilderness, and the lonely mountaintop. 

For: 
February 14, 2021
Mark 9:2-9
Epiphany 8
Tranfiguration Sunday
And Jesus cured many who were sick with various diseases... Mark 1:34

Jesus charged nothing. We tend to say, “You get what you pay for.” That saying is nowhere in the Bible. It is a luxury to be able to pay more for something. Many people live on the edge of subsistence. We should be mindful of them as we line up for our vaccine or drive by the local food bank.

For: 
February 7, 2021
Mark 1:29-39
Epiphany 5

In the spiritual world there is no doubt, all are loved. In this world, however, we toil under constantly changing conditions. Sometimes we are accepted. Sometimes we are scorned. We learn in time to doubt ourselves.

For: 
March 1, 2020
Matthew 4:1-11
Lent 1
Jesus was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.

Consider the thinness of the barrier that separates earthly and heavenly things. When Jesus was transfigured, he stepped over that spiritual barrier in an instant. Then he stepped back.

For: 
February 23, 2020
Matthew 17:1-9
Epiphany 7
Transfiguration Sunday
"Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him." - Matthew 3:13

When Jesus enters into Jerusalem, he is baptized again. This time by his suffering on the cross. He descends into hell and sets loose those who were held captive. Then on Easter he exits by way of the resurrection. This is our road map.

For: 
January 12, 2020
Matthew 3:13-17
Epiphany 1
Baptism of our Lord
He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear... - Isaiah 11:3

It is possible for a roll of film to go a decade or two without being developed. During that time, the images are invisible. Any attempt to see what is on the film results in erasing the image. Only by carefully processing the film is the photographer’s art brought to light. Often things are hidden away until it is the right time for them to be revealed. A baby is hidden in womb until it is born...

For: 
December 8, 2019
Isaiah 11:1-10
Matthew 3:1-12
Advent 2
"Today salvation has come to this house" --for Jesus came to save the lost

Being short – as in having less money than you need at the moment – and being up a tree, are expressions we use for those awkward or dangerous moments when our own stupidity is about the be rewarded. What about you? Are there personal potholes that you fall into? Traits that work against your desire to be on top of life?

For: 
October 6, 2019
Luke 19:1-10
Pentecost 21
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Here is the story. God emptied himself and was born into our world. One Friday, God made himself weak and vulnerable. He was betrayed, put on trial, mocked, beaten, made to carry his cross throughout all the streets of Jerusalem, he stumbles three times under its weight (imagine that, God being weak), and then arriving at the place of the skull, he is nailed to this cross. It is dropped into a hole. He is made to hang between heaven and earth. In agony for three hours. Then he dies. God’s envoy to this planet dies. This is the story.

1 Corinthians 1:18, 2:1-2
Lent 1
Good Friday
Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.

A beautiful vase is made mostly of space. Without the emptiness inside it, a tennis ball won't bounce. We tend to think that religion is about what we do; the songs that we sing, the offerings that we bring, and the words that the preacher says. Religion is really about the meeting space, the doorway, the emptiness, the wilderness, and the mountaintop where people and God meet.

For: 
March 3, 2019
Luke 9:28-36
Transfiguration Sunday
Epiphany 8

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