Feb. 23.2020, Transfiguration of Our Lord

Matthew 17:1-9  (The Promise)

1 Six days later, three of them saw that glory. Jesus took Peter and the brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. 2 His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light. 3 Then they realized that Moses and Elijah were also there in deep conversation with him. 4 Peter broke in, "Master, this is a great moment! What would you think if I built three memorials here on the mountain - one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah?" 5 While he was going on like this, babbling, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice: "This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him." 6 When the disciples heard it, they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. 7 But Jesus came over and touched them. "Don't be afraid." 8 When they opened their eyes and looked around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus. 9 Coming down the mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. "Don't breathe a word of what you've seen. After the Son of Man is raised from the dead, you are free to talk.”

This was a ‘stop the clock’ experience.  An experience to be savored and consumed;
an experience to be lived in and not leave.  But the truth is, this cannot be.  We cannot stay on the mountain.  We have to come down into the real world, the valley.  (Jesus couldn’t either!  He came down to the cross!)

On the Mountain top we see what cannot be seen in the valley;  it is a high point of faith.
The temptation is to want to stay there - escape from life.
The challenge is to take it with us into the rest of life and let it make a difference in who we are.

We are to leave the mountain top with its experience hidden in our hearts and  live, listening to Jesus, letting our lives show that we have been transformed.



“We are to leave the mountain top
with its experience hidden in our hearts
and live,  letting our lives show what we
have seen.”





Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, take me to the mountain top and fill me with your love; then go with me into the valleys of life, making a difference where ever we go.”

Feb. 16, 2020 6th Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew 5:21-36  (The Promise)

21 "You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' 22 I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.
27 "You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' 28 But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices - they also corrupt. 29 "Let's not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here's what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. 30 And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.
33 "And don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. 34 You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, 'I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying, 'God be with you,' and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true.”


Jesus words from the Sermon on the Mount sound harsh and blunt.  Not the first words we turn to when we want a word of encouragement or hope.

Yet, they are words of encouragement and hope for they remind us that none of us can be moral enough or religious enough to make it on our own.  We all need God’s forgiving grace and we all need to live with grace in our words and deeds.  There is no righteousness which makes grace unnecessary!

None of us should think we have it made outside the grace of God which is inclusive beyond human understanding.  As the Psalmist says, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”  Ps. 103:8







“No one can make it without grace!”













Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, thank you for loving me enough to not give up on me.
Help me to trust in your grace and live as a grace-full person.”

February 9, 2020 Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew 5:13-16  (The Promise)

13 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

We can’t just talk it; we have to live it!  We have to be it!

And that takes a lot of doing.  A lot of faith in compassion as the heart of God and the moral compass which directs our living.

Jesus did not come to make us religious; Jesus came to make it possible for us to live with God in a meaningful, dynamic, life giving relationship of love.  And then to love as we have been loved!

We live under a new law - the law of love.
We are to be kind not just religious; compassionate not self-righteous; concerned about all, not just the chosen few.







“…a true Christian ought to be more interested
in making the life of the world gentle for others
than he( she) should be in asserting the dominance of his (her) own faith."
                     Jon Meacham








Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, may my life be lived so my faith makes a difference in someones life…someone I do not even know.  Help me to be kind to strangers in love for you.”

Feb 2, 2020 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Micah 6:8  (The Promise)

“But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
    what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
    be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
    take God seriously.”

Micah’s words are clear, concise, compelling; reminding us of the way of true religion.
To be religious is to be doing non religious things, more than religious things.
It is to be outside the church more than inside the church.

To walk humbly with God is to be strong enough to be weak;
         smart enough to be foolish;
         confident enough to not have to be right;
         secure enough to be sensitive to the insecurities of others,
         and honest enough to leave room for mistakes.

Humility is something which comes as we walk by grace through faith and trust not to our own religious goodness.

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, keep me humble so I can be YOUR servant in all my living…acting justly and loving mercy!’