| II Corinthians 4:3-6 "The Transfigured Church" |
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| Written by Rev. Denise Peckham | |
| Saturday, 25 February 2006 | |
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It was bed time, a number of years ago, and I was putting my youngest to bed; he was perhaps 5 years old. As customary, I turned on the small table lamp with its 25 watt bulb and tuned off the overhead light. I asked why he needed that light since he claimed not to be afraid of the dark. His answer, all these years later, still leaves me perplexed. It was not fear, but the feeling of being alone in the dark that necessitated the light. This morning’s readings, while about the glory of God and what that glory looks like in the Christ offers us a glimpse of the possibilities for our own lives as well. Listen now to the words from 2 Corinthians 4:3-6. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Most scholars believe that Paul actually wrote 2 Corinthians as a response to many of the complex problems that were surfacing in the new faith community. It is evident from this letter that trouble had emerged in the community due to an intruder who questioned Paul’s authority and integrity. This intruder had the power to cause chaos in a socially and ethnically diverse community unified by the message of the gospel previously preached by Paul. Ultimately Paul is compelled to once again visit Corinth for the purpose of confronting the troublemakers. There is so much pain associated with the fragmentation of this community that the letter has been called a letter of tears. Paul is a man who does not mince his words, though he is careful with what he says. In these few verses, Paul contends there are some who do not receive the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who are blinded by the things of this world so as not to be able to receive the gift of the knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. Their lives are dark, void of light, void of life. While they may be able to stir up the crowd, they are alone in their ignorance, content to pull others from the life-giving power of the gospel. And you know people like this, people who would rather bring others into their misery than allow them to live in abundance and freedom. Yet I am left wondering why some won’t hear, why the gospel will remain veiled or hidden from them. Could it be that some will choose to listen but not hear? Perhaps it will mean they will have to change. Perhaps they will have to perceive the world differently. Perhaps we are not so different all these many years later. Will we hear the Word proclaimed and come to know the glory of God in Jesus Christ or will we hear words that require no more than “life as usual?” And if we hear, what will be required of us? To respond to the proclaimed Word is a choice to live in the light. But living in the light is not something that just happens, it’s something one does. It is a conscious decision to say goodbye to what was and sacrifice the individualism that has defined what it means to be human in the 21st century. Living in the light means living in community. And not just any community, but the community of faith that has been called out to serve the world in any and all the places there is need. We, who were once not a people, but now are a people, have been given the unique privilege to bring those outside into the community called the body of Christ. Sometimes in the more intense moments in our lives we are keenly aware of what it is we are called to. We watch the news, read the paper, talk to the person in the grocery store that is counting pennies in the aisle to make sure they can buy the milk they need, and our soul groans. It is at moments like these that what we are called to do is brought face to face with what we are actually doing, and sometimes we don’t like what we see. It is often easier to ignore the injustice and oppression of others than to actually do something about it. In our humanity it is easier to feel pity, to “feel bad about that” than to actually engage the issue and not only meet the need, but seek the cause. While our five year plan calls for a focus on radical mission, I would offer to this congregation that we need to define radical mission as more than simply meeting a need. Radical mission is more than sending money to Metrocrest or stocking the food pantry, collecting back packs or going to Austin Street. Radical mission is finding the source of the need, the injustice and the oppression. It is personal involvement that risks everything you value for the sake of the other. It is a transfiguration of not only your inner spirit, but your outer being. It is evident not only to you or to those most intimately involved in your life, but to the community you are a part of. It is living to your fullest human potential in the midst of those who share a vision of the world as it could be – just, peaceful and loving. It is a united vision that transforms “the way it is” into the kin-dom of God. Kin-dom is a concept that comes out of the Hispanic church. It makes it clear that when the fullness of God becomes a day-to-day reality in the world at large, we will all be sisters and brothers--kin to each other. What does this concept require of us? What are we to think, feel, and do? A year ago I attended the Damascus Road Anti-Racism training with Rob Evans, the chair of the Advocates for Justice and Peace. While many in our society may believe that racism is a thing of the past, it still exists in an institutional level, and that the effects of racism are still felt in the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of people color. When talking about white privilege one white person in the group actually commented that African-Americans were better runners and basketball player than white people. I was both embarrassed and infuriated at the ignorance of that belief. What would I do if someone said that this was the best I could hope for one of my children? To work for the kin-dom of God, to work toward becoming a transfigured church, we must not only meet the need, but be educated and involved at the source. It must be a shared vision for the world as it could be. For disciples of Jesus, such as Peter, James, and John, what needed to happen after their experience of the transfiguration is what needs to happened to us, the church, today. We, like the disciples, need to hear God's call away from preoccupation with ourselves and our limited vision to focus on the glorious presence of the living God in the face and teaching of Jesus Christ; we must also recognize that glory in those who are marginalized and oppressed in our world today. We must not be so narrow as to define who we are simply by where we worship, because in all our responses to oppression and injustice we are worshipping. It is in our silence that we fail to worship the one true God. There will always be that naysayer who looks to the gospel and hears a fairytale, who would rather live in the loneliness of the dark than the community of the light. Being in the community of the light transforms not only what’s inside you, not only what’s inside the church, but the whole of society. In the forward to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s book of sermons, Strength to Love, Coretta Scott King wrote, "By reaching into and beyond ourselves and tapping the transcendent moral ethic of love, we shall overcome these evils. Love, truth, and the courage to do what is right should be our own guideposts on this lifelong journey... I do believe that one day our strength to love shall bring the Dream to fruition and the Beloved Community to earth." This is a word of living hope. This is the kin-dom of God. In December’s Damascus Road Newsletter editorial, the author Zulma Prieto asks, “Can I look at my daily life and question how by my mere presence I am empowering the status quo?” There is only one answer for the transfigured church. Will we choose to love mercy, do justice and walk humbly with God? Or will we choose to do church as usual? |
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