Transfiguration Sunday
Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain where they were alone. He was transformed in front of them, and his clothes were amazingly bright, brighter than if they had been bleached white. Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking with Jesus. Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s make three shrines—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He said this because he didn’t know how to respond, for the three of them were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice spoke from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I dearly love. Listen to him!” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Human One had risen from the dead.
Mark 9:2-9 (CEB)
The story of Jesus’ transfiguration is packed with meaning and symbolism. It’s a passage that invites us to consider the events it describes through a number of different lenses.
We’re often invited to consider the perspectives of Peter, James, and John as they witness what must surely have seemed a supernatural occurrence. Or, more broadly, the metaphorical picture it paints of Israel and its relationship to YHWH.
Very rarely, though, do we contemplate how Jesus himself might have experienced this remarkable scene. Even if we take the story figuratively and not as a literal historical event, one has to wonder…did Jesus know what was going to happen when he took his friends to the mountaintop? Was he as terrified as they seemed to be when the patriarchs appeared and the voice of God came from the clouds?
Instead of just thinking about how the disciples and the early communities who first heard this story observed the Transfiguration, the deeper question might be not what it looked like, but what it felt like.
This week at New Wineskins we’ll celebrate Transfiguration Sunday by considering the implications of what it means to be transfigured…not just as individuals, but in the context of community. In doing so, we’ll begin a journey into spiritual practices that will take us through a Lenten season of exploring self-awareness (more on that below…).
We invite you to join us this Sunday, Feb. 11, in the New Wineskins Virtual Theology Pub powered by Zoom this Transfiguration Sunday with a conversation about the ways our spiritual practices transform not only ourselves but the communities we’re a part of…and, perhaps ulitmately, the world.
Our discussion video from The Work of the People invites us to consider the implications of transfiguration, to examine our own tendencies, and to live into a transfigured life.
Click here to view this week’s discussion video (email address required)
6:00pm ET: Happy Half-Hour (informal meet & greet time)
6:30pm ET: Presentation & conversation begin
Celebrate Black History Month!
February is Black History Month and we’re celebrating by highlighting the voices of Black faith leaders by sharing inspirational thoughts about antiracism and building better communities and a better future. Each week we’ll post a video from The Work of the People that invites us to think more deeply about racist systems and structures and how resistance can lead to redemption.
Click here to view this week’s Black History Month video (email address required)
Lenten Series: A Journey Into Self-Awareness
Many of us have experienced Lent as a season of repentance and self-sacrifice…of giving something up or letting something go.
But what if we saw it instead not as self-sacrifice, but self-awareness? What if we use these six weeks (plus Sundays) as an opportunity to know ourselves better and seek the kind of transformation that Divine Love invites us into?
This year for Lent, we’ll be exploring various spiritual practices designed to awaken us to who we are and what our place might be in the ongoing love project of transforming the world.
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