The Lens of Faith
By Rev. Daniel Smith
February 14, 2010
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Lessons: Luke 9: 28-36
Today is the last Sunday of the season of Epiphany, a season in which Christians celebrate the manifestation or revelation of God through Jesus Christ. We began the season with readings of Wise Men following stars in the sky and bringing news of the light of Christ back to the world. Later we heard the story of Jesus’ own baptism, the spirit descending upon him through like a dove and declaring him a beloved child of God. Today, we read the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration on the mountaintop, with his face and clothing shining out God’s glory in bright and dazzling array. With this so-called miracle comes a resounding echo of what the Spirit said to Jesus at his baptism. This is God’s child, beloved. The Spirit goes on, inviting and even commanding Jesus’ followers to “listen to him!” So….Listen up, everyone, and that goes especially for you, Kai, Ren and Tabitha! Having been baptized yourselves just today, perhaps something like this shining transfiguration is in store for you too, and for the rest of us.
In the Protestant Christian tradition we have two sacraments– everybody say that word – Sacrament! We have Baptism. Say Baptism! Baptism! And, we have Communion. Say Communion. Communion. And now that you are all warmed up I’d like to make this exercise a little more difficult. How many of you can say with me that formal definition of sacrament you may have learned way back when? Sacraments are, say it with me if you can, an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace! Nice!
So I ask you now, in the sacrament we just preformed, did you see it? Did you see the Spirit show up? Could you see the grace? My guess is you could have been staring through a pair of astronomy-strength binoculars and you still wouldn’t have actually seen the Spirit. What we could see were signs. We could see water. We could see little babies with that water dripping down their heads. We could see the beaming faces of their parents. And, if you think about it, we could see that at this moment of their baptism, more than most any other, that Kai and Ren and Tabitha are not merely just children of Emi and Peik, or Kelly and Evan, but they are children of God. They are lambs of a great flock. They are our new little sisters and brothers in faith. Could you see that? Could you feel that? I hope so. I want you to hold this vision.
Our text for today is incredibly rich and mysterious one about which a whole lot of things can be and have been said. We could talk about what Moses and Elijah are doing up there on the mountain with Jesus, we could talk about the symbolism of the dwellings or tents. We could talk about why Jesus needed to go away to the mountain to pray. We could talk what happens after the mountaintop experience, when Jesus and his disciples need to return to the real world where clouds of despair and veils of ignorance and apathy all but put out the light that shines in Jesus. For today though, I’d like to focus our eyes on just one thing: the transfigured, dazzling Jesus.
Consider if you will that as Jesus ascends the mountaintop the veil of his human flesh grows thinner and thinner and his divine potential starts shining through like a piece of paper that starts burning from the middle. Imagine that as Jesus, or for that matter Moses, gets closer to a face to face encounter with God, all that would prevent him from achieving that true potential melts away. And finally, imagine that this story about a bright and dazzling Christ is a story about God’s revealing for us what God sees all the time when God looks at Jesus! Taken in this way, what may be so miraculous about this story, is not what the disciples see on the mountain, this bright shining star of a man who lived his life in divine beauty, love and justice, but what they don’t see in Jesus the rest of the time. This Jesus on the mountaintop was not some aberration but a depiction of the true nature of Jesus.
Now take a big leap with me, step up on this mountain if you will, imagine that this bright and shining potential and glory is what God sees in all God’s beloved children, all the time! From baptism to transfiguration, not only for Jesus, but for all of us! What we just saw, as Kai, Ren and Tabitha were touched by the Spirit, and they became more than just cute little babies was what God sees in them all the time. Perhaps what’s hardest to believe then about the story of the Transfiguration and story of our lives is how often we as Christians lose sight of each other as shining stars of God’s creation, as beloved children we are each called to be by virtue of being born into this life and reborn into a new, shared life in Christ.
One might say that what happened on that mountaintop, what happened at Jesus first baptism, was a sacrament in the truest sense of the term. It was an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace! I’d even go so far as to say that this is precisely the reason why we have sacraments in the first place -- to remind us of who we really are, of our own true nature. When we come to the font, when we come to the communion table, we come forward as human beings, as equals with all of suffering and broken humanity, and yet we also come forward by name, called as brothers and sisters of faith, called beloved, uniquely gifted and individually blessed by God.
Sacraments more than anything else that the church does give us a collective lens of faith through which we can see the visible and invisible world as God sees it. When I talk to folks who are new to Christianity or those who don’t understand what it means to have faith in God through a particular religious tradition, I suggest to them that its kind of like wearing a pair glasses. Without glasses, I can still see okay. I can make out faces and shapes and see what exists before my eyes. With glasses though, things look different. They look clearer, if not closer. Faith and religious tradition is like looking through a particular kind of lens. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Taoists may relate to this analogy too, albeit with different prescriptions, from me. Regardless, when we look through the lenses of our Christian faith, we see not only the earth and sky, we see God’s creation and a glorious firmament. When I read the story of the Transfiguration through these glasses, I see not only a fantastical metaphor or allegory, but I see powerful truths that have implications for the way I’m called to live my life. Through the lenses of faith, we can see people not only as men and women, but as brothers and sisters, angels and saints. When the lenses are really clear, we can see everyone as a child of God. We see enemies as people that we’re not called to hate or kill, but as brothers and sisters that we’re called to pray for and love. I could go on like this all day long. The point is that faith is a way of seeing. Faith is what allows us to transform our sight of the world as it is into a vision of the world as it could be, the world as God intends it to be, filled with love, instead of filled with pain! When we put on these lenses, we sense an incredible gift, freely given by God’s grace. It is a gift of faith that allows us to see the world more brightly, more meaningfully, more painfully, and more beautifully than we otherwise could. Sacraments, whether the capital S Sacraments of baptism and communion, or the small s sacraments of daily living, help us to make the ordinary become extraordinary. In short, they help us to see the world through God’s eyes.
The anthem we will soon hear, by our staff composer Patty VanNess, may be just such a small s sacrament. In fact, it’s called “In Oculis Dei,” which means “In God’s Eyes.” “In God’s eye, I stand unbowed full of grace and dignity.” Imagine not only being seen by God’s eyes yourself, but seeing others through God’s eyes. There’s that shining potential that’s within us all, that burning radiance coming through, inviting us each to stand tall and to claim our status as beloved children, as deeply dignified sisters and brothers of faith!
Think about it, we don’t need a baptism every week to imagine what it would be like to see each other “In Oculis Dei,” with the eyes of God. My eyes are hurting already just thinking of looking out at all of you, and seeing your true light. We need something like a lens of faith, and or a reminder like this text’s injunction to listen up, so that we can see and hear the world as God sees and hear it. Perhaps we need more sacraments, more mountaintop experiences, where the world looks large and new and extraordinary. Maybe we need more experiences of holding little babies in our hands. If you’ve ever been to the mountaintops of new love or new parenthood, just remember the transfiguration that occurs when words fail to describe how amazing another human being can seem to you, and how amazing you can seem to another. When love is grounded in romantic or even parental love, many of us know all too well that it’s easy to lose the lens that allows us to see our partners or children as transfigured, miraculous creatures. All the more reason why we should heed the words of the Spirit, and listen up! All the more reasons why we should look for that sacramental opportunity in our every interaction!
Whether you have a Happy Valentine’s day today or not, I wish you all a Happy Transfiguration! May we all see and be seen in oculis dei, with the eyes of God. In so doing, may each of our precious and dearly beloved lives and relationships be part of the transformation and transfiguration of our world. And a special parting word for Kai, Ren and Tabitha – beloved children of God, listen to him! Listen to him and let your little lights shine on, full of glory and potential, full of grace and dignity everlasting! Amen.