Transfiguration, Sunday, August 6, 2017

Transfiguration, Sunday, August 6, 2017

We read in the Ninth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke the story of the Transfiguration of Our Blessed Saviour.  In this Ninth Chapter, we hear that St Peter; St John; and St James accompanied Our Lord to pray.  Now, bear in mind as we read of this account that a marvelous event is about to unfold:  Our Lord will not only be transfigured as "His countenance was altered," (v. 29) but also that Moses and Elias will appear alongside Our Lord.   Now, imagine if you will, all of this happening in front of YOUR eyes.  How would you react?  What would you do?  What would be your reaction to all of this have been?  Well, in Verse 32, we hear what happened to St Peter, St James and St John:  "But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with Him." (St. Luke 9:32)  " .  . .  THEY WERE HEAVY WITH SLEEP  . . . ."  Really?  Heavy with sleep?  Seriously?  I mean, come on, how can this be?  Here you are, you find yourself with the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.  You are in His Presence where not only He is transfigured:  His "countenance was altered" and "His raiment was white and glistening."  If this wasn't enough, Moses and Elias appear alongside of Him.  And St Peter and the boys fall asleep?  Seriously?!?!?!   It wasn't until they awoke from their sleep that, as St. Luke tells us:  " . . . . and when they were awake, they saw his glory .  . . . ."   You know, it is so easy to be a "back-seat driver," isn't it?  It is really easy to make "commentary" about others when it is not us walking in their shoes.  As St. Luke tells us it was not UNTIL they awoke that they were able to see the glory of the Lord.  That's really how it is with us as well, quite frankly.  Have you ever told someone or has anyone ever told you in the course of a conversation:  "Wake up!"  "Why don't you wake up?!?"  "Wake up and smell the coffee!"  When someone says something along these lines, what they're really saying is "Wake up to reality."  "Come back to reality."  Well, for Peter, James and John, it wasn't until they woke up that they were able to truly see the glory of the Lord.  We, too, like them need to "wake up" out of our sleep in order to see the glory of the Lord.  So many of us are lost in a deep sleep as well.  We are sleeping and dreaming about the things of the world:  money, and nice clothes, and food, and drink, and power, and possessions.   We day-dream about these things and more and focus our lives around them.  But until we wake up from our sleep . .. . Until we wake up from our dreams of worldly things we lust after . . . . until we awaken, it will be then that we will be able to fully appreciate the majesty of Our Blessed Saviour and see Him in His full glory.  We can not see His Glory because we are so busy looking at the things of the world.  Have you ever seen something in the corner of your eye but you didn't see it fully because you really looking at something else?  Or have you ever "heard" something but you really didn't hear it fully because you were focused on something else?  It's like that for me when, for example, I try to hear the weather forecast on the radio as I get ready in the morning.  I might turn on the radio for the specific intent to hear what the weather will be like that day.  But if I get busy doing this, that and the other, . .. .  . even though the radio is playing . . . .  I might get busy doing other things and totally miss the weather forecast.  And then I have to wait all over again and focus and make a point to listen ten minutes later when the forecast is given again.  It isn't until I focus and make a point to listen to the weather forecast, that will be when I hear it.  Otherwise, I usually get sidetracked by other things that I am doing at the time.  Quite frankly, that is how it is for us when it comes to things of God.  We have good intentions.  We want to be good.  We want to listen to God.  We want to do what God would have us do.  But we get sidetracked.  Our attention gets diverted.  We end up focusing on something else.  Let us be like St Peter and St James and St John.  Let us wake out of our sleep so that we can see the glory of the Lord.  Let us always focus on Our Blessed Saviour so that we can appreciate His glory and His majesty.

Join us at St. Margaret Church on Sunday, August 6th, 2017 as we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration.  We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible when we celebrate Mass.  We listen to the Word of God speaking to us.  We gather together as God's family to worship Our Heavenly Father.  Come join us.  Take one hour out of your week to focus on God . . . to give that hour solely to God.  Give that hour to God and dedicate it to Him and see what He will give you in return!  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.