**Please note this service is based on the format of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, all prayers come from
Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). Hymns and other prayers have been sourced
to give appropriate credit.
**NRSV translation used for the readings, unless otherwise stated.
Introduction to the Day
Witnesses to the glory of God in the face of Jesus reflect that glory in
the world. It was true for Moses. It was doubtless true for Peter, James, and
John. We pray that it will be true of all of us who see God’s glory in the word
and in the supper and who are being “transformed into the same image” by God’s
Spirit.
Thanksgiving for Baptism
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, the fountain
of living water, the rock who gave us birth, our light and our salvation.
Amen.
Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are clothed with God’s
mercy and forgiveness. Let us give thanks for the gift of baptism.
We give you thanks, O God,
for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters
and by your Word you created the world,
calling forth life in which you took delight.
Through the waters of the flood, you delivered Noah and his family.
Through the sea you led your people Israel from slavery into freedom.
At the river your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Holy
Spirit.
By water and your Word, you claim us as daughters and sons,
making us heirs of your promise and servants of all.
We praise you for the gift of water that sustains life,
and above all we praise you for the gift of new life in Jesus Christ.
Shower us with your Spirit,
and renew our lives with your forgiveness, grace, and love.
To you be given honour and praise
through Jesus Christ our Lord
in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Amen.
Gathering Song – Beautiful Savior (ELW
#838)
Greeting
The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
Kyrie – Kyrie Eleison
Canticle of Praise
– Glory to God
Prayer of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Holy God, mighty and immortal, you are beyond our knowing, yet we see
your glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Transform us into the likeness of your
Son, who renewed our humanity so that we may share in his divinity, Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and forever.
Amen.
Readings
A reading from the Book of Exodus 34:29-35
Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he
came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand,
Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking
with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was
shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and
Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke
with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in
commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses
had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses
went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he
came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been
commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his
face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went
in to speak with him.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 99
The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
He
sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in
Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
Holy
is he!
Mighty King, lover of
justice,
you have established equity;
you have executed justice
and
righteousness in Jacob.
Extol the Lord our
God;
worship at his footstool.
Holy is he!
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
They
cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
He spoke to them in
the pillar of cloud;
they kept his decrees,
and the statutes that he gave them.
O Lord our God, you answered them;
you
were a forgiving God to them,
but
an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Extol the Lord our
God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy.
A reading from the Second Letter from Paul to the Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Since, then, we have such a hope, we
act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep
the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set
aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear
the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in
Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil
lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now
the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though
reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one
degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy
that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced
the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify
God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the
conscience of everyone in the sight of God.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation – Alleluia
The Holy Gospel according to Luke 9:28-43
Glory to you, O Lord.
Now about eight days after these
sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the
mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed,
and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and
Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his
departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his
companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they
saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving
him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make
three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing
what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and
they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice
that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had
spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no
one any of the things they had seen.
On the next day, when they had come
down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd
shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a
spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams
at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples
to cast it out, but they could not.” Jesus answered, “You faithless and
perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?
Bring your son here.” While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground
in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave
him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
While everyone was amazed at all that
he was doing, he said to his disciples,
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O
Christ.
Sermon
Grace, peace, and mercy are yours from the Triune God. Amen.
I
have decided to do a reprise of my sermon from last year’s Transfiguration
Sunday for two reasons – one, I never got the chance to deliver the sermon
because of the shut-down and, two, with the news coming out of Texas this week,
I thought it might be a good idea to give these words again.
If
you haven’t heard, the governor for the state of Texas is calling on “licensed
professionals” and “members of the general public” to report the parents of
transgender minors to state authorities if it appears the minors are receiving
gender-affirming medical care.
Gender-affirming
medical care could be anything from puberty blockers to surgery.
The
directive was part of a letter the governor sent Tuesday to the Department of
Family and Protective Services, calling on it to “conduct a prompt and thorough
investigation” of any reported instances of minors undergoing “elective
procedures for gender transitioning.”
The
letter follows an opinion piece released Monday by a Texas Attorney, which
stated that allowing minors to receive transition care such as puberty
blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery is child abuse under state law.
Texas
is not the only state that has tried to pass such a law. Over the last year,
nearly two dozen states considered legislation that would bar access to some or
all gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. Some states,
including Texas, considered bills that would’ve charged parents or doctors who
provide transition care with a felony.
It
may feel like all this doesn’t matter because it’s happening in the US and not
in Canada. But it does matter because there is an entire community that needs
to know it is supported.
When
someone experiences feelings that their gender identity does not match the sex
recorded at birth, the first course of action should be to support the person
in exploring their gender identity and to provide mental health support, as
needed.
This
is especially important with children and teenagers. Studies have shown that
allowing room for the person to explore their gender freely significantly
lowers the cases of depression and rates of suicide attempts.
I’m
sure you are asking yourself, “what does this have to do with today’s Gospel
reading?”
Jesus
and his three closest friends, Peter, John, and James went up into the
mountains.
There
Jesus transfigured before them. The appearance of his face changed, and his
clothes became dazzling white. Jesus transformed, changed.
Two
other men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and spoke with Jesus. They spoke about
his departure, which was about to be brought to fulfilment at Jerusalem.
Jesus’
friends were so scared to be seeing all of this that they had no idea what to
say or do, so Peter suggested they build three shelters, one for each of Jesus,
Moses, and Elijah.
While
Peter was speaking, a great cloud covered them and a voice from the cloud said,
“This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”
Suddenly,
only Jesus stood with them. Moses and Elijah had disappeared, leaving his three
friends to wonder what just happened and what it all meant.
The
season of Epiphany is bookended by two different declarations from God about
Jesus’ identity.
In
the beginning chapters of Luke, Jesus is baptized, and a conversation takes
place between him and God, where God says, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with
you I am well pleased.” It’s not clear that anyone else sees the heavens
slashed apart or the Holy Spirit diving into Jesus. But for Jesus, he knew that
God had his back and would be there to support him.
The
Transfiguration is a very different kind of a revealing, however. Jesus becomes
a beacon, like a lighthouse planted in the middle of the desert. The heavenly
voice addresses all the witnesses – Peter, James, and John – declaring, “This
is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” This time the message was for Jesus’
friends, so that they would know God was present and that God wants them to
have Jesus’ back and be there to support him.
The story of the Transfiguration is Jesus’ coming out
story.
Ok, so maybe not for his sexual
orientation or gender identity, but it was a coming out story in his own was, his
chance to be who he truly was, his chance to tell his friends who he really is.
This beautiful passage can be a source of hope for someone
who is gay or lesbian or transgender or non-binary and is tired of living in
hiding.
One of the greatest challenges a person of the LGBT*
community has is having to come out to friends and family, sometimes over and
over again depending on school, work, and life situations.
Anyone who is heterosexual or cisgender doesn’t have to
tell people this is who they truly are; it is just assumed.
The struggle for anyone who is coming out or has come out about
their sexuality or their gender identity is that they be seen and known for who
they truly are, that they are loved for who they are, and that they are
accepted for who they are.
It is fitting that Jesus takes his closest friends up onto
that mountain, the ones he trusted the most out of the group of twelve. He
takes them up the mountain to have a private conversation with them. It is at
this moment that he reveals his deepest and closest-held secret about himself.
This passage from Luke has many resonances to my own coming
out experience, choosing a select handful of people in the beginning with whom
I trusted my story.
It has been my experience, that those who are just starting
to come out of the closet, do so to their closest friends. It is almost like a
test, to see how it feels to say the words out loud and to see what people
think about it. It is also the hope that your closest friends will then become
your fiercest allies.
For Jesus, it was important that his friends knew who he
really was because not only was he needing to live as himself, but he was about
to have some stuff happen to him where it was going to be important to have
allies, people who would stand up for him during a time of duress.
One of the significant pieces of this story is God’s
declaration of “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”.” Not only was God
giving a public lecture to the disciples about how they need to be there for
Jesus, but God was publicly declaring divine support for Jesus’ coming out as
his true self.
While most won’t get such a grand exit from the closet as
Jesus did, this passage is so beautiful because there is this moment where so
many of us can read our queer experience into the text, and I think that is a
really wonderful thing.
It is a moment of such great tenderness and vulnerability.
When those of us in the queer community make the decision to come out to
others, we become very vulnerable in that moment because we don’t know what the
reaction of the person or people in front of us will be.
It is the same for Jesus in this passage. While he hopes
that his friends will be accepting, there is that moment of vulnerability in
his coming out as his true self.
Peter, John, and James have an understandable reaction.
They are confused and not sure what to do with the information. And while they
continue to walk with Jesus, which is really all we can hope for when we come
out to our friends, they continue to walk with Jesus, and they question what it
means and what it will do to their friendship.
No matter that they were confused by the whole situation,
Jesus’ friends stood by him during his most vulnerable time. The declaration
from God that “this is my Son, whom I love” is also important to take to heart
because not everyone queer person who has a coming out, leaves the conversation
with love and support. Many lose family and friends after coming out.
I pray that everyone who comes out with one of the many
queer identities has someone, whether it is a parent, a friend, a priest, a
teacher, someone who can say to them “you are loved, good, worthy, and
righteous just the way you are” just as Peter, John, James, and God did for
Jesus.
Still wondering what all this has to do with us?
Here is a quote I came across on Reddit this morning. It is
from an Orthodox Rabbi, someone who believes the entire Torah, both written and
oral, is the divinely inspired word of God and is therefore literally true and
that society should have no influence.
Here is the quote:
“For those wondering why I, an Orthodox Rabbi, am outraged
by the Texas trans law, aren’t I supposed to stand up for Torah Values? I don’t
like it when kids kill themselves. [Period.]”
There is an entire community who is being told to hide
their true self, or face hatred and persecution, and even death.
Jesus’ Transfiguration shows us the importance of living as
one’s true self, and that God supports it wholeheartedly.
And so should we.
Amen.
Hymn of the Day – Christ, Be Our Light (ELW #715)
Creed
Let us confess the faith of our baptism, as we
say the Nicene Creed:
We
believe in one God,
the
Father, the Almighty,
maker
of heaven and earth,
of
all that is, seen and unseen.
We
believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the
only Son of God,
eternally
begotten of the Father,
God
from God, Light from Light,
true
God from true God,
begotten,
not made,
of
one Being with the Father;
through
him all things were made.
For
us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the
virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under
Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the
living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We
believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who
proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who
with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who
has spoken through the prophets.
We
believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We
acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We
look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
The Spirit of the Lord is poured out upon us in abundance; so we are
bold to pray for the church, the world, and all that God has made.
Silence
Transform us by your greatness, O God. Send us down the mountain to
share joy with all people. Make us agents of change, confident that your hope
will vanquish despair and your goodness will conquer evil.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
The mountains and valleys sing your praise. Dazzle us with your presence
in every landscape: bluffs built by ancient glaciers, canyons carved by flowing
rivers, flat horizons with uninterrupted views, and sands shaped by ocean
tides.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
You love justice and establish equity. Strengthen leaders of local
governments, community non-profits, and grassroots campaigns. Bless them with
gifts of integrity, creativity, and sound conscience. Build up safe and joyful
communities where all people may thrive.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
Heal those who are in distress. Give patience to those waiting for
answers. Grant hope to those who have reached the limits of treatment. Give
compassionate hearts to those who accompany loved ones through illness and
uncertainty.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
Today we shout alleluia from the mountaintop; this week we enter the
wilderness of Lent. Bless all who prepare and lead us in worship during this
change of season: pastors, deacons, musicians, and all who contribute to our
worship life.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
Please take time to offer your own intercessions or pray in silence.
Blessed are they who listened to Christ’s voice in this life and now
rest with him. Transform us from glory into glory, and give us your peace, that
we do not lose heart.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
Since we have such great hope in your promises, O God, we lift these and
all of our prayers to you in confidence and faith; through Jesus Christ our
Saviour.
Amen.
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
Hymn
of Thanksgiving – Be Thou My Vision (ELW #793)
**Although
not physically at our church buildings to share our offering together I would
encourage you to set your offering of money aside so that it can be dropped off
or placed in the church once services resume, to mail your offering to the
church, or to make donations online. Please remember ministry is still taking
place.
Thanksgiving for the Word
Let us pray.
O God of justice and love, we give thanks to you that you illumine our
way through life with the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, awaken
us to the needs of others, and at the end bring all the world to your feast;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy
Spirit, be honor and glory forever.
Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our
daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time
of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the
power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
Blessing
God, who leads you in pathways of
righteousness, who rejoices over you, and who calls you by name, ☩
bless your going out and your coming in, today and forever.
Amen.
Sending Song – We Are Marching in
the Light (ELW #866)
Dismissal
Go with Christ into a weary world. Share the good news.
Thanks be to God.
