Rochester, MN UCC - "The Glory of God!" - Luke 9:28-36
In the Bible one way of referring to God’s presence is by speaking of God’s glory. Several times throughout the Bible a manifestation of God’s presence will be accompanied by overwhelmingly bright and powerful light and called “the glory of God.” God’s revelation to Moses on Mt. Sinai leaves Moses’ face shining with the glory of God. God’s glory is so powerful that Moses must wear a veil to shield the people from it. In the story of the transfiguration, Peter, James, and John witness Jesus be transfigured before them in the glowing white light of God’s glory. Jesus’ divinity, God the Son, becomes visible and his glory shines through the veil of his human flesh. That this is the very same glory of God as recorded in the Old Testament is made clear by the presence of Moses and Elijah, two figures who once witnessed God’s glory in their own mountaintop experiences. In a collapse of time into eternity, all three moments are present at once, Moses, Elijah, and the disciples are all witnessing the very same glory of God; their different times are all present simultaneously in the eternity of God.
What Peter, James, and John witnessed is what we celebrate at communion each Sunday: that the glory of God has come to dwell with us in the risen Jesus Christ. In the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection God has lovingly overcome our separation from God and one another. We need not fear the awesome power of God’s presence, for in Jesus all of humanity and all of creation is once more being united to God. The glorious presence of God is with us in our eating and drinking of the bread and cup, forming us into the Body of Christ, the site where humanity and the glory of God are harmoniously united.
This Sunday is our Mardi Gras Sunday, so we’re going to really celebrate Communion! Our choir will perform an incredible medley of spirituals and a jazz combo will accompany our singing throughout the service. Together we will give our thanks and praise to God for the wonder of God’s glorious love revealed to us in Jesus Christ!
Pastor Andrew Greenhaw