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SERMONS

The Last Sunday after the Epiphany
February 10 , 2002

By David Christian

I read an article recently about a man who had been flying in a small plane down in South America. He developed engine trouble and was forced to land his plane in the Brazilian rain forest. He was not injured in the landing, but the plane was badly damaged and the radio was destroyed. He had not been able to alert anyone to his problem. He knew that the chances that he would be found were very small. If he was going to get out of the forest, he would have to walk out alone.

This is what he did. The journey took days, but he eventually arrived at a small river-bank village. There he was able to get assistance in getting back to his home.

In the article the man talked about how it felt to be in the middle of the vast rain forest, a forest which stretched on for hundreds of miles in every direction. He talked about how dark it was within the forest beneath the canopy of trees; about going for days without seeing the sun because of the thick vegetation over his head. He talked about how once or twice he had come to a small hill; to a place where the ground rose and the forest thinned out slightly. He spoke about how, in those places, he was able to see and feel the sun; and how he was able in the far distance to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a river. He talked about how difficult it was to go down again into the darkness of the forest. But he knew that that was the only way for him to go.

And he talked about how, while struggling through the forest, he kept in his mind the memory of the light, and the vision of the river. It was that memory and that vision that gave him the courage to keep going; and eventually to reach his goal.

Today is the last Sunday after the Epiphany. It is the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, the last Sunday before the beginning of Lent. On Wednesday we will begin our six-week journey toward the yearly remembrance of our Lord's Passion and death, and toward Easter Day. The gospel appointed for the last Sunday after the Epiphany is always an account of the Transfiguration. This year we have read Matthew's account of that event.

Shortly after Peter's declaration that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus took Peter and James and John and went up a high mountain. There the disciples saw Jesus' face begin to glow and his clothes become dazzling white. They also saw Moses and Elijah standing with him. Then Peter spoke and it was over. Moses and Elijah disappeared. Jesus was alone with them again. They were left with the memory of what they had seen, and of the words that they had heard: "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased."

It happened in an instant. Then it was over. Yet this glimpse stayed with Peter and James and John. Later they told it to the other disciples and it stayed with them also. And those disciples told it to others, and they told it to others. Perhaps this memory helped them through the frightening journey to Jerusalem and through the dark days leading up to Jesus' crucifixion. Certainly it did not give them total confidence. Peter, who was there on the mountain, is also the one who denied knowing Jesus three times. All of the disciples deserted him.

But perhaps the memory of that vision did give them what courage they had. Perhaps it did help them to get through that time. Perhaps it enabled them to struggle on through the darkness and their despair to the glory of the resurrection.

Certainly it was the memory of his own glimpse of the Christ that enabled Paul to withstand his struggles and hardship: the struggles with his kinsmen; the struggles with the church in Jerusalem; the struggles with the new churches that developed as a result of his preaching; his imprisonment. It was the memory that allowed him to write to the church at Philippi, "I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him..."

This is the vision that has been passed down through the Church. This is the vision that has given hope and courage to countless saints and martyrs. The vision that has given hope and courage to even more ordinary Christians as they have sought to follow their Lord through ordinary lives. But ordinary lives transformed by the light of Christ. This is the vision that we recall week after week as we gather to celebrate the Eucharist. This is the vision we recall as we proclaim "We remember his death, we proclaim his resurrection, we await his coming in glory." This is the vision that we recall every year as we gather in darkness to light the new fire and to announce to the world that Christ is risen from the dead.

As we prepare to enter this season of self-examination and preparation for the feast of the Resurrection, hold this vision in your minds and hearts so that it may lighten your path.

May God grant us all a blessed Lent.

David Christian
The Chapel of the Cross
Madison, Mississippi

Exodus 24.12-18
Philippians 3.7-14
Matthew 17.1-9