In Livermore California there is a light bulb shining right now. By itself, that would be no big deal. But this bulb has been lit continuously since 1901.
Called the Centennial Bulb, this lamp in a fire department building even has a live web camera where people can go to see that it is still glowing after 124 years. It’s a little boring to watch. Nothing really changes. But that bulb has been shining longer than anyone has been alive.
Let’s go to God in prayer.
God of wisdom, may the words that I speak, and the ways they are received by each of our hearts and minds, help us to continue to grow into the people, and the church, that you have dreamed us to be.
Amen.
In our reading from the Hebrew scriptures, Moses was shining after talking with God. If you take this in a literal sense, his skin is glowing because of exposure to the glory of God. But you could also read this in the figurative sense: that Moses was radiating joy.
In our reading from the second letter to the Corinthians,
Paul refers to the faces of believers as being unveiled, seeing the glory of God in each other’s faces because of the Holy Spirit. Our faith in something good and powerful can be seen by others.
Our Gospel reading this morning comes from The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 9, verses 28-36:
28 Now about eight days after these sayings
Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed,
and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.
31 They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus,
which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep,
but as they awoke they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.
33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus,
“Master, it is good for us to be here;
let us set up three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,”
not realizing what he was saying.
34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them,
and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.
35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”
36 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.
Luke 9:28-36, NRSVue
Jesus has the spirit. And Peter, John, and James are witnesses.
Peter, who is always eager to take some kind of action, wants to set up booths to honor the prophets and Jesus. But Jesus tells them not to tell anyone.
Why?
Because it was not yet time. Because the people were not yet ready.
If you look at the lights outside the building here, most are not on day and night. There are sensors that detect when more light is needed, and then the lights switch on. Even the light over our giving center in the narthex has a sensor for when people are passing by. These measures ensure that we reserve energy for when it is most needed.
It’s rare when something can glow continuously. Even long-lasting LED bulbs are not expected to last 120 years or more, and incandescent bulbs – like the Centennial Bulb in Livermore, usually have much shorter life spans.
Likewise, human beings can’t shine 24/7. We need rest. We need sleep. We need to cool down.
We do this so we can be ready when it’s our time to shine.
The history of this church is one of standing with the marginalized, standing for justice even when it is not popular, standing for what is right rather than what is easy.
I’m paraphrasing something I heard on the radio that was a quote from a movie, but I think it’s true:
The church is never its history: the church is what it does next.
In the face of discrimination against minorities, in the face of scapegoating people who are among the least powerful, perhaps now is one of our times to shine.
People need a place to come to heal. We can be that place: a place where all are welcome and all are loved. A place where people can recover from the spiritual wounding they have received elsewhere.
People need a place where they can envision something better. As God says through the prophet Isaiah:
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19, NRSVue
We can be that place of envisioning.
People need a place from which they can act: to go out and do what needs to be done, to speak truth to power. We can be that place of action.
People need a place where they can respond to the needs of the community: gathering food for the hungry, clothing and hygiene supplies for those in need, and other resources as needed. We can be that place of response.
People need a place for transformation: personal transformation that helps us grow as people and community transformation that creates a better environment for all. We can be that place of transformation.
- Healing.
- Envisioning.
- Action.
- Response.
- Transformation.
Those are things that have been at the heart of this community of faith for 165 years.
So maybe now is the time for us to catch the spirit.
Maybe now id the time for us to meet God face-to-face.
Maybe now is our time to shine.
My challenge to us all is to consider how we can be a community of
Healing.
Envisioning.
Action.
Response.
and Transformation.
May we shine forth as a way to lead from death to life.
Amen.
* Scripture quotations marked NRSVue are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. https://www.friendshippress.org/pages/about-the-nrsvue
* Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James version of the Bible.
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