Readings
for Epiphany/Transfiguration:
1 Kings 19:9-18; Mark 9:2-9
February 26, 2006
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
“Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice: This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” [Mark 9]
All of the biblical readings today have one basic message: LISTEN! In the reading from the Book of Kings, the prophet Elijah (who was very troubled because his life was in danger) spent the night in a cave. He hid in the cave, not only for protection, but also to try to hear what God might be calling him to do next. He was unable to hear God’s voice in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. Instead, it was in the climate of sheer silence that Elijah was finally able to hear God speak to him. In the gospel story, Jesus took a few disciples apart from the crowds, up to a high mountain. In the silence and the stillness of the mountain peak, the disciples heard God’s voice: “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” What I would like to talk about today is listening to God with all of our heart, mind, and soul, so that we can be transformed into the people that God wills for us to be. I will focus on the gospel as my text.
*About 35% of all people have had at least one mystical experience. A mystical experience is an experience of the sacred involving a non-ordinary state of consciousness. The self seems to disappear and unity with the Other is experienced. We see and hear things that we would not ordinarily notice- a new perspective. Some mystical experiences are “introvertive.” This means that the mystical experience happens within a person, perhaps in the silence of contemplative prayer or in the presence of inspiring music. In these cases, a person deeply connects with the interior presence of God through feelings, sensations, internal visions, wisdom, and inspired knowledge.
The second kind of mystical experiences are called “extravertive.” In these cases, a person experiences a physical change in the environment outside themselves or a heightening of the physical senses. Oftentimes people have these extrovertive experiences in nature while others have these experiences in ordinary surroundings. People who have these kinds of mystical experiences report a luminosity, an ecstatic vision, a unity with all of creation, the ability to see the glory of God in all the world.
This was certainly the case in today’s gospel story when the disciples saw Jesus transformed before them. “Dazzling white, the apparition of Elijah and Moses, and a voice from the clouds,” describe their extravertive mystical experience. They were able to see Jesus in a new light. They experienced him not as an ordinary human being, but as a person created in the true image of God; a person who has completely surrendered his will to the will of God, thus becoming the official spokesperson for God, a true reflection of God’s love, a child of God, the glory of God. St. Irenaeus once said: “The glory of God is the human being fully alive.” Such was the case with Jesus who was so alive, so united with God’s will and purpose, that he was named and claimed the Son of God.
Today’s gospel story is not just about Jesus and his closest disciples. The same Spirit of God that was in Christ is the same Spirit of God that is in us. We too can be transformed into the image of God, a human person fully alive. We become God’s sons and daughters, not by physical birth, but by opening up to the grace of God and allowing the spirit of Christ to grow within us. How do we open up to the grace of God and allow the spirit of Christ to grow within us? We do this by practicing the spiritual disciples: Meditation, Prayer, Solitude, Fasting, Study, Simplicity, Submission, Service, Confession, Worship, Guidance, & Celebration. These spiritual disciplines are not just a patchwork of exercises that add to the burden of our daily work. Rather, they are a posture of life, freely embraced, that help us hear God’s voice and surrender to the Sacred Mystery. As the spiritual disciplines become part of who we are, our awareness of God sharpens, our consciousness deepens, and we begin to shine with the glory of God just as Jesus shone with the glory of God when he became “fully alive” in front of his disciples.
I find it interesting that Elijah, Jesus, and the disciples had a mystical experience of God while practicing the spiritual disciplines of prayer, silence, and solitude. God’s primary language is silence. All other languages are poor translations. If we want to hear God’s voice more fully, we have to find the time in our busy lives for silence, solitude, stillness, and prayer.
God has in time, spoken with abundant clarity to humanity. God may from time to time, speak to some individually through mystical experiences. In either case, we already know what we need to know (in order to live as God’s people) from what God has already said. This is why the reading of Scripture is so important for our daily lives. So whether God speaks to you through mystical experiences or whether God speaks to you through the Scriptures, the most important thing to do is to listen. To truly listen, does not simply mean allowing the sound waves to go into your ears and then registering a thought. To listen to God means to follow God as revealed in Christ. It means to heal as Jesus healed, to serve as he served, and to give as he gave. To follow God means to change the direction in which you are looking for happiness. True happiness is found within the kingdom of God, not in the world of domination, fear, pleasure, and materialism.
There are many voices out there in the world which are compelling and attractive: (e.g. buy this, travel here, pamper yourself, eat more, spoil your kids, indulge your pleasures, bomb the bastards.) And yet God’s voice in today’s gospel tells us to listen first and foremost to Jesus. It is through his prophetic voice, his healing ministry, his extraordinary wisdom, that we can correct and illumine those other voices that try to pull us in every direction. How do we tune our antennas to discern the voice of God from the other voices? When the voices speak of compassion, sacrifice, generosity, kindness, peace, justice, mercy, forgiveness, grace, and the dignity of every human being, we can be sure that God’s voice is present. When we hear the call to embrace self-centered desires, addictions, domination, prejudice, fear, greed, and the disregard for human life, we can be sure that those voices originate from the wounded ego.
Transformation takes place when we allow the grace of the Holy Spirit to direct and control our lives. We become more open to the grace of the Holy Spirit when we practice the spiritual disciplines. Transformation is not for an elite few but for all Christians. It is not just a hope for the future, but has already begun with the coming of the Spirit. We are not to conform to this world but transformed into the likeness of Christ by listening to his voice. What voices are you listening to? This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
[*Material regarding mystical experiences taken from Marcus Borg’s lecture on Mysticism, 6/15/05]
| Updated 3/10/06 |
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