At first glance, one might be tempted to think:
\u201cWhat do the readings from Exodus, Psalm 99, Second Corinthians, and Luke\u2014the readings for this Transfiguration Sunday\u2014have to do with World Mission Sunday?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The linked readings focusing on Moses\u2019 intimate relationship with God and his shining face in Exodus and Second Corinthians, the psalmist\u2019s praise to God for God\u2019s mighty acts in history, and Luke\u2019s story of the Transfiguration seem to have little bearing on the celebration of World Mission Sunday, let alone this year\u2019s theme, \u201cWorld Mission and the Environment.\u201d<\/strong> Yet, as with most of the most important things in our lives, we must delve below the surface to apprehend the depth of the meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of beginning directly with today\u2019s lections, let us begin with the portion of scripture that has been selected to underscore this year\u2019s theme. The first two verses of Psalm 24 read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe earth is the Lord\u2019s and all that is in it, These verses remind us that everything that we see\u2014and do not see\u2014in creation is God\u2019s: plants, animals, people, planet, even bacteria and viruses. By extension, if all is the Lord\u2019s, and we understand God to be a loving, caring deity, then we can begin to see where the connections might be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hold the words of Psalm 24 in your mind, and hear now the words of Psalm 99, verses 4 and 5:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cO mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; If all of our relationships draw from the understanding of God as a lover of justice and establisher of equity, then we are led to the conclusion that the just and equitable act is the one that is closest to the heart of God. And if all of the earth is the Lord\u2019s, then we are\u2014or should be\u2014compelled to act as just and equitable stewards of the earth, on behalf of the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We all witnessed the discussions and debate of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December of last year. We heard the pleas of poor countries that stand to lose the most if we do not find a way to move from \u201cpurely national perspectives to global leadership,\u201d as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. This is of vital importance to our world, and yet we must understand it in the context of our faith, our ministry, our call, our mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We, as followers of Christ, send out missionaries to the ends of the globe, seeking to bring the light and love of Christ to those who need to see Christ\u2019s effect on and through us. We move into poor parts of the developing world seeking to meet the needs of the people in many wonderful ways. Yet if we are about being just and equitable\u2014if we are about the business of establishing networks and systems that remind all of the gift that we have in this world and in one another\u2014if our mission and our missions are to be fully reflective of the glory of God, then we must be about transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before we go too far down the road of \u201ctransformation,\u201d it might be good for us to deal with the reality of this Sunday\u2019s celebration of the Transfiguration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are reminded of the otherworldly event that took place on a mountaintop while Jesus was praying and Peter, James, and John slept. In Luke\u2019s account, we are told that Jesus\u2019 appearance is changed, his clothes become dazzling white, and Elijah and Moses appear with him to discuss what is to happen in Jerusalem\u2014his passion and death. Instructive for us in Luke\u2019s account are God\u2019s words to Peter, James, and John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In other words: pay attention to what he says and does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is interesting that transfiguration<\/em> and transformation<\/em> come from the same Middle English root meaning \u201cto change shape.\u201d Transformation, linguistically, can mean \u201cthe process by which deep structures are converted into surface structures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, that fits, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The depth of who Jesus is is brought to the surface during the Transfiguration\u2014his face, appearance, and clothes are transformed. Jesus\u2019 face shines, and in Luke\u2019s words, \u201cthey saw his glory.\u201d Jesus is transfigured\u2014that is, transformed\u2014showing the truth of who he is, with a heavenly voice underscoring the visible evidence that Jesus is God\u2019s Son and that we are to listen to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It might be that you are still saying, \u201cThat\u2019s all well and good for Transfiguration Sunday, but what does any of that have to do with World Mission?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The connection comes in the transformational aspect of what our mission work can and does accomplish. We send faithful servants of the gospel into areas of the world where needs are high and hope is in short supply. When our efforts are successful, the mission partnership grows and becomes self-sustaining; communities and lives are transformed, and we are a part of helping others\u2014and ourselves\u2014to more fully reflect God\u2019s glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are being called into new mission endeavors where our effective ministry will be in partnership with those whom we are sent to serve. We are being called into partnerships that seek to establish sustainable relationships, out of which can grow new possibilities that can transform and transfigure local situations with global impact. We are being called into transformational ministries that are modeled after the best of relationships\u2014expecting that each member has something of worth to offer the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By understanding the give and take of relationships, we can see the connection between our lives and how we must find ways to focus our resources on those things that not only speak to the immediate need, but also take into account how the environment is affected and how the communities in which we are called to serve can sustain the benefits that are achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In today\u2019s reading from Second Corinthians, Paul reminds us of the transformational character of our lives in Christ:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n We know that we are called to be stewards of this earth. We know that we are called to serve others, especially the poor and oppressed. We know that we are to seek right relationships: with God, with each other, and with our earth. We know that we are to follow Jesus and imitate his attitude and actions\u2014loving God completely and loving our neighbor as ourselves. We know these things, regardless of our particular political or religious positions. And if we know these things, then we are expected to act on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friends, we are to be agents of transformation in a world that seems, in some corridors, resistant to transformation. Our current and future mission work just might need to include focused and intentional efforts to improve environmental conditions in those places where we are called to serve. We might also look to transform how we understand our call to mission\u2014creating domestic mission teams who aid our foreign mission teams through policy reform, relationship-building, and work that is local in practice but global in vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The wonderful thing about being called into the ministry and mission of Christ is that we have the chance to become people who speak life and wholeness in a broken world, confident that our Lord\u2014who made and sustains all life\u2014is smiling on our efforts to be agents of transformation who shine with the light of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we celebrate this World Mission Sunday and reflect on the Transfiguration of Jesus, let our hearts be full of wonder and our souls be full of praise. And as our worship today lifts us to the height of heaven, let us come down with faces unveiled and, through our actions, demonstrate that we have been with the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This sermon was written by Lawrence Womack<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At first glance, one might be tempted to think:\u201cWhat do the readings from Exodus, Psalm 99, Second Corinthians, and Luke\u2014the readings for this Transfiguration Sunday\u2014have to do with World Mission Sunday?\u201d The linked readings focusing on Moses\u2019 intimate relationship with God and his shining face in Exodus and Second Corinthians, the psalmist\u2019s praise to God…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[32,43,52,3],"tags":[265],"class_list":["post-510999","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-epiphany","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-last-sunday-after-epiphany-c"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":32,"label":"Epiphany"},{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":265,"label":"Last Sunday after Epiphany C"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/510999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/510999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3478650,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/510999\/revisions\/3478650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
the world, and those who live in it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God
and fall down before his footstool;
he is the Holy One.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n
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