{"id":692551,"date":"2026-01-13T12:02:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T17:02:28","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-06-24T12:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T16:41:11","slug":"how-the-story-ends-last-sunday-after-the-epiphany-a-february-15-2026","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/how-the-story-ends-last-sunday-after-the-epiphany-a-february-15-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Story Ends, Last Sunday after Epiphany (A)\u00a0\u2013 February 15, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-342551_b85543-91 .kt-block-spacer{height:60px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-342551_b85543-91 .kt-divider{border-top-width:2px;border-top-color:#84BD00;width:100%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-342551_b85543-91\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\"\/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm?e=DFMS5640264914&#038;light=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-342551_a83275-c1 .kt-block-spacer{height:60px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-342551_a83275-c1 .kt-divider{border-top-width:2px;border-top-color:#84BD00;width:100%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-342551_a83275-c1\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\"\/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>[RCL] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/lectionary\/last-epiphany-a\/\">Exodus 24:12-18; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Psalm 2; Matthew 17:1-9<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How many of you enjoy a good mystery story?&nbsp;&nbsp;If your favorite character is walking into doom, do you get nervous?&nbsp;&nbsp;Are you the kind of person who will skip to the last chapter and make sure everything\u2019s okay before you go on? If so, do you bother to read the rest of the book after that?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sometimes, we can infer how the ending will unfold, depending on how far we are into the book. We still read the rest, because there are character developments and nuances that we might miss otherwise, which will make the ending even more meaningful and fully understood. The work of living out the story with the characters must be done,&nbsp;not despite but&nbsp;<em>because<\/em>&nbsp;we had that brief flash of knowing the ending from the middle of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now what if you were reading and learned that one of the characters dies a horrible death, only to flip ahead and read the final pages\u2014really quickly, of course\u2014and find them on the page again, alive and well? Was their death a trick? A dream? The intrigue might motivate you to read more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Epiphany-Last-A-sermon-graphic-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-342552\" style=\"width:512px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Imagine this: you are with the disciples\u2014Peter, James, and John\u2014as they walk up the mountain with Jesus. Now, in Jewish tradition, when a person goes up a mountain, there is almost a guarantee that they will have some sort of divine encounter. Suddenly, Jesus is transfigured before you, in dazzling white clothes\u2014a symbol of a heavenly figure from God. Could this possibly be a sneak peak of the end of the story, given to us during the middle? Is Jesus showing himself as he will be&nbsp;<em>after&nbsp;<\/em>the resurrection? Possibly. But the disciples aren\u2019t thinking about that at all. They do not know what is to come and are completely thrown into terror.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The author Madeleine L\u2019Engle wrote the famous books&nbsp;<em>A Wrinkle in Time<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>A Swiftly Tilting Planet<\/em>, and&nbsp;<em>A Circle of Quiet<\/em>, among others. What you may not know is that, for more than 30 years, Madeleine was the librarian for and had an office at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City. She also wrote and traveled occasionally while raising three children with her husband, Hugh Franklin. On one of her journeys, she visited Egypt and asked the guide why there were so many vultures, crocodiles, and cobras in their temples. The guide told her it was because the Egyptians worshiped what they feared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What an interesting statement: \u201cThey worshiped what they feared.\u201d Fear and confusion are precursors to transformation, but they do not always lead to transformation. If we get stuck in our fear, we cannot be transformed, and if we worship what we fear, then we most certainly will stay stuck. Fear can drive people back to the certainty of what we used to know, rather than toward something new. With fear, the world becomes very small\u2014as small as a clearing on a mountain top. Transformation cannot happen when the brain is living in flight, fight, freeze, or fawn mode. Then, the focus becomes on surviving, not thriving; being cautious of, not being in true relationship with. In fear, the brain shuts down to new possibilities, especially the possibility of being transfigured\u2014being made more whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our Bible has quite the collection of stories: stories that can make one person believe in the wonder of the universe and our part in it; stories can make another person run the other way, in fear. The stories we\u2019ve heard today from Exodus and the Gospel are two stories that we often don\u2019t know what to do with because they are so wild, so wonderful. To enforce the language of literalism on them, or to fear them, tames and restricts the message that God has for us in them. These stories, these myths, witness to what gives meaning to our lives. As Madeleine L\u2019Engle once said, \u201cThe brilliance of God is indeed blinding, and we need myth, story, to help us bear the light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Elijah and Moses appear during the moment of Jesus\u2019 Transfiguration\u2014the two big figures from Jewish tradition, who also suffered in service to God\u2014the disciples don\u2019t know what to do. Both Elijah and Moses were seen as figures who conquered death in Jewish culture. They believed that Elijah would come back at the end of time, and since no one knew where Moses was buried, legend grew that he, too, would come back. Yet here they were, standing, talking with Jesus. What does it mean that Jesus is talking with them? Does it mean that Jesus will have a similar fate? Peter makes the suggestion of building three dwellings so that they can all stay there, capturing this holy moment. As Peter says, \u201cRabbi, it is good for us to be here\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Is it? Is it good for us to be here? To remain here, on the mountain, while the world passes by below? How often do we want to hold on to a \u201cmountaintop experience\u201d or a \u201cGod moment\u201d?&nbsp;&nbsp;We hold tight to moments of pure and utter bliss\u2014moments of extreme holiness. Is it \u201cgood for us to be here,\u201d and to keep this holy moment to ourselves?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we fixate on a particular time or a particular thing, we can miss our purpose. We become like the creature Gollum from&nbsp;<em>The Lord of the Rings<\/em>&nbsp;series, who wanted to keep the one ring to himself\u2014his \u201cPrecious.\u201d We want to keep our \u201cprecious\u201d experiences in our possession; yet by doing so, we exclude everything else. We can become stunted and twisted, like Gollum. What was \u201cgood\u201d for a moment becomes stale and eventually poisons us, when it isn\u2019t allowed to be shared\u2014like fruit rotting on the vine. This goes for many facets of life: in our church, at work, and in our relationships. It is good for us to be here right now, yes, but it is even better to come away, back down the mountain, with fresh knowledge and joy to share with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the disciples and Jesus to stay on the mountain would have been detrimental to the rest of the Gospel story. The disciples don\u2019t want to believe that Jesus will suffer and die, yet that is what must happen in order for Jesus to receive the glory of the resurrection. As he previously told the disciples, the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be killed, but will be raised again after three days. When the cloud covers the mountain and God says to them, \u201cThis is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!\u201d it makes the subsequent failings of the disciples (and our own) even more poignant. James and John arguing about who will sit at Jesus\u2019 right hand, all of them falling asleep when Jesus needed them to stay with him at Gethsemane, Peter\u2019s denial. They do not seem to understand that the price of receiving the mantle of Jesus is suffering. Do we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Jesus, there is no glory without suffering, and there cannot be resurrection without death.&nbsp;&nbsp;There is no miracle of life without the miracle of death.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How must we experience death\u2014death to ourselves; to our sin\u2014in order to experience life?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have all had spiritual highs\u2014at retreats, church camp, baptisms, weddings, during special prayer time\u2014and our compulsion can be to want to keep things as they are. It is a very human thing to do. But we worship a God who is always doing a new thing, and the name of the game is change. Jesus\u2019 call to us is one of action. Don\u2019t stay on the mountain. Don\u2019t build dwellings. Instead, go back down the mountain, back into civilization, and back to the broken world in need of healing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are to take our transfiguration moments\u2014our&nbsp;God moments\u2014with us, to remind us why we are on this journey, especially when things are difficult. Like Peter, James, and John, we may not always understand what we have witnessed, but we know that we are loved and called by the God who shares them with us.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As we prepare to enter the spiritual wilderness of Lent, we already know how this book ends. The story of Jesus requires us to take the brilliance of the Transfiguration into our own journeys, so that God can give the ending meaning.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">May we be given the courage to be transformed, so that we can bear the light and mystery of God to others, setting the whole world aglow as 2 Peter declares: \u201ca lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises\u201d in our hearts. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>The Rev. Danae Ashley<\/em><\/strong><em>&nbsp;is an Episcopal priest, international speaker, and voiceover actress who has ministered with parishes in North Carolina, New York, Minnesota, and the Seattle area and is a psychotherapist at Soul Spa Seattle, LLC. Danae uses art, music, drama, poetry, and movement in counseling, spiritual direction, and creation of ritual. She has written for many publications, including Sermons that Work, as well as being a contributor to podcasts, books, and producing a play about fertility struggle. Her latest adventure has been on pilgrimage with St. Hildegard von Bingen: speaking and writing about Hildegard, viriditas, and psychotherapy. Her book&nbsp;<\/em>My Sap is Rising<em>&nbsp;is a culmination of this research and published by Tehom Center Publishing. Danae&#8217;s favorite pastimes include reading, traveling with her husband, making sure their rescue dog Cooper is living his best life, dancing with wild abandon to Celtic music, and serious karaoke. Learn more about her work at danaeashley.com.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-e48c817e-6de1-4bb5-95b1-17540d8d90d4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Epiphany-Last-A-Sermon.docx\">Word &#8211; Last Sunday after the A Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Epiphany-Last-A-Sermon.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-e48c817e-6de1-4bb5-95b1-17540d8d90d4\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-d0b8a80c-cd23-4131-8729-ecb97fbbbca2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Epiphany-Last-A-Sermon.pdf\">PDF &#8211; Last Sunday after the Epiphany Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Epiphany-Last-A-Sermon.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-d0b8a80c-cd23-4131-8729-ecb97fbbbca2\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[RCL] Exodus 24:12-18; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Psalm 2; Matthew 17:1-9 How many of you enjoy a good mystery story?&nbsp;&nbsp;If your favorite character is walking into doom, do you get nervous?&nbsp;&nbsp;Are you the kind of person who will skip to the last chapter and make sure everything\u2019s okay before you go on? If so, do you&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"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":[147],"class_list":["post-692551","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","category-epiphany","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-last-sunday-after-epiphany-a"],"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":147,"label":"Last Sunday after Epiphany A"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/692551","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":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/692551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":953372,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/692551\/revisions\/953372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}