This Sunday, February 23, is Transfiguration Sunday, which is always the Sunday prior to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. It is the Sunday we remember Jesus, taking Peter, James and John up a mountain and Jesus being transfigured before them. It is a Sunday that marks a kind of transfiguration for us too. It is the time we set our the intention of our faith in front of us — to make it to that glorious Easter morn after forty days of self-reflection, study and prayer that the season of Lent offers us.
As we move toward Lent, I wonder what you will set aside and what you will take up? What will you look toward to keep you on this journey of faith? Will you look for the evidence of kindness each day or will you commit yourself to at least one kind act, one act of love each day? Will you let go of judging yourself or others and take on letting things be as they are and trusting that God is in it? Will you pause each day and take a moment for gratitude? Will you take a deep breath and know that you are loved?
This is a sacred time in our lives; it is a sacred season in our lives of faith. It is also a transfiguring time in our denomination. I hope that you will take time to join us this Sunday to listen to the letter from the Open Spirit Task Force and to stay for the beginning of another kind of journey — one that, I pray, will lead us all to resurrection.
See you in church,
Hope