February 7 2016 "How Love Transforms"

February 7 Exodus 34.29-35, * Luke 9.28-43 “How Love Transforms” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

This week the Lenten season begins. We will go to Brownback’s UCC church and worship Wednesday with the Union of Churches on Ash Wednesday. [slide # 1 Ashes on forehead] In the back of our minds, we are sincerely intending to change for the better. We have good intentions.  We not only have good intentions, but we make special efforts during the season of Lent because well we know that “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Fortunately for us, we do not need to be perfect. We do not need to be perfectly good. We just need to take God seriously and surrender our lives every day.

After Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, he came up strong as WE have many times come up strong. After his 40 days in the wilderness, scripture tells us Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit.[slide # 2 filled with the Spirit] He was heavily influenced by a Holy Spirit. When I was finishing seminary, I had a glass of wine with friends and a week later, one of them talked about the things we said that we would not normally say. Evidently we were talking under an influence that allowed us to lower our standards. It was not us talking, it was the wine talking.

After Jesus was tested in the wilderness, just as we test ourselves during Lent, he was filled with the Spirit, so when he spoke he was under the influence of that which is holy. The Holy Spirit raises us to a higher standard that we could not reach on our own. [slide # 3 excellent standards]

We have all felt the good, warm, and tingly feeling of doing the right thing. A few weeks ago we appreciated the feeling of successfully completing the fall Sunday school curriculum, whether we were teacher or a student in the three adult and 7 children’s classes. It was exhilarating to watch all the love that was poured into the Collins family to make a warm reception after the loss of Alice’s sister-in-law. It felt good to return to worship in this sanctuary after a week of being snowed in. The Holy Spirit feels good because the work of the Holy Spirit in us is a work of love, and love feels good. Most of all, love helps us grow and change and blossom in beautiful ways. [slide # 4 blossom]

Jesus was changed, transfigured when he gathered with his disciples. Right before their eyes he was transformed in ways that the disciples could not even put into words. All of their senses were heightened as they watched Jesus’ face. It looked brighter. Sometimes you can see in the face of a woman that she is pregnant before she even knows herself. Divine activity on the inside of us can change the way we look on the outside. There is a ripple effect. Things happen one after another. Even Jesus’ clothes were spectacular. The disciples could not help but check him out. And they even saw the ancient heroes, Moses and Elijah. [slide # 5 transfiguration]

After that, a cloud from heaven came and overshadowed them, enveloping them in love, but it was uncomfortable. It was unusual and intriguing. Then after that they actually heard the voice of God saying ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’  [slide # 6 listen to him] The ripple effect continued the next day; a father came to Jesus with a boy who was in a mess and was under the influence of demons, so much so that he was convulsing. It was pitiful. It was horrible.

Miraculously, the boy was healed. The demons left and the boy was returned to his father. Would that every sad story had a happy ending. If we follow the life of Jesus in this story, we see three things that help to bring a happy ending to our saddest stories.  

The first thing we see is what Jesus did in verse 28. [slide # 7 Jesus took Peter…] Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. Jesus took time to pray in community. Before we begin our Building Committee Meetings for the last two years, we pray. When we have our Council meetings, we pray. When we start the prayer chain on line, via email, we pray. When we come to this sanctuary we pray. In lots of ways we pray in community. When we pray in community, others can see a difference in us. It carries over, even if you pray at lunch time in your office, somebody will be able to see something on your face or in your heart, something that looks like peace, or love, or kindness….

The second thing that happened before the demons left the child was they were enveloped in a cloud of God’s glory. They were afraid, but they understood they were in the presence of God.

I was part of a small worship service once when the atmosphere began to change. Hearts were humbled. Words turned into quiet sighs and groans too deep for words. In one pew, someone was wiping the corner of their eyes as the tears were streaming. Another bowed their head and nodded an affirmation of haven been touched by a sense of joy. Peaceful smiles rippled form the altar to the door. Eyes were closed. My heart was filled with expectation as surely I believed the Lord was in the place and about to bless the people in ways that were not planned according to the bulletin. But, instead of waiting on God, the pastor said the benediction and quickly left for his office. He was afraid. His office was right next to the sanctuary, so he peeked out a couple times, wondering why they were not leaving, as they continued soaking in God’s marvelous presence. [slide # 8 praising God]

If we stand still, God will envelop us in a cloud of indescribable glory and we will experience an outpouring of blessings that our lives so urgently need. We will be  filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit and we will begin to bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness (generosity), faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The Lenten season is a season to inspect our spiritual productivity, health, well-being and fitness. We want to see if there is anything in us that belongs to Satan, anything that is hindering our ability to function optimally, anything that is a threat to us and to those in our community of faith. [slide # 9 stethoscope/bible]

We take a cholesterol test or a glucose test or a stress test to gives us important information about our physical health. In the same way we have many ways to test or gauge our spiritual health. We test our lives with the scriptures and we listen to feedback from those who have proven their love for us.

In the Old Testament, the priests were authorized to administer spiritual tests, make judgments that brought God’s people justice, look for guilt that was causing pain and to look for reasons to praise and celebrate the great blessings that God had tucked into their hearts and behavior and character. Any day you choose you can make an appointment with your pastor and I will check your spiritual temperature and evaluate your spiritual health.

Once when I was a substitute teacher, the lesson that the teacher left for me was over and I decided to open the door for spiritual conversation. The children would ask me questions about their lives and I would give them my best spiritual insights as God brought them to my heart. The children were enamored.  It was a God moment. After speaking to several students one by one and everyone listening, one student looked at me and said, “Ms. Hines, Ms. Hines, “Let me do you now. Let me give you an insight.” He must have been no more than 13 years old, but what he shared was truly the voice of God. [slide # 10 youth on fire] The tables were turned, as I the teacher, became the student, and God reminded me that young people have an awesome word of God and when they are free to share it, God does amazing things in our hearts. I don’t remember the words this young person spoke, but looking back, like a cool glass or water on a hot summer day, it is not just the water that is wonderful, it is the timing, it is the powerful impact of being refreshed that stays with us days and weeks later, and gives us the hope and encouragement we need to enjoy and appreciate our God and one another as we continue this journey.

Following the life of Jesus we see a model for praying in community, we see a cloud of God’s glory, and thirdly we see Jesus receiving a father who is desperately holding onto a loved troubled by demons. It is hard enough to wrestle with the demons inside of us, but holding onto a loved one who is wrestling with demons is a whole other kind of life. It is a hard, and painful, and messy life, but when we bring our loved ones to Jesus, life changes for everyone.

When we bring our loved ones to Jesus, [slide # 11 kneeling in worship] I can’t tell you exactly what day the demon will cease to seize our loved ones, or when the loud shrieks will end or what year they will no longer foam at the mouth, and be mauled. There is no way for me to tell you when all the signs of distress and discomfort will finally come to an end. All I can tell you is that when we bring our loved ones to Jesus, life changes for everyone. All I can tell you is that Jesus will rebuke the unclean spirit, God might ask us to do something that goes against our grain,  but our loved one will be healed on earth or in heaven – because if Jesus has a hold of them, there is no way they are going to hell, hallelujah.

As we pray in community, as we stand still enough to be enveloped by God, as we bring our demons for Jesus to receive and rebuke, we like Peter, James, and John will be astounded at the greatness of God, as we have been so many times before.  [ slide # 12 God is great…]  Amen.