Sunday, February 11, 2024
Spirit of Hope Lutheran Church, Lincoln, NE
Transfiguration Sunday
(narrative lectionary)
watch this service online (reading starts around 22:05; children’s sermon starts around 24:25; sermon starts around 33:26)

Reading: Mark 8:27-9:10

This Sunday, the kids and I talked about superheroes. Specifically, we talked about superheroes like Superman, Spiderman, Batman, etc. who have secret identities. Inevitably in their stories, there seems to come a moment where the people in their lives who know them as relatively ordinary people – as Clark Kent or Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne – catch a glimpse of who’s behind the mask (or the cape and the giant ‘S’) and are shocked to find out that there’s a lot more to this person than they would have ever guessed. For the disciples in this Sunday’s reading, this moment of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountaintop seems like one of those kinds of moments. Even though they (in theory) know Jesus’ true identity as the Messiah, it’s clear that until this moment, they had no real idea what that meant, and the truth is startling and a bit terrifying for them.

But we also talked briefly about how the gospels aren’t just some dry academic books that were written just for the sake of future posterity. They were written to and for specific communities of people who needed to hear the story. Mark wrote his gospel during the chaotic time immediately surrounding the destruction of the second temple. The people to whom he wrote needed a reminder that the God they served was still a superhero – one much stronger than any powers of empire, temple or no temple. And that story can still remind us and give us hope, that the God we continue to serve is a God of hope and love and peace much stronger than any power in this world.

There is a map of North America that makes the rounds on social media from time to time. It shows every single state and province on the continent, each one color-coded by how close it is to the ocean. There are coastal states in blue, then landlocked states, then double landlocked states. And right in the middle of the map, there is one lone state in red: Nebraska. We hold the distinction of being the only triply landlocked state in North America  – meaning that no matter which direction you go, you have to go through at least three other states before you reach the ocean.