Transfiguration (Fr. Fred)

​     We’re worshipping here on Super Bowl Sunday. We normally think about worship as being a part of our routine.  It's something we do as part of our spiritual lives or something we do as a family together.
 
     But I'd like for you to look at it from a broader point of view.  We use a form of worship that Anglicans all over the world use, which means there’s probably no time in a 24 hour period, on a Sunday, when Mass is not being celebrated in an Anglican church.  Furthermore, the Mass is the principal form of worship not only for Anglicans, but also for Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and other branches of Christendom.  But wait, there's more!  Not only is that the case today, but also it has been the case for 2000 years—from the very beginning of the Church. 
 
     Our Lord Jesus set it up that way.  He made it possible for us to be in communion with him for all time, for whenever we celebrate the Mass, not only is Jesus present, but also through the Sacrament he enters our lives anew.
 
     I’d like to leave you with that thought for a moment, and ask you to imagine everyone who is in heaven—angels, archangels, cherubim, seraphim, apostles, martyrs, all the saints, and all departed who have entered into heaven are there.  Everyone there is worshiping the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
 
     When we participate in the Mass, we’re experiencing something of heaven.  After we come to the end of the Mass on Sunday, our experience of that aspect of Heaven has come to an end for the time being until, once again, we gather together for Mass.
 
     God created us, alone of all his creation as far as we know, to have the ability to have one foot on earth and the other in heaven.  God has given us the ability to see beyond ourselves and to contemplate the eternal; and even to be in contact with our Creator.  We have far more ability to do that than we use, because of our self-centeredness.  The more self-centered we are, the harder it is not only to see those around us, but also to be in communion with God, for to be in communion with God the self can't be in the center; only God can be in the center.
 
     Jesus came to this earth in order to reunite us with God.  We access that relationship through our Lord Jesus Christ through prayer, meditation, and especially through the Mass. And when we celebrate Mass we’re celebrating not just with those in our parish, but also with those in every place who are doing the same thing.  We’re doing it with all who are in heaven, the whole heavenly host.  We draw attention to this reality at every Mass as the Celebrant says, " Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify the glorious Name; evermore praising thee and saying , ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts: Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Glory be to thee, O lord most high.'"  We can say that we are praising God with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven because that’s what angels and archangels and all the company of heaven do.  They worship the Creator of heaven and earth.
 
     Whenever we experience the presence of God, you might say we have one foot on earth and one foot in heaven.  When speaking of the Mass, we might call it a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.  Others have called it a "thin place," where the barrier between earth and heaven becomes very thin.
 
     The disciples had been with Jesus for three years, seeing him in all kinds of situations, experiencing his miracles, hearing his teachings.  They knew he was unique, and they probably had the idea that he was the Messiah.  The Hebrews, however, did not believe that the Messiah would be divine; they believed he would be a ruler in the line of King David and with the charisms of a divinely-chosen and directed ruler.
 
     When Peter, James, and John went with Jesus up on a mountain to pray, they experienced a very thin place indeed.  They saw Jesus along with the two greatest figures of the Jewish faith, Moses and Elijah.  Jesus was transfigured; his clothes dazzling white and his appearance radiant. In other words, they saw Jesus revealed as God.
 
     What do we do when we're given such a gift, whether we're speaking of being with Jesus in the Mass, or some other "thin" place?
                                                                                                                                       
     When Jesus and the three disciples left the mountain, St. Mark doesn’t tell us this, but St. Luke tells us they were immediately confronted with a child who was possessed, and Jesus healed the child. 
 
    Why are we given glimpses of heaven?  Two reasons: to lift us beyond ourselves to the presence of God and to give us strength to serve God, just as Jesus was led to serve.