Psalm 99: Transformation

 On this Last Sunday of the Season of Epiphany we are confronted with the Glory of the Lord in all the readings. In the reading from Exodus, Moses is called up onto Mount Sinai and into the presence of God which was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. (Exodus 24:17-18)

The Gospel account is the Transfiguration event as told in Matthew 17. In the Second Letter of Peter, we hear the author recount what happened to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration where He received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain. (2 Peter 1:17-18) This rendering of the Transfiguration is by Munir Alawi.

There are two options for the Psalm for this Sunday. Either Psalm 2 or Psalm 99, both of which speak of the glory and power of God. I chose Psalm 99 because I couldn’t get past the imagery from Handel's Messiah where the bass solo sings, “The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers take council together, against the Lord and His anointed.” This is followed by a couple more movements before the grand Hallelujah Chorus. 

Psalm 99 calls us to remember that Yahweh is enthroned above the cherubim…exalted above all the people (as the Legacy Standard Bible puts it). The Psalmist reminds us that the King loves justice, established equity [and] done justice. As we enter Lent in just a few days, we are reminded, God is a forgiving God…yet an avenger of their evil deeds. Exalt Yahweh our God And worship at His holy mountain, For holy is Yahweh our God.

In our preparations for Ash Wednesday and Lent, we do well to consider where we have fallen short of justice, equity, righteousness, and worship. On this Sunday we are reminded of the Transformative Glory of God. We can ponder our response to that Holiness.

Psalm 99 The Lord is King; let the people tremble; * he is enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth shake. The Lord is great in Zion; * he is high above all peoples. Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; * he is the Holy One. “O mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; * you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.” Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God and fall down before his footstool; * he is the Holy One. Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, * they called upon the Lord, and he answered them. He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *  they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them. “O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; * you were a God who forgave them,  yet punished them for their evil deeds.” Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God and worship him upon his holy hill; * for the Lord our God is the Holy One.                  (Episcopal Book of Common Prayer)

Yahweh reigns, let the peoples tremble; He sits enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth quake! Yahweh is great in Zion, And He is exalted above all the peoples. Let them praise Your great and awesome name; Holy is He. The strength of the King loves justice; You have established equity; You have done justice and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt Yahweh our God And worship at the footstool of His feet; Holy is He. Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They would call upon Yahweh and He would answer them. He would speak to them in the pillar of cloud; They kept His testimonies And the statute that He gave them. O Yahweh our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, And yet an avenger of their evil deeds. Exalt Yahweh our God And worship at His holy mountain, For holy is Yahweh our God. (Legacy Standard Bible)

 

50 Days of Easter: Salome

 We are continuing to meet the Women of Easter. Their faithful witness is what gives us a glimpse into the earliest moments of Easter. Today is Mother's Day and we find the "mother of the sons of Zebedee” at the tomb. Scholars agree that this was a woman named Salome. We first meet her earlier in Matthew when she asks for special treatment her sons. While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem [he said] … ”the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.’ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him….‘Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.’ But Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ He said to them, ‘You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’ (Matthew 20:17-23)

In my March 2017 blog post, I noted, “[Salome’s] bold request gives us hope that we can come to the ‘throne of glory’ with any request we might have. God will answer all our prayers, although it may not be in the way or in the time we expect. We may look at the problems in the world and ask why God doesn’t do anything about them. Perhaps that is when we need to be reminded as Teresa of Avila says, “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours”…Salome was called to be the hands and feet of God and TO God at the Cross and Grave. 

Salome, the mother, wanted what she thought was best for her sons. She wanted them to have secure positions of power with Jesus. She didn’t understand the implications of the request. As mothers, we can make the same mistake. I have sometimes fallen into the trap of trying to make things “easier” for my daughters rather than allowing them to make mistakes and grow and learn from them. It is tough to watch our children struggle as they grow up and leave home and live their own lives. We try to help and even wonder why God doesn’t intervene when things get really hard.

Like the disciples themselves, Salome misses the point of Jesus life and ministry entirely. However, she remains steadfast to the cross and grave. The Gospel of Mark tells us When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. (Mark 16:1-2)

The dedication of Salome and the other women was rewarded when they came to the grave. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ (Mark 16:3-7) This icon of Salome shows here with a jar of ointment for burial. 

Salome and her friends are frightened out of their wits, as I think I would be. They expected a dead body and found a young man, dressed in a white robe. They are told Jesus has been raised; he is not here. From this side of Easter, and 2000 years later, we are not as astonished by this announcement. Imagine Salome’s confusion about what ‘raised’ might mean and who this young man is. Stunned by the horrific events of the crucifixion and days of grieving and waiting, I think I would have found it difficult to take it all in. It is not surprising that they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (Mark 16:8) We are told that later they told [these things] briefly to those around Peter.

Salome wanted the best for her sons. She became a follower of the man she thought could offer hope. She saw him die, and with that death her dreams for herself and her sons were lost. Then came the transformation of Easter and an empty tomb. I’m sure she wondered what that really meant for her life going forward. We know that James and John did become leaders of the early church, and we can assume that Salome was present in the upper room at Pentecost with the other believers. 

Easter makes us wonder what God has in store for our lives in all the changes and challenges of modern life. Perhaps Salome began to understand that God’s ways are different than our ways. Where we see loss and death and despair, God offers hope, life and love. Easter says we are invited to be part of the transformation of the world.

Where and how might you offer hope or life-giving love this week?

How might you work for transformation where you are? 

Transformation-Light to the Nations

For the past 6 weeks, we’ve been on a journey, looking at transformation. We’ve traveled with Barbara Brown Taylor* and her book Gospel Medicine and with Edward Hays’ St. George and the Dragon and the Quest for the Holy Grail.* Along the way we’ve found some surprises-or at least I did. Transformation can only happen when we acknowledge we are broken and scarred. Transformation comes at a cost and often requires wrestling with God who sometimes seems to be absent. Messengers come to offer guidance and ultimately we are faced with judgment-the turning around of our lives. Slowly, eventually we start to understand that the scars are part of who we are and that it is in embracing them that we can become whole and holy people of God.

Responding to God’s call to Transformation turns our ‘world upside down.’ The things we thought important, somehow become less important. Men and women in the Bible learned this over and over again. Abram in Genesis becomes Abraham (father of many nations), but not in the way he anticipated. Naomi (Book of Ruth) thinks her life is over because her husband and sons are dead. Instead, God gives her a new family through the devotion of her daughter-in-law Ruth. Simon in the New Testament is given the new name of Petros (Peter the rock) by Jesus, but it is many years before he grasps what that means in terms of leading the fledgling church. Anyone you look at in the Bible and God’s servants today, will have similar stories of how the life they had planned did not turn out the way they expected. Instead it ended up much better, even though it was a walk through fire.

Taylor closes her book with a look at Mary and Joseph, two people whose ‘yes’ to God changed the world. She says that we can decide to say no when God visits you. “You smooth your hair and go back to…whatever it is that is most familiar to you and you pretend that nothing has happened. If you life begins to change anyway, you have several options…[ignore it…become angry…bitter]…or you can decide to say yes…to take part in a plan you did not choose, doing things you do not know how to do for reasons you do not entirely understand. You can take part in a thrilling and dangerous scheme with no script and no guarantees…Deciding to say yes does not mean that you are not afraid…it just means that you are not willing to let your fear stop you.”

Accepting the call of God to be transformed and carry the light of God into the world, however, is not something you do in your own strength. Too often we (and I speak for myself here) think that it’s all up to us to be “extraordinary: extra thoughtful, extra friendly, extra involved…you burn your candle at both ends…You begin to wonder whether it is God you are serving or only your own ego.” (Taylor) 

Taylor points to Isaiah 49 as our reference when we feel burned out.

"Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The LORD called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’ But I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the LORD, and my reward with my God.’

And now the LORD says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—he says, ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’"(Isaiah 49:1-9)

The Servant in Isaiah knows God has called him, but he claims “I have labored in vain.” However God answers him by assuring the Servant that he will be “a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Jesus uses the same metaphor of being light in Matthew 5:14-16: "‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Early in Edward Hay’s book, the dragon gives George “a hermitage mirror.” The Dragon says, “Look into it and be alone; be quiet and you will see the shadow side of yourself which is usually invisible. You will see that what you consciously deny is there.” At the end of the book, George is ready to leave his family to go with Igor, the dragon, on the ultimate quest. Before they leave, Igor again hands the mirror to George.

“‘You don’t want to forget this.’ I took the hermitage mirror in my hand remembering my fears when I first began to see my own darkness, the dark side hidden by my blindness. As I looked into it now, I saw the garbage-the sin, the weakness, the failings that were once unbearable. I could look into the mirror and say truthfully, ‘I love you.’ And this morning I could see that I also bore the darkness and weakness of vast multitudes, of those past and those to come. And as I look at all that darkness, I could say with complete conviction, ‘I love you.’

Igor smiled as he watched and said, ‘Turn it over, George, and look in the other side.’ Slowly I turned the mirror. There on the other side was the brilliance of ten thousand sunrises-the image blinded me with its intense beauty. And out of the center of the explosion of sunburst, a golden chalice appeared-the Holy Grail!
My whole being was saturated with light, and my heart throbbed like thunder as I felt my body expanding beyond the furthest reaches of the cosmos. ‘Yes, George,’ said a voice that came from everywhere. “Thou art that.” You, George are the Holy Grail!’”


If we are as Hays implies, the Holy Grail-the container that holds the Holy, then the world is indeed upside down. Taylor says, “God’s ‘yes’ depends on our own…God’s birth requires human partners-a Mary, a Joseph, a you, and a me-willing to believe the impossible, willing to claim the scandal…accepting the whole sticky mess and rocking it in our arms…surveying a world that seems to have run amuck and proclaiming over and over again to anyone who will hear that God is still with us, that God is still being born in the mess and through it, within and among those who will still believe what angels tell them…”

Taylor states, “it is too light a thing, you servants of God, that you should spend your strength doing your duty when what you have been called to do is to ignite, enflame, combust, burn, shine with the glory of the God who has chosen you, and given you to the world, bright lights to the end of the earth.”

Are we spending too much time doing what we think is our duty and not enough time being the Holy Grail that George saw in that hermitage mirror? Is your light under a bushel or on the lampstand to light the room around you?

*quotes from Gospel Medicine by Barbara Brown Taylor and St. George and the Dragon and the Quest for the Holy Grail by Edward Hays.

Easter Triumph

This morning we celebrate the true Truimph of Christ. The women sadly come to the tomb, prepared only to offer a final anointing of their Master and Teacher. They are met by angels announcing “He is not here. He is risen!”

Our truiumphant Easter anthems ring out in churches this morning with trumpets and “Alleluias.” The ancient greeting is exchanged again and again:

Alleluia! The Lord is Risen!
He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!


The Resurrection of Jesus Christ transformed the world. It transformed the disciples and each person they talked to. As it says in the Book of Acts (17:6) “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.”

Although we are ending our Walk Through Lent, we never end our Walk with Jesus. I invite you to come back and meditate with me, throughout the Easter Season, on some ways that lives are transformed by Christ.

Easter Blessings!