Transfiguration of the Lord

Year A:  March 6, 2011

Old Testament Reading:  Exodus 24:12-18

Come On, Rain by Karen Hesse (written for ages 5-7)

Comment: In this reading Moses is called by God to ascend a mountain and wait.  Moses has another ‘holy encounter’.  After this period of waiting there is fire and a cloud and Moses ascends higher up the mountain for another period of waiting.  In Hesse’s picture book we enter the story of young girl and her mother waiting too.  Like Moses they are waiting. They are waiting for life giving rain.  There has been little rain to quench the thirst of the flowers and the city.  There are dark clouds and suddenly it rains and rains and rains.  The young girl and her mother enter the clouds so to speak and rejoice with their encounter with the life giving rain.  They are transformed by the experience.

Epistle Reading:  2 Peter 1:16-21

Circle Unbroken by Margot Theis Raven and E. B Lewis (written for ages 9-12)

Comment: The writer of 2^nd Peter reminds the readers of their first hand knowledge of Christ and who he is.  He also reminds the readers that prophecy of Scripture is not a matter of one’s own interpretation.  It is only through the Holy Spirit spoken from God through the ages and taught and passed on by the community of faith.  The picture book Circle Unbroken is a story of a history of a people passed on from generation to generation.  It is the recollection by a Grandmother to a Granddaughter of how she came to  make sweetgrass baskets.  It is a beautifully written and illustrated history of this art form and how it came to be passed down from generation to generation much like the writer of 2^nd Peter reminds us that the story of Christ has been passed down from generation to generation and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 17:1-9

Little Miss Spider by David Kirk (written for preschoolers)

Comment: The disciples have been traveling with Jesus and have witnessed great miracles at the hands of Jesus but they still don’t get it.  In Matthew 17:1-9, Jesus ascends a high mountain with Peter, James, and his brother John, where his true identity is revealed in his transfiguration.  In the story of Little Miss Spider a poor orphaned young spider embarks on a journey with a beetle named Betty to find the identity of her mother.  Betty the Beetle tries to help Little Miss Spider throughout her searching.  She even keeps the young spider safe by rescuing her from becoming bird feed.  What Little Miss Spider discovers is that Betty the Beetle is her true mother and this is revealed to her through Betty’s loving actions.  Like the disciples we seem to have a need for signs and signals before we really know the fact that is right in front of our face.

The Lectionary Links this week were written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Jill Kimbirl.

Lectionary Links: Sunday, March 6, 2011 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.