Lifting the Veil

February 10^th, 2013        “Lifting the Veil”    Rev. Heather Jepsen

Exodus 34:29-35, Luke 9:28-36, and 2 Corinthians 3:12-18

          Today is Transfiguration Sunday.  Like Trinity Sunday and Christ the King Sunday this is one of those liturgical holidays that we sometimes forget about or even miss.  Transfiguration Sunday is a movable holiday, like Easter, and it always happens on the Sunday before Lent.  This Sunday marks a shift in the church year.  We are moving from ordinary time, to the Lenten time in which we prepare our hearts for the coming of Holy Week and Easter.

On Transfiguration Sunday we always read the text of Jesus on the mountaintop.  This year we are reading Luke’s version of the story.  Jesus heads up the mountain with his closest friends and while he is praying his appearance changes.  His clothes become dazzling white and the text indicates that his face changes somehow.  Moses and Elijah appear and together the three chat while Peter, James, and John heavy with sleep groggily look on.  Peter wants to build some dwellings to honor the moment when suddenly they are engulfed in a cloud, they hear the voice of the Lord praising Jesus, and then the whole thing is over.

Transfiguration Sunday is all about this moment on the mountain.  Jesus is transfigured; we could also use the word transformed or changed.  In this moment, Jesus looks different to the disciples and perhaps they get a sense of who he really is.  Similarly, Jesus’ mission and ministry are transfigured or changed at this moment.  In the synoptic gospels it is after this moment that Jesus turns his face to Jerusalem and the death that awaits him there.  Luke even brings this truth to the mountain top as he envisions Jesus, Moses, and Elijah speaking of the “exodus Jesus was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”

In this lectionary year the gospel story of Jesus on the mountaintop is paired with the story of Moses in Exodus.  This is probably because the stories have so much in common.  Moses has been on a mountaintop of his own and has enjoyed face to face conversation with God.  When Moses descends the mountain the Israelites are afraid because the skin on his face is shining.  Moses covers his face with a veil so he can speak to the Israelites without causing fear, but then removes the veil when in conversation with God.  Like Jesus, Moses is physically transfigured or changed by his encounter with God.

Today I also read from Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth.  As usual when reading Paul, this text is a bit murky and confusing.  We jump right into to an argument Paul is setting up.  Paul is trying to defend his ministry and his understanding of the gospel against an outside teacher in the Corinthian community.  This text is tricky in more ways than one.  Paul is using a Hellenistic style of argument, from the lesser to the greater, to show that the old covenant in Moses is surpassed by the new covenant in Christ.  An un-careful preacher can wander into the bog of anti-Semitism here, so rather than reviewing Paul’s argument I am choosing to focus instead on Paul’s discussion of becoming unveiled in Christ. 

Today I am thinking about how we are like Moses.  We can be transfigured or changed by an encounter with or our relationship with God, and yet we often put a veil between ourselves and the world around us.  Often, I think we are worried about what other people will think if they know who we really are, or if we are honest with them about our faith.  Like Moses, perhaps we hide ourselves so as not to scare each other.

A real life example might be helpful here.  Now, I consider myself a person who has been dramatically transfigured, or changed by an encounter with God.  I didn’t grow up in the church, and yet I find myself here, standing before you as a pastor.  God has changed me and my life. 

I am also a person who has lived as with a veil and I learned to do that in my previous call.  Now, let me say off the bat that I love the people of Wilbur, where I was before here.  It is a wonderful town, and it was a good church for me, and the people of that church were supportive of me and my ministry.  But Wilbur is a really small town.  800 people, no McDonalds or anything, no stop lights for 60 miles in any direction.  Small. Town.  And like many small towns, most people living there were from there.  Their families had been in the area for generations.

As with many small towns, Wilbur is a very insular place.  When I moved there to begin my ministry it was clear that Lars and I were different.  And that that difference was not necessarily welcome.  As I lived in Wilbur, I began to struggle with my identity.  I found I had to be very careful how I acted at all times and I couldn’t ever let my guard down.  Folks were always watching and frequently reporting on the actions of Pastor Heather.  Because I couldn’t relax I didn’t feel like I could be myself very often.  In fact I often veiled myself to the world around me.  I developed a persona of “Pastor Heather”; part really me and part who people told me to be or who I thought a pastor of a small town should be.

The chance to start over, in a place like Warrensburg, has been a gift.  In this community, very few of us are from here.  This is a transient place, with folks coming in and out to work at the Air Force Base or at the University.  Now while it is not a hot bed of diversity, there is a bit of room for difference here.

In this new call, I have felt the freedom to lift the veil a bit between me and you.  In my heart I believe that God called me, “Heather Jepsen” to ministry, not my idea of “Pastor Heather”.  Here in Warrensburg I have felt freer to be myself, “Heather Jepsen”, on Sundays or at Wednesday night meetings.  I have felt freer to tell you what I really think about things.  I have felt freer to share my harp.  In doing this, I am showing you more, of who I really am.  I am being more authentic in sharing the person that God called to ministry.  I am lifting the veil and revealing my transfiguration.

I think that all of us could do this a little bit more.  We don’t need to live like Moses, with a veil between ourselves and the world.  Rather, as Paul writes, we can set the veil aside in Christ.  We can live with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord reflected in the lives of each other. 

There are several ways we can lift the veil as individuals and as a church community.  One thing we can do is be more honest with each other here at church.  I just shared a bit of personal information and you can too.  When we are visiting together, tell me a bit more about yourself, don’t hide behind a veil.  I want to know who you really are.  When you come to worship on Sunday, bring your life with you.  Are you having a good day?  Bring it here.  Are you having a terrible time?  Bring that.  Let us share with each other what’s really going on.

As we gather at the communion table this morning, let us bring the whole of who we are.  The light and power of Jesus’ transformative love is expressed here in the elements of bread and juice.  Let us be honest about who we are, coming to the table humbly in worship of our Lord.  This is an occasion to lift any veil you have placed between yourself and God. 

The second thing we can do is share our faith with the world outside these doors.  Let’s stop worrying about scaring people and lift the veil on our lives.  Tell others how God has transfigured your life, how God has transformed you.  Tell others how this church is important to you.  Share with other people how and why your faith informs your view of the world. 

The third thing we can do is lift the veil on this church.  This church has a unique voice in our community.  We need to share it.  We need to tell folks that we are the financial house of ECHO.  We need to tell folks that we host the Food Center in more ways than one.  We need to tell folks about how we support Survival.  We need to stop being embarrassed or humble and start tooting our own horn.  We are in this community making a difference.  Let’s get a little bit louder about it.

On this transfiguration Sunday, let us be more open as individuals and as a church, about the transforming work God is doing in our midst.  As Jesus was on the mountaintop, he was changed and his ministry changed.  He was clear about that with his followers, putting no veil between himself and them.  Paul tells the Corinthians that if we are in Christ, then we too are unveiled before the Lord and before each other.  God has transformed us.  Let’s show it!  Amen.