UNVEILED, REVEALED -- TA-DA!

Luke 9:28-36
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

The light bulb goes on, it's an epiphany!  A new idea, a different perspective, a deeper insight and understanding, a revelation, something beautiful and wondrous unveiled -- TA-DA!

The season of Epiphany is bookended between two stories of light and revelation.  It begins with the story of the Wise men who followed an unusually bright star to greet the new king of the Jews, the one anointed by God and given authority to rule.  It ends with the story of the transfiguration, where Jesus was the one who lighted up the night with the glory of God.   Wonder, mystery awe!

They are stories frozen in time, part of the history of the faithful.  However, God's word challenges us to look for revelation, new insights in old, familiar stories, asking of them, "How is this part of my story?"

TA-DAAAH!

That's a bold statement, isn't it.  It says, "Look at this.  This is something special, something wonderful"  with at least three exclamation points.

"Ta-dah" moments in my life, have made me smile and laugh.  I have cried in joy, been left mute with rapt awe, and been emboldened and encouraged during challenging times.

And if anyone needed encouragement, it was Christ's disciples.  Eight days before, it began when Jesus asked a couple of questions:  "Who do the people say I am?" and "Who do you say I am?" To the second, Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Christ," -- the one promised by God, especially chosen and sent. 

Then Jesus told them that what it meant to be the Messiah was that he was going to suffer and die at the hands of the religious leaders in Jerusalem and be raised from the dead three days later, and what it meant to be his disciples would mean that they, too, were expected to make sacrifices.

Jesus said to everyone gathered around him, "All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me.  All who want to save their lives will lose them,  But all who lose their lives because of me will save them.  What advantage do people have if they gain the whole world for themselves yet perish or lose their lives?"  (Luke 9:23-25, CEB)

You can't tell me that didn't weigh heavy on their hearts and their minds.  Did they question their decision to follow Jesus?  Was this what they had signed on for?  Could they live up to what Jesus expected of them?

There's no doubt in my mind that we are living in hard and discouraging times --

• Political rhetoric driven by fear, desperation and division.
• World-wide economic instability.
• News that we're on the verge of ecological disaster while special interests campaign to secure the status quo. 
• Wars fueled by religion distorted by hate.  

And within this context, we as Christians struggle to be the presence of Christ for the world.

It would be so easy to just give up the good fight and give in, to ...

• Allow ourselves to fall back on sweeping generalizations that ostracize and radicalize our neighbors.  
• Choose the easy victims to blame all our problems on.
• React from fear rather than faith.
• Or just draw the curtains and close the doors, doing nothing but waiting for the dust to settle.

Weary in body and spirit, Peter, James and John followed Jesus up the mountain to pray with him.  They were struggling to stay awake when ....

TA-DAH!

The lights came on as God lowered the veil that separates human perception and the reality of God, and the disciples saw Christ in the fullness of His dazzling glory -- his clothing as white as lightening and His face radiating light.  With a mixture of fear and awe, the disciples watched as Jesus discussed the event to come with Moses and Elijah.

Then, the presence of God manifested itself around them, enclosing them like a fog bank, and they heard the words they needed to hear, words that confirmed to them that they could put their futures in Christ's hands.

"This is my Son, my chosen one.  Listen to him!"  (Luke 9:35 CEB)

Through Christ, God's truth is unveiled and revealed to us and through us.  During times of discouragement and desperation, we can look to Christ to receive God's strength and peace to travel the tough road the world has set before us.

What Christ challenges us to do is to reflect God and God's love to world --

• To meet hate and fear with love and compassion.
• To offer respect, tolerance and friendship in the face of reactionary rhetoric.
• To be peace makers, advocating for justice and sharing Christ's love and light with the world in real, tangible, meaningful acts of kindness to our neighbors and enemies alike.

And to do these things every day and in every aspect of our lives.

Can we meet this challenge?  Are we able to live up to Christ's expectations for us.  No, not on our own, but 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us:

"All of us are looking with unveiled faces at the glory of the Lord as if we were looking in a mirror.  We are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to the next degree of glory.  This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (CEB)

Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are daily being equipped to proclaim God's truth, the good news of Jesus Christ, to the world through "Ta-dah" moments when God says to us, "Look at this.  This is something special, something wonderful"  with at least three exclamation points.  "This is my Son.  Listen to Him."

Let us keep our hearts unveiled to these moments so that we may be encouraged, grow in faith, and be disciples of Christ for the transformation of this world.