Resources for Right Now - Transfiguration Sunday

Feb 11

The Text Today

God is revealed through the ages not only in moments of peace and reconciliation, but in experiences of terror and fear. The cloud of fire where Moses meets God is “like a devouring fire.” Jesus’ clothes and face are so changed the disciples barely know him. When we are afraid, when our senses are overwhelmed (including in clouds of smoke or flashing lights – a startling parallel to smokebombs and flashbangs), we may want to shrink back. God sets the invitation for us to enter into that fear in order to better know who God is and thus who we are called to be.

Call to Worship

Leader: On this Sunday, Christians around the world come together to celebrate the festival day of Transfiguration, when Jesus was transformed before the disciples’ eyes, spoke with the great leaders Moses and Elijah, and heard a voice from heaven say, “This is my beloved Son.”

On this Sunday, we gather out of the cold and ice, out of the chill of winter and of frozen hearts, and we lift our eyes up in hope.

We have come through a dark and despairing valley,

All: Holding on to hope and to each other
even in the shadow of death.

Leader: We have climbed with weary but determined feet,

All: Proclaiming our belief with every step
that something good still lies before us.

Leader: We have come to reach the summit of God’s mercy,

All: And to look out upon the wide world
with eyes of diligent grace.

Leader: And here we rest, releasing our burdens,
and breathe in the mountain air–
a quiet yet fearsome peace.

We pause to breathe and rest together.

Leader: God of majesty,
as we rest as one from our many journeys,
we long for the same transformations
that the disciples received.
We look for revelation.
Reveal to us

All: The gift of your law,

Leader: That we like Moses might know the blessings
of righteousness and justice,
and ground our every action in your command:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Reveal to us

All: The gift of your prophets,

Leader: That we like Elijah might turn away from the idols
of cruelty, violence, greed, and oppression,
and trust instead in your still small voice
and your unending care for the widow and orphan.
Reveal to us

All: The gift of your beloved son,

Leader: That we in Him might too know our own belovedness.

Prayer of the Day

Transfigured Christ, before your disciples you were transformed from humility to glory, not to terrify them but to reveal your belovedness. Grant that we too might fulfill God’s call to listen to you and follow you into the world in service, loving our neighbor as ourself. Amen.

Prayers of the People

Prayer Petition, Option 1: Holy God, mighty King, lover of justice: in fire and cloud you granted us the gift of the law. You spoke to Moses and the prophets not to bind us in self-righteousness but to free all your children, calling us to an ever-widening community where all are cared for and fed. When we are tempted to use your law to justify ourselves, turn us instead towards our neighbor in need. Lord, in your mercy…

Prayer Petition, Option 2: Holy God, you spoke to Moses and the prophets to create beloved community where all your children are cared for and fed. But in the streets of our nation, we see the law turned into a weapon to justify ourselves and condemn others. Protect all those who, like you, are lovers of justice, working for the protection of our neighbors in need. Lord, in your mercy…

Dismissal

Leader: Jesus’ disciples could not remain on the mountain.
They walked back into their ordinary lives with Jesus by their side
and a simple and everlasting invitation:
Do not be afraid.
We, too, cannot stay here.
The hope we receive is not for our own comfort,
but sends us out into a world hungry
to know what it is like to be unafraid.
Let us go first.
Let us go into the world

All: With eyes determined to see the truth.

Leader: Let us go into the world

All: With feet steady to seek those in need.

Leader: Let us go into the world

All: With hands holding tight to love.

Emmy KeglerResources for Right NowTransfiguration

Rev. Emmy Kegler

Emmy Kegler is a queer Christian mom, author, pastor, and speaker called to ministry at the margins of the church.

Emmy has a Master’s in Divinity from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minn., and is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. She was raised in the Episcopal Church and spent some time in evangelical and non-denominational traditions before finding her home in the ELCA. For six years she served as the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Northeast Minneapolis, a small servant-hearted neighborhood congregation focused on feeding the hungry and community outreach, where she co-founded the Queer Grace Community, a group of LGBTQIA+ Christians in the Twin Cities meeting for worship, Bible study, and fellowship.

Emmy’s first book, One Coin Found: How God’s Love Stretches to the Margins, tells her story as a queer Christian called to ordained ministry and how it formed her relationship with Scripture. Her second book, All Who Are Weary: Easing the Burden on the Walk with Mental Illness, offers a pastoral and Scriptural accompaniment to those facing symptoms and diagnoses of mental illness along with the families, friends, communities, pastors, and therapists who care for them.

When her son was born, Emmy transitioned out of called ministry. She now serves as the Editor of the Church Anew blog, where she helps curate an amazing collection of new and long-time authors that share a fresh, bold, and faithful witness for the church.

As a preacher and writer, she is passionate about curating worship and theological practices that dismantle barriers to those historically marginalized by Christian practice. She believes in and works for a church rooted in accessibility, intentionality, integrity, and transformation, knowing that God is already out ahead of us creating expansive space for those most hungry for the good and liberating news of Jesus.

Emmy lives in Minneapolis and has a life full of preschooler-chasing alongside her wife Michelle.