Luke 9:28-43
The Transfiguration
28-33 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
34-36 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
37-40 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”
41 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42-43 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
REFLECTIONS:
Thoughts from Elmarie:
Glory. It’s a word that takes multiple words, even sentences, to describe its meaning...and yet, even at that, it is difficult for me to fully comprehend. It has always seemed so elusive to me. It is a word that attempts to describe something impossible for me to fully see—the very nature and essence of God.
Donnie Berry shares about glory in an online interview: “God’s glory, we might say, is the “shining forth” or the “public display” of God’s character and nature. “Glory” describes all the things God is full of—his wisdom, love, creativity, beauty, strength, compassion—all the things that make him weighty and wonderful, made manifest for us to see and experience and respond to.” (https://renew.org/glory-of-god/)
The public display of God’s character and nature. Wow. Now that is something I can begin to grasp. And then something even more stunning is given as a gift to us. The Apostle Paul tells us that, as we “behold the glory of the Lord,” we are “transformed in the same image, from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18). And if that is true, then Walter Wink is getting at a profound truth when he shares: “Only God is human, and we are made in God’s image and likeness — which is to say, we are capable of becoming human.” (Just Jesus: My Struggle to Become Human, p. 102). I’m left pondering the implications this has not only for me, but for our community, for our society, for our world.
Reid Hoffman - AI, and What it Means to Be (More) Human
On Being
Reid Hoffman is co-founder and former executive chairman of LinkedIn, and a partner at the venture capital firm Greylock Partners. He's known by some as the philosopher of Silicon Valley. He is currently on the board of Microsoft and was an early investor in OpenAI, which brought ChatGPT into the world.
In October 2023, Reid sat with Krista Tippet of OnBeing for a conversation about Artificial Intelligence and what it means to be human.
PRACTICE:
Outward Mindset Application
How can I encourage someone else’s flourishing this week?
Non-Violent Communication Question of the Week
Next time you experience an emotion you’d rather not feel, how can you get curious about what that feeling may be telling you about your needs and the pathways to meet your needs?
Pathways toward Centeredness
Activism (Seeking change on behalf of the powerless):
What can I do this week to encourage more of God’s kind of compassion in encounters I have with others in the Salem area?
Questions for Reflection
How am I seeing God’s character and nature on public display this week?
What invitation am I then receiving to have that same character become more visible in my own character and actions this week?
“Liturgy” refers to the habits and practices humans use to form community around shared values and meaning. At Church at the Park, we desire to be a community of practice, becoming people who see the world through the eyes of the marginalized, making meaning through the lens of pain and suffering, and committing ourselves to non-violence in a wounded world. This weekly email is intended to provide pathways of practice for becoming the type of people who embody these values.
Many of our reflections on each week's text come from other sources. If you're interested in reading more of what inspires us, here our our two favorite reflections.
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