THE FIRST LESSON 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
THE SECOND LESSON Mark 9:2-9
SERMON "The Road to Discipleship on the Mountains and in the Valley"
Worship Notes
Today is Transfiguration Sunday, which is observed on the last Sunday before Lent. Transfiguration is a high point before we begin our reflective and penitential Lenten journey, which commences with the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday (February 25). The liturgical color for Transfiguration Sunday is white.
In worship today, we focus on the light of God that shined on Christ's face as God declared: "This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased!" The scripture lessons describe the transforming experience of Jesus during this mountaintop encounter with God. The music through which we worship today also reflects these themes of light and transformation. The gathering hymn is a hymn of proclamation the text of which describes Christ's transfiguring experience. The anthem by French composer Josquin des Pres (1450-1521) proclaims the greatest of God and offers a prayer that we, too, may be changed through relationship with God. The hymn, "Fairest Lord Jesus" is a hymn of praise that describes the visual beauty in which we encounter God and makes clear the fact that "Jesus shines fairer." Written in 1987, the sending hymn, "Shine, Jesus, Shine" encourages us to carry the light of Christ with us into the world. The postlude by German organist and composer Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) travels a number of twists and turns as its musical identity is transformed through a variety of colors, tempos, and modulations before arriving at a triumphant conclusion
