THE FIRST LESSON Luke 9:28-36
THE SECOND LESSON 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
SERMON "The Light of the Body of Christ: Explosions of Light"
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 17). The liturgical color for Transfiguration Sunday is white.
In worship today, we end the season of Epiphany with a focus on an explosion of God's light. This includes 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 praise offered to the immortal God who is "light inaccessible, hid from our eyes." In celebration of the light of God, our youngest Christians today offer a song expresses the joyfulness of our response to God's Word in one word: "Alleluia." The choir anthem by Alexander Gretchaninoff (1864-1956) is from the Russian Orthodox tradition and is a hymn to "Holy Radiant Light." Russian choral music characterizes the vastness of God's light by expanding the range of notes sung by the choir. In this anthem, the lowest bass note and the highest soprano note are separated by more than two-and-a-half octaves.
Other music through which we worship today reflects the beautiful light of Christ. The offertory, "Fairest Lord Jesus," is based on hymn 306, which states that Jesus shines fairer than all of the most beautiful sights of nature. Our closing hymn summarizes the Transfiguration scripture by proclaiming that Christ will reign where ever the sun shines bright. As our service ends, the postlude, written by French composer Theodore Dubois (1837-1924) illustrates the transformative process by traversing a number of twists and turns as its musical identity is transformed through a variety of colors, tempos, and modulations before arriving, finally, at a triumphant conclusion.
