Dear Beloved,
we are weary.
Our strength wanes.
Walk with us.
Temptation awaits us
at every turn:
to take risks,
to claim power
and abuse it,
to focus on 
our own desires.
The longer we
journey in this
barren, godforsaken landscape,
the more we
are forced to
confront the evil
lurking within us.
Give us discernment.
The elements frustrate
and confound us.
Wild beasts await.
Give us courage.
Root your word
in our hearts
to encourage us
​at every challenge.
When we flounder,
send your angels,
and open our 
eyes in recognition
and our hearts
in grateful praise.
When our neighbors
flounder, send us
to minister lovingly,
in your name.

Call to Confession

Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters[a] in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested. (Hebrews 2:17-18) Let us confess our sin before God, and seek God's mercy.

Prayer of Confession 

Here we stand, Lord,
feeling like we have been wandering in the wilderness
far longer than we bargained for.
Yet we are still wrestling with demons,
still wrestling with our propensity for power
and the desire to retain it
and to keep structures that abuse it.
In spite of the pain and despair all around us
and motivated by greed and/or selfishness,
we still hoard our resources
while others are struggling to survive.
Arrogant and egotistical,
we expect God to bless us,
to protect us,
to place us above our neighbors, allies, and friends.
In the name of all that is holy, God,
transform us.
Grab hold of our hearts in this barren landscape
and teach us humility
and faith,
that we might be re-oriented
for the kin-dom work that awaits us
outside our doors and outside this wilderness experience.

Assurance of God's Grace

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested[a] as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) In the name of Jesus, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God. 

Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another.
The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this day.

The Holy Spirit --
Divine Breath --
drives us into wildernesses
of our own making
to face the wild beasts
within. 
By the grace of God,
we enter,
facing whatever temptations threaten 
to thwart our calling,
and seeking strength 
​in the Living Word.

Almighty God,
you walk with us through rocky terrain
to the very height of mountains
where you show us 
all that is possible ...
all that can be. 
Open our eyes, we pray,
for a glimpse of a future
where past and present make sense
and the glory of your redeeming power
is both tangible
and bright.

Rabbi ... Teacher ...
you take teachable moments
and use them to shape us
into the leaders you have called us to be.
In this moment,
teach us to listen 
to the law and the prophets
through the lens of grace
that our communal life and ministry
may be transformed
with the light of love.

Holy Word,
you speak to us 
and call us to listen.
Open our ears that we may hear
the truth that echoes through the ages:
that you are God
and you are sovereign.
Send us out to be messengers
of this Good News
to all who are waiting
in the valley of despair and hopelessness,
that they might also catch a glimpse
of your transfiguring presence
​among us.

In this week's focus passage -- the story of Jesus' transfiguration -- the quest is for a continuous mountaintop experience. It didn't start that way. Peter and James and John hiked up that mountain alongside Jesus as they had become accustomed to doing. Where Jesus went, they went. While there was no such thing as "an ordinary day" with Jesus, surely Jesus' disciples were not expecting what they saw: a dazzling transfiguration, an appearance from age-old prophets, a message from God spoken out loud. They were awed and (almost) speechless. Almost, but not quite. 

In a moment of complete bliss, Peter says, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." I've been there. I even wrote a very short song that asks for "just a few more minutes on the mountain, Lord" on my way home from one such mountain-top experience (I've been so fortunate to have many over the years). How many times in our lives have found ourselves in stunned silence as we saw the light and love of Jesus revealed in scripture and in community? How many times have we witnessed revelations that changed our perspective of the past and the future entirely? The quest to hold on to that "mountaintop experience" is strong. We don't want to carry it with us ... we want to bask in it ... never leave it.

The challenge is that the work we are called to do is not on the mountaintop. The mountaintop is where we go to gain perspective on the work that waits for us in the valley. It's what gives us the energy to go down and do it. It's where we go to be reminded who we are and whose we are. Every year, I climb the proverbial mountain to the Annual Event for the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) for my transfiguration moments. This year, the mountain was digital, but I can promise you I still wanted to build a dwelling there, and stay. The quest to stay is not the quest to which we are called. If it was, Jesus would have allowed it, possibly encouraged it, or even made it happen. 

Jesus took Peter, James, and John to that mountaintop to give them a radical new understanding that would shape their ministry going forward. Jesus takes us to similar mountaintops for the same reason. The quest cannot be to stay, but to carry those experiences with us when we hike back down into the trenches of day to day life. This week, meditate on mountaintop experiences where you have learned something new about God and God's purpose for the world. Remember it, and sit in that memory, recalling everything about it that left you feeling reverent and filled with awe. How did that shift your perspective? How has it shaped your ministry? Revisiting that moment, tuck your mind-blowing, norm-shattering, life-changing moment in your pocket where it can radiate light that warms and energizes your entire being, and head back into your day to day life with God's words echoing in your ears. 

Come away to a deserted place,
a place of larger perspective,
a place where opportunities for transformation
are unhindered by crowds of people
making demands.

Come away and talk with Jesus.
Observe. 
Sit in awe and reverence.
Pay attention to the example Jesus sets
and the imperative God speaks
when God says, 
"This is my son, the Beloved; listen to him!"

So that we may be better equipped 
by our transformative experiences,
to serve alongside those who seek healing and restoration,
let us worship the Lord our God.

God of mercy and compassion,
around the world your children are crying out
for healing:
healing from the virus that is claiming lives at every turn,
healing from division that plagues families and friendships
and even nations,
healing from grief and sorrow and unimaginable pain,
healing from anxiety and fear and depression
exacerbated by isolation.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

God of sabbath stillness,
around the world your children are crying out
for liberation:
liberation from oppression,
liberation from an enslavement to productivity 
and the pursuit of that which cannot buy happiness,
liberation from hunger
and living on the edge
of homelessness.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

God of the Good News,
around the world your children are crying out
for hope:
hope in the midst of despair,
hope in the agony of loneliness,
hope in the devastation of grief,
hope in the fight for justice,
hope in the quest for Spirit.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

Surround your children everywhere
with your steadfast love, O God.
Touch us with your infinite mercy.
And fill us with a peace that passes all understanding,
guarding our hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

This week's focus passage is the story of Jesus healing Peter's mother-in-law and those who gathered from the city to be restored to wholeness as well. When Jesus got up, while it was still dark, the next morning and went to a deserted place, people are started searching for him. We all search for healing at various times in our lives: healing from pain, healing of broken relationships, healing from illness, healing for the world. Often, we look in unlikely places. We self-medicate or nurse our anger in groups of like-minded people or we withdraw from everything and everyone. We weaponize the words of "the enemy," and we even weaponize scripture to suit our purposes. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. 

The spiritual practice of questing requires that we search diligently with an open mind and an open heart, that we read the whole of scriptures through the lens of grace, that we listen to viewpoints that differ from our own, that truly seek to understand, that we approach prayer with a goal of transformation rather than righteousness. 

This week, search for Christ's healing touch in the midst of diverse community. Engage in conversations with people who think differently than you do at least as much as you engage in conversation with those who are like-minded. Open your heart to some new understanding that could transform the way you live. This week, search for Jesus in the places you least expect to find him, and allow yourself the freedom to be amazed at what you discover.