The Revised Common Lectionary passages for the Lord’s Day are:

First Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-13
Psalm 50:1-6
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Gospel Reading: Mark 9:2-9

The liturgical color for the day is: White

They could just stay there forever.  They have had a glimpse of the glory of God, but now they have to keep moving.  This incredible moment will have to suffice.  They must travel and the road will lead them right to Jerusalem.  And in Jerusalem those things which Jesus spoke of will take place.

Oh, James and John and Peter, we get it.  We long to linger in the place where we feel the best.  We long to hang out in those places where we are built up.  We want a faith that is a string of constant moments when we feel the most connected, the most clear, and the most glorious.  We want lives that are that way too—that feeling of constantly being on top of it, of being connected and clear and even of being glorious. 

But life and faith are not lived in those places of laser clarity or mountain-top-delight.  Life and faith are lived on the road.  Life and faith are lived headed towards Jerusalem.  Faith is not about holding on to the best moments in life or hunkering down there.  Faith is about keeping moving.  It is about the journey; it is about the continuing on—even when the cross looms large on the way.  So, we do that here, we do that now—we keep on the way, and all the way knowing we don’t go it alone and remembering those glimpses of glory we are seeing along the way.

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Rev. Dr. Daris Bultena
General Presbyter and Stated Clerk