T R A N S F I G U R A T I O N
* The liturgical color for Transfiguration Sunday is
white – usually decorated with shiny gold. It is the
color for the days we see God’s glory brightest – like Christmas, Easter and
today. Before the call to worship point
out all the white and gold paraments.
Imagine the whole sanctuary filled with floaty gold glitter swirling
around you (rather like being inside a snow globe). Urge worshipers to listen for stories about
God’s incredible more-than-we-can-ever-understand power in the Bible readings
and in the songs and prayers. Then
invite the congregation to join you in a Call to Worship composed of selected
phrases from Psalm 99. (The first four
lines of the one below could stand alone.
Adding the rest gives a little more content.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * *
One: The Lord is king!
All: The Lord is mighty!
One: Everyone praise his great and majestic name.
All: The Lord is the Holy One!
One: Mighty king, you love what is right.
All: You have brought righteousness and fairness.
One: Praise the Lord, our God.
All: The Lord is Holy!
Based on selected phrases from the TEV
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * *
* Display all the candles of the
liturgical year (Advent candles,
little candle lighting services candles, regular Sunday candles, paschal
candle, baptism candles, etc.) Name them
and light them telling what each one says to us as we light it. Then urge
worshipers to watch for God’s glory and light in worship today.
* Especially if you are going to bury the Alleluia for
Lent, use lots of Alleluias today. (Go to Burying the Alleluia for Lent for a fuller description of this practice.)
Create
a call to worship in which the congregation replies “Alleluia” to selected
phrases from Psalm 99.
Work
through the section of the Apostles’ Creed about Jesus one phrase at a time
with worshipers responding Alleluia to each phrase. (This could be a children’s time reviewing
Jesus life or an affirmation of faith following a sermon.)
 |
| A word sheet with the repeated "Alleluia! Amen!" highlighted helps young reads. |
Choose
hymns with lots of alleluias. “Come
Christians Join to Sing” may be the first choice. Point to the alleluias and encourage
non-readers to sing the alleluias even if they can’t keep up with the other
words. Or, have the choir sing the
verses with the congregation responding with the “Alleluia! Amen!”s. Other Alleluia filled songs include:
“All
Creatures of Our God and King”
“Praise
the Lord, God’s Glories Show”
“Praise
My Soul the King of Heaven”
“Halle,
Halle, Hallelujah!
Save
the alleluia filled Easter hymns to celebrate the return of the Alleluia during
the Easter season.
* The hymns based directly on the transfiguration story are not
very easy for children to sing. Instead
sing hymns about Jesus’ power and glory.
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” is filled with impossibly complex words that describe all the
ways God is more than we can understand.
Introduce it walking through the words in the first verse then inviting
everyone to sing it enjoying all the words we can hardly know and the
bigger-than-anyone-can-understand God they describe.
Immortal (God is forever,
God never dies), Invisible (we can’t
see God), God only wise.
In light inaccessible (God
is so brightly amazing that we can’t see God) hid from our eyes….
“Fairest Lord, Jesus,” on the
other hand, is filled with concrete images and simple words to praise Jesus who
is still more than we can fully understand.
The final line links to the transfiguration saying “Jesus shines
brighter; Jesus shines purer than all the angels heaven can boast.” Point to it before the singing.
“Holy, Holy, Holy” describes the glory of God that shone all around Jesus
at the transfiguration. Ask worshipers
to open their hymnals and follow with you as you explore some of the song. Start with verses 1 and 4 that describe us
singing to God who has done wonderful things.
Then go to verse 2. Note that all
the saints in heaven and the heavenly seraphim and cherubim bow before God who
is forever. (Reminds us of Moses and
Elijah joining Jesus on the mountain.)
Before reading verse 3 aloud, recall the awestruck, somewhat confused
disciples who were trying to figure out who Jesus really was and note that we
are sometimes just as confused about who Jesus is. Conclude by going back to the first three
words of every verse, “Holy, Holy, Holy” that describe God and Jesus. Then invite everyone to sing it. Encourage even non-readers to sing the most
important words in the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”
The Texts
for Today
Because
today is Transfiguration Sunday, it is all about the gospel story. All the other texts relate to it. So, let’s start with Luke’s account of the
Transfiguration.
Luke 9:28-36, (37-43)
* Omit verses 37-43 for the sake of the children. Focus instead on the first story.
* The
word transfiguration is long,
strange and used only on this day for this story. The dictionary definition refers only to this
story. Given that, it may be simplest
not to use it with children (or even adults) at all. If you do use it print it on a large poster
to use in sounding out the word. Point
out the two key parts “Trans” (change) and “figure” (shape or form) to define
what happened in this story.
* Willliam Willimon suggests that this
story is meant to be savored as presented rather than to be explained. He insists that there
are moments when we experience God’s presence in amazing ways. These do not happen often, but are very
special and often shape lives. So let
the children hear the story literally and encourage them to expect to have such
moments a couple of times in their whole lives.
If you have stories of experiencing God’s presence in amazing ways to
tell, tell them.
* Before reading the story tell worshipers that it is about that
something that was absolutely amazing to see.
Instruct them to close their eyes while you read and
try to see with their imaginations what the story describes. In an informal setting,
ask after the reading, “what did you see?”
In a more formal setting go to the next activity encouraging children
(or all worshipers) to draw or write what they saw on paper.
 |
| Angelico, fra, ca. 1400-1455. Transfiguration, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=47774 [retrieved January 14, 2016]. |
* Artists have portrayed the transfiguration repeatedly. Go to Vanderbilt Divinity Library: Art in the Christian Tradition and search for transfiguration to find 15 very different great art depictions of this story. (These pictures are free for use in worship with attribution!) Select one or two to show worshipers after reading the story. Point out some of the differences in them. Give children paper and crayons with which to draw their own pictures of the transfiguration. Be sure to have plenty of gold, even glitter gold pens or crayons. Invite them to post their pictures at a set place after the service for all to see. (Art can be taped to the altar rail, to any fencing at the front of the sanctuary, or on a door.)
 |
| Angelico, fra, ca. 1400-1455. Transfiguration, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=47774 [retrieved January 23, 2013] |
* Another way to use great art to unpack this story with
children is to show them a transfiguration picture that includes the disciples
watching at the side. Tell them that God did this
not for Jesus, but for the disciples. Note that the disciples had been living with
Jesus every day for several years. They
went everywhere with him, even slept near him.
Recall some of the things they had seen him say and do. Looking at their faces in the picture, point
out that they looked that puzzled and amazed.
Insist that they looked that way most of the time. They knew Jesus was special, but they were
never quite sure what that meant. By
wrapping Jesus in a shiny cloud and incredible clothes, God was telling the
disciples, “Jesus is more than a special person. Jesus is God with you.” Conclude with a WOW or some ALLELUIAS.
* In many
ways this story is a shot of God’s glory and a hint of the resurrection for
Jesus, his disciples, and Luke’s readers before settling in for the long hard
trip to Jerusalem. For children it is a chance to hear Jesus’ whole story - especially its
glorious ending - before settling in to hear the frightening parts that are
coming. There are several ways to do this:
Be honest. Tell the children that Jesus’ story is not
always happy. There are sad and scary
times in it. During Lent we will be
reading and thinking about some of those times.
Knowing how the story ends helps us get through the sad scary
parts. Then tell
or read a brief summary of the gospel. My summary story is
Jesus
was born in a stable
Jesus
taught people how to live good lives
Jesus
told stories that made people think about what is important.
Jesus
healed people
Jesus
also made some people very angry
So
angry they decided to kill him on a cross
That
was the very worst day.
But
it wasn’t the end of the story.
Three
days later he was alive again and is still alive today.
The Easter Story,
by Patricia Pingry, is a good readily available short book telling this
story. My copy is a board book. If I read it, I would omit her theological
interpretations of the story on the first and last pages and simply read the pages
that tell the story.
Ø If you have a teaching picture file in the church
school area, select pictures that tell the major events
in Jesus’ life. Display
them in order as you tell the story in your own words. If you do not have good pictures go to Vanderbilt Art in the Christian Tradtion to select paintings that can be used from that grand
collection at no cost.
Ø Before the congregation sings the story with “O Sing a Song of Bethlehem,” point out
the locations at the beginning of each verse and challenge worshipers to think
their way through Jesus’ life as they sing.
* Create a responsive confession of faith with a worship leader saying each phrase of the Apostle’s Creed
about Jesus. After each phrase the
congregation responds, “God said, ‘This is my beloved Son.’ We will listen to Jesus.”
* If you celebrate Communion today and use the phrase “with the angels and archangels
and all the heavenly host” in the liturgy, point out the phrase. Note that Moses and Elijah came to
Jesus. In Communion we imagine ourselves
joining Moses and Elijah and all the others at a great banquet table. Both are rather shiny events and remind us
that we can be connected to God, Jesus, and a whole universe of folks who love
them.
* There
are three familiar transfiguration connections in currently
familiar children’s literature:
Recall
the mild mannered Clark Kent who changed into Superman. No one ever saw him make the change or knew
that Clark Kent was Superman. In this
story three disciples actually see Jesus changed into who he really is. Jesus of Nazareth is God’s son. He knows important long dead people like
Elijah and Moses. And, he shines!
In the Harry potter books transfiguration is a required
class at Hogwarts. There it is a matter of changing one thing
into another using your wand, charms, and spells. Go to Harry Potter Wiki for detailed information
about the course including a video clip of a raven being turned into a goblet
before the amazed young Harry and Ron.
Unlike the bird, Jesus was not changed into something else (say a
goblet). Jesus became more who he really
was. He shone with the glory of God.
In the first Shrek movie Princess
Fiona is transfigured. In a whirl of light and special effects the
beautiful princess becomes a large, loving ogre. Similarly, in a flash of light, Jesus who has
been revealed to be the son of God “sets his face toward Jerusalem” claiming
his task of suffering love.
Just in case you need the details: Fiona was under a spell
in which she was a princess by day and an ogre by night. Love’s first kiss was to allow her to take
“loves true form”. She very much
expected to end up a beautiful princess married to her prince charming. But the prince who came for her (Lord
Farquar) was far from charming and the ogre Shrek, who actually rescued her
mainly to force Lord Farquar to give him back his swamp home, was loving and
kind. At her forced wedding to Lord
Farquar just before the kiss, Shrek appears to claim her for himself. The sun sets during the confrontation turning
her into an ogre who Lord Farquar finds hideous. After a tussle in which a dragon ate Lord
Farquar, Shrek proclaims his love for Fiona.
With their kiss she rises into the air with all sorts of lighting
effects. When she comes back, she is an
ogre. At first she is dismayed, but
Shrek assures her that she is beautiful to him and is indeed in “love’s true
form.” They head off to happy a life in
the swamp.
Exodus 34:29-35
* Read this story and the gospel story back to back, maybe with different readers. Before reading them, point out that these
stories are very similar. In one Moses
who lived way back at the beginning of the Old Testament spent time with God
and came away with a face that shone. In
the second Jesus who lived hundreds of years later became shiny all over while
he talked with God.
To
make this the “real” reading for the morning, have the readers stand beside
each other and pass the Bible or flip the pages of the lectern Bible between
readings. Or, invite the children
forward for the readings. Take the big Bible
with you to the steps. Introduce and
read the stories there, briefly asking the children
-
what was the same
and different about the stories
-
how do they think
Jesus and Moses looked like when they were shiny, and
-
why do they think
they were shiny.
There
are no right or wrong answers to these questions. They are simply ways to imagine together
something that was very mysterious.
* Children may wonder why
Moses and Jesus got all shiny when they talked to God and we do not. Most are
satisfied with the answer that we are not Moses or Jesus and that even they did
not get shiny every time they talked with God.
These were special events. To
take it further, refer to the comment from Will Willimon at the beginning of
the section on the gospel story for today.
Psalm 99
This psalm is a series of
short phrases praising God who is the glorious king of the universe. Unfortunately, it is filled with the names of
people and references to Biblical stories that will not make immediate sense to
children (or many adults). Use selected
phrases that are clear in the call to worship and responses throughout
worship. See one script at the beginning
of this post.
2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2
* There is no way children will get any of this text as
it is read. In fact, a group of seminary
professors suggested not reading it all and concentrating instead on the two
stories for the day. If you do focus on
this text in worship….
* To explore Paul’s message that we can
refuse to see what is right in front of us, begin with a couple of examples. You can see the dog sitting by the door
looking at you with anxious eyes and just see the dog or you can see that the
dog needs to go for a walk. Or, you can
see a child eating alone in the lunchroom without seeing that the child needs
someone to be a friend and eat with her.
Then go to the transfiguration story noting that disciples had been living
with Jesus for a long time. They knew he
was special. He said wonderful things,
he told important stories, he healed people, and even walked on water once. But, in this story, God is telling them Jesus
is more than just a special person.
Jesus is part of God. He shines
like no person ever has or will.
Finally, go to Paul’s insistence that though we do not live with Jesus
like the disciples did, we still have all the stories about him. We know who Jesus is and what he is teaching
us. We can either ignore him and do
whatever we want to do. Or, we can recognize
who he is and try to be who he wants us to be.
* Create a responsive prayer in which
worshipers use their hands to cover and uncover their eyes. A leader
describes a series of things we would rather not see while worshipers hold
their hands over their eyes. Worshipers
reply by removing their hands and saying a set phrase. For example,
Leader: God, when we see a person begging by the
side of the road, we try not to see them.
People: Open our eyes. Help us see clearly.
Leader: Creator of the world, when we see mountains
and beaches and trees sometimes we just see stuff we can use.
People: Open our eyes. Help us see clearly.
* “Open My Eyes” is filled with images children understand especially
after exploring Paul’s message here.
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