Do Not Live At The Shallow End Of The Pool / Transfigured Moments

Each year ...we as Anglicans ... set aside a date to hear the glorious story... of the transfiguration.

The Scriptures Speak to the transfigured nature of our Lord... in the books of Mathew, Mark, and Luke. Here God's Word (Pick one) ....... BIBLE "And he (Jesus) was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. END (Mark 9:2-3) BIBLE "And he (Jesus) was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light." END (Matthew 17:2) BIBLE "And as he (Jesus) was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white." END (Luke 9:29)

Beloved ... I am convinced ... that true followers of the Christ ... yearn ... for their life ... to also shine.

That their life would more clearly reflect ... the image ... of Jesus. (Pause

In 1977 ... NASA launched Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 ...... to explore ... the galaxy.

A recording ... called ......The Sounds of Earth ...... was attached to each ... of the twin spacecrafts.

It was a message from earth ... to anyone out there in the universe ... who might possibly ... be listening.

It contained music ... and it even included ... the sound of a human ... heartbeat. (Pause)

Over thirty years later.... the person who served as the Creative director of this famous Project, .... reflected on what she chose to include ... In ...The Sounds of Earth:

She said: ... "The first thing I found myself thinking of ... was a piece by Beethoven, something called ... the Cavatina (Ca-va-tin-a) Movement.

When I first heard this piece of music ... I thought... this was a great, .... beautiful, .... Yet ... sad piece of music, .... on which Beethoven had written in the margin ... a word in German ... which meant ......." Longing."

Part of what we wanted to capture in the Voyager message she said .... was this great longing .... that we feel ... as ... a people. (Pause)

So, ... in the end, .... NASA chose a musical score ... of human longing .... and launched it ... into space.

It's as if ... the NASA's scientists ... were saying to the rest of the universe: (Pause)

'This is who ... and what we are as human beings: ...... Creatures ... of longing.

And hidden in that basic introduction ... to who we are .... there is an implicit question .... for possible extraterrestrials:

(Slow) ...... 'Do you feel this Longing ... too?

Or ... Are we ... the only ones?'" (Long Pause)

If we are honest ... There are times in our lives ... when we are longing ... when we look around and wonder, ... "Is this ... all there is?"

Sometimes ... it is just a passing question, ... other times ... it lasts ... for a season.

We look at our life, ... our circumstances, ... and we want ... more.

There is a restlessness, ... a searching, ... a longing for something else... something ... more.

Some call it ... a crisis... of the ... midlife.

Now this searching ... this seeking... has caused some ... to make some very unwise ... decisions.

Some decide to get a new job, ... a new car, ... a new relationship.

Others ... may take up a new hobby, ... go on a trip, ... or work extra hours.

But in the end ... well ... not much that is eternally significant ... changes.

Why? ... Because .... this yearning ... this longing ... is not really about ....... the circumstances ... of life.

It is not about what happens to us ... in life.

It really speaks about ... us as ... human beings.

This restlessness, ... this desire for something more, ... generally means ... that we have been living life ... at the shallow end ... of the pool.

It means ... that Life ... and relationships ... have become superficial.

We have been skimming ... across the surface.

It means ... We have not gone ... deep.

In some ways ... life at the surface ... is easier, ... more efficient, ... and encouraged ... and rewarded ... by much of the world ... today.

It fails however, ...... to fully understand ... what God has done.

That God ... through His Son Jesus Christ ... has transfigured the world.

And that creation itself ... is filled .... with His divine light.

It is not fully understanding ... that only through Jesus ... is this longing ... satisfied.

The Advent Hymn ... "Come, thou long expected Jesus", by Charles Wesley ... speaks to this human longing ... in the second stanza:

Sing Israel's Strength and Consolation,