James 2:14-18
The book of James almost was deleted from the Bible during the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther's goal was to move the Christian faith away from a works righteousness belief where we earned the love and favor of God to a faith that focused on grace, God's gift of unconditional love to us all. In fact Luther called James the "Epistle of Straw." As you listen to this reading you ma sense why Luther felt this way, but thankfully James remained part of our sacred writings. He reminds us that faith, our deep belief and trust in God is expressed not in right beliefs, but in how we live our lives.

Read James 2:14-18

Luke 9:28-36
The passage in Luke is entitled "The Transfiguration." This story is told in each of the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, and is the teaching that is used to lead us into the Lenten season, which starts this Wednesday. The word transfigured is a translation of the Greek "metamorphao" our cognate for metamorphosis. In the scriptural account the writing suggests that Jesus went through a physical transformation that showed the deeper truth of who he is. But, the story also suggests that Peter, James and John experience a spiritual transformation that influences not only their relationship to Jesus, but also themselves and how they will now live their lives.

Read Luke 9:28-36

Sermon:
I am a pacer. When I get nervous or when I am waiting for something, I have a hard time just sitting still. I am up and in a constant state motion. This was especially true at my mother's funeral. My family and I were gathered in a corner of the funeral home waiting by ourselves for my mom's service to start. It is when I discovered it must be genetic because most of my family are pacers as well. We kept having all these near miss collisions. Recognizing how nervous everybody was, I said a simple prayer to God. "God, please help us feel your peace." Finally it was time to begin, and we all went in and took our seats. The pastor came to the lectern and opened with those most familiar of words, "Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and I am life." As soon as he said those words, I had this incredible sense of peace come over me. It was just like a rushing wave of peace that absolutely consumed me and I knew everything was all right.

Jesus takes Peter, James and John up the mountain. I do not imagine these three are aware of what is about to happen. But all of a sudden they are standing in the presence of Moses, Elijah and a transfigured Jesus. A Jesus who has been changed and who they can now see clearly for who he really is. And if they still had any doubts remaining as to who Jesus is, they were squelched as they heard the voice of God. "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." They are in the midst of an experience that leaves no room for questioning and doubt. Hence the name mountain top experience. And what happens, Peter does not want it to end. He wants to build shelters and stay in this moment. But it is not to be, and they come back from the mountain top into the valley and real life with simply the memory of the moment, but a memory that would influence them for the rest of their lives. It is moments such as these that most people look for and desire, for they seem to give proof to the reality of God, and consequently affirm our faith as not simply wishful thinking. So the question becomes are these the only experiences, the only places we can find that confirmation and affirmation of faith? They happen so seldom, and because of this I believe it leads people to ask where is God? I pray, but I feel like I get no answer. Where is God and how do I experience God in my faith journey?

Our faith statements say we know that God is always with us. One of the attributes we claim for God is omnipresence meaning that God is everywhere at all times. If this is the case, should we not experience moments such as the one I described more often? Rabbi Abraham Heschel, my favorite First Testament theologian, says that in our pursuit of faith, of having a profound and grounded relationship with God, we often times ask ourselves the wrong question in seeking that relationship. And if you ask the wrong question you are consequently seeking the wrong answer. Rabbi Heschel says, we often ask the question, "Where is God?" He suggests the better question is, "When is God?" When are those moments and times we most fully experience this loving presence of God in our lives? Certainly the story I told is one of those "when" moments. I have to admit to you that I have tried to recreate this moment. At subsequent funerals where I have seen the family really struggling, I have prayed for God's peace. And I must also admit that I have never felt it again in this way, nor have I had people come to me afterwards telling me about this incredible wave of peace during the service. But are there other "when" times that are a more normal and routine part of our everyday living?

Last week, I shared some thoughts about Jesus and God being in all the experiences of our lives, even in and especially in the deep valleys, the deep pain of life. Some people suggest that our painful moments are proof that there is no God, but for me, those moments may be some of the deepest and most profound "when" moments in our lives.

When my youngest son was six months old, he contracted meningitis. When I heard the doctor speak those words, my heart sank, for I believed I had just heard my son's death sentence. I had only known one other person in my life who had meningitis and he had died. The doctor tried to assure me that he would not die, but, there was a distinct possibility that either the infection or the medication that was used to combat the infection could possibly cause a learning disability or some other physical impairment.

I had just started attending church when this happened, and I can assure you that God and I had some very one-sided conversations, and they were not polite. "So this is what it is like to say yes to you. No wonder you have such a problem in getting people to say yes and follow you." A few years later, when I went to seminary I remember a story my Spirituality Professor told that enlightens to a degree the feeling I was having. The story is about Theresa of Avila, who was a spiritual writer and guide in the church. According to my professor, Theresa was riding her horse when she came to a stream. The horse did not want to cross, but Theresa kept pushing it to do so. Finally, the horse had enough and threw Theresa off its back and into the water. Theresa, mad as can be, began cursing the horse and cursing God. As she was screaming, she heard a voice as clearly as can be from the clouds saying, "I only do this to my friends." To which Theresa answered, "And that sir, explains why you have so few." That sort of captures the feeling I had at this moment. I come back to the church, I do what you desire and this is what I get in return?"

Yet, in the three weeks my son was in the hospital, I would not miss a worship service. It was more than wanting to be there, I had to be there. I had to be with the church. Part of it was the church did give me their strength. The church hugged me and prayed me through the scariest three weeks of my life. When my son returned home and went to church for the first time, the pastor held him up and said, "This is our miracle baby." After the service she came up to me and said, "God saved your child for God knew you are a new Christian and that if anything had happened to him you would have lost your faith and dropped away." She could not have been further from the truth. Her words though put into perspective why I had to be in church. That moment in my life taught me that the bottom line of hope is always God. The doctors admitted that they had done all they could, but they could not guarantee me anything. I had learned in the most profound way, a "when is God" moment in my life. Even if my son had died, the only place I had any hope of ever being able to hold him again, or relate to him again was in the promise of God. Our times of deepest need and crisis can be and often are those times that help us understand that God is the only place we can ever find sure hope in our lives. Or to quote the children I told you about last week who in their operetta had this incredible insight about idols and false Gods, those places we may place false hope. "The gods we make can never love us back. Only God can love." And only that love is eternal. As difficult as those three weeks were, I learned that it is only God I can truly trust and fins hope in for my life.

But surely, there must be places and ways that we can find the "when of God" without simply waiting for God to break in or having to live our lives in crisis. This is where the teaching of James becomes an imperative for us. "I will show you my faith by my works." To share another thought by Rabbi Heschel, he says, "Faith never comes to us by having the right concepts of God or by creeds and tenets of the faith. Faith is always an experience based upon a relationship with God." When James talks about works, I believe he is saying that it is by putting our faith into practice, by living by it in our lives that we can experience the presence, the when of God in our lives.

I occasionally have people ask me, "Why do you believe?" Why do you have faith in the presence of a God in your life? I used to give them the latest theological premise I had learned. After I finished my treatise the response was usually a bored, "Oh." And we would move on to some other topic. And interestingly, I never did see any of them come to church the following Sunday. Now when someone asks me this question my very short and simple response is, "Every teaching I have tried, every direction I have put into practice has always worked just like Jesus said it would." The teachings are not wishful thinking, but faith is a tried and tested way of life.

When we challenge people to live the teachings of Jesus, it is never for ourselves. It is always for creating a "when is God" moment. God cannot affirm God's presence, God cannot fully enter into and participate in our lives unless we take the paths and live the life he calls us to. It is the ultimate act of trust and faith. But it affirms what Rabbi Heschel says, "Where is God?" is the wrong question, for God is everywhere all the time. The important question of "when is God" resonates and empowers us. When reminds us that it is in how we live our lives and where we place our trust that will influence what we experience.Think about those moments "when" you have come to a person in their time of need and seen the smile on their face knowing someone cared. God was there. Think about those times "when" you knew that generous gift given changed the direction of another's life. There was God. Think about "when" you simply said a kind word to someone who was wrestling with their own value and worth, and you saw tears of joy. "There was God.

The answer to the question "When is God?' is always "Now!" In those present moments we fully live our faith in our acts of love toward each other.

Sermon delived by Rev. George Cushman on February 18, 2007.