The Treble Wore Trouble (The Liturgical Mysteries) by Mark Schweizer Page A
Authors: Mark Schweizer
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and all forty days of Lent to look forward to, the weather didn't look too bad, and the groundhog had promised us a quick resolution to the frosty season. Although Punxsutawney Phil didn't give us a specific date, an early spring should be right around the corner.
I was ready to head for church. Meg was not. "Five minutes," she said. I knew that meant fifteen. It was no problem. We had plenty of time before I needed to warm-up the choir.
"What are you going to give up for Lent?" Meg called from the bedroom.
"I don't know yet. I still have a couple of days to decide."
"I'm giving up chocolate."
"That sounds good," I called back. "I'll give up chocolate, too."
She walked out of the bedroom, at the same time working to fasten a silver cross around her neck. "You should give up cigars."
I thought for a moment. "Nah. How about asparagus?"
"Cigars."
"You can't make the decision," I said. "That's not the way it works. It has to be a personal commitment made through hours of prayer and long contemplation. Otherwise, it doesn't mean anything. How about if I give up crossword puzzles?"
"Yes, I can tell that took a lot of contemplation," said Meg. "Here, help me with this necklace, will you? I can't get the clasp to catch."
She handed me the cross, spun around, and lifted her hair off her shoulders. It took me a moment to figure out the clasp, but she waited patiently.
"Done," I said.
"Thank you very much. Now, about those cigars ..."
* * *
Transfiguration Sunday is celebrated at St. Barnabas on the last Sunday after Epiphany. It is the same in most of the liturgical Protestant denominations in the U.S. The actual Feast of the Transfiguration is on August 6th, coincidentally the anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, but we are happy to celebrate it in communion with the rest of our Episcopal brethren on the Sunday before Lent begins.
It's a big Sunday. A major feast day. The Gospel lessons are revelations of the identity of Jesus as the Son of God to his disciples. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him and goes up to a mountain. Once on the mountain, Jesus "is transfigured before them; his face shining as the sun, and his garments became white as the light." The prophets Elijah and Moses appear and Jesus talks to them. Just as Elijah and Moses begin to depart from the scene, Peter begins to ask Jesus if the disciples should make three tabernacles for him and the two prophets. But before Peter can finish, a bright cloud appears, and a voice from the cloud states: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." The disciples fall to the ground in fear, but Jesus tells them not to be afraid. When they look up, Elijah and Moses have disappeared and Jesus instructs the disciples not to say anything to anyone until he has risen from the dead, which, of course, they don't.
In Christian teachings, the Transfiguration is unique among the miracles of Jesus in that the miracle happens to Jesus himself. It is a pivotal moment in the narrative, and the setting on the mountain is presented as the point where human nature meets God: the meeting place for the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus himself as the connecting point, acting as the bridge between heaven and earth. It is the origin of our expression "mountaintop experience." With such symbolism and these wonderful texts in three of the four Gospel accounts, one might find it odd that the sermon for the day was listed in the bulletin as "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."
"That's a children's book from the '70s," said Georgia Wester. She sighed and slid her bulletin into the front of her choir folder. Georgia owned and ran Eden Books on the square. She was also on the altar guild.
"I'm sure that Mother P will make it all clear," Meg said. "The title is probably very clever in context."
"I'm sure it is," Marjorie said. "Hey! We should change the anthem to On Top of Spaghetti ." Marjorie was a tenor and no fan of
I was ready to head for church. Meg was not. "Five minutes," she said. I knew that meant fifteen. It was no problem. We had plenty of time before I needed to warm-up the choir.
"What are you going to give up for Lent?" Meg called from the bedroom.
"I don't know yet. I still have a couple of days to decide."
"I'm giving up chocolate."
"That sounds good," I called back. "I'll give up chocolate, too."
She walked out of the bedroom, at the same time working to fasten a silver cross around her neck. "You should give up cigars."
I thought for a moment. "Nah. How about asparagus?"
"Cigars."
"You can't make the decision," I said. "That's not the way it works. It has to be a personal commitment made through hours of prayer and long contemplation. Otherwise, it doesn't mean anything. How about if I give up crossword puzzles?"
"Yes, I can tell that took a lot of contemplation," said Meg. "Here, help me with this necklace, will you? I can't get the clasp to catch."
She handed me the cross, spun around, and lifted her hair off her shoulders. It took me a moment to figure out the clasp, but she waited patiently.
"Done," I said.
"Thank you very much. Now, about those cigars ..."
* * *
Transfiguration Sunday is celebrated at St. Barnabas on the last Sunday after Epiphany. It is the same in most of the liturgical Protestant denominations in the U.S. The actual Feast of the Transfiguration is on August 6th, coincidentally the anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, but we are happy to celebrate it in communion with the rest of our Episcopal brethren on the Sunday before Lent begins.
It's a big Sunday. A major feast day. The Gospel lessons are revelations of the identity of Jesus as the Son of God to his disciples. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him and goes up to a mountain. Once on the mountain, Jesus "is transfigured before them; his face shining as the sun, and his garments became white as the light." The prophets Elijah and Moses appear and Jesus talks to them. Just as Elijah and Moses begin to depart from the scene, Peter begins to ask Jesus if the disciples should make three tabernacles for him and the two prophets. But before Peter can finish, a bright cloud appears, and a voice from the cloud states: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." The disciples fall to the ground in fear, but Jesus tells them not to be afraid. When they look up, Elijah and Moses have disappeared and Jesus instructs the disciples not to say anything to anyone until he has risen from the dead, which, of course, they don't.
In Christian teachings, the Transfiguration is unique among the miracles of Jesus in that the miracle happens to Jesus himself. It is a pivotal moment in the narrative, and the setting on the mountain is presented as the point where human nature meets God: the meeting place for the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus himself as the connecting point, acting as the bridge between heaven and earth. It is the origin of our expression "mountaintop experience." With such symbolism and these wonderful texts in three of the four Gospel accounts, one might find it odd that the sermon for the day was listed in the bulletin as "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."
"That's a children's book from the '70s," said Georgia Wester. She sighed and slid her bulletin into the front of her choir folder. Georgia owned and ran Eden Books on the square. She was also on the altar guild.
"I'm sure that Mother P will make it all clear," Meg said. "The title is probably very clever in context."
"I'm sure it is," Marjorie said. "Hey! We should change the anthem to On Top of Spaghetti ." Marjorie was a tenor and no fan of
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