Transfiguration Sunday: Jesus and John Brown (The Embodied Witness) | @kaleophx

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FEBRUARY 27, 2022

For Transfiguration Sunday, I spoke at Kaleo Phoenix about Jesus and John Brown. Below is a recording from that gathering and a transcript of my message notes.

TRANSFIGURATION SUNDAY

“Jesus and John Brown”

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a) | Erin Dooley

As tensions rise between Ukraine and Russia…part of me says, “Jesus, where are you?”

As we are in year 3 of a world-wide pandemic……part of me says, “Jesus, where are you?”

As we reject refugees from Haiti just five months ago but welcome refugees from Ukraine…part of me says, “Jesus, where are you?”

As we experience a racial reckoning and expose White Supremacy in every system this country has…part of me says, “Jesus, where are you?”

Just 12 days ago the African American Clergy Coallition here in Arizona lead a “I Love Democracy Day of Action” outside of the Cardinals Stadium.

A peaceful protest demanding that the NFL #MovetheSuperBowl out of Arizona because as Pinny Sheoran states, “There are over 140 voter suppression bills in AZ 2022 Legislative Session that seek to create barriers to voter registration, criminalize elections officials and attack citizen initiatives.”…part of me says, “Jesus, where are you?”

I don’t know about you…but growing up I remember asking how does Jesus relate to what’s happening in our world in real-time?

It’s difficult for me to hear Jesus being talked about as a then and there character of the Bible. Because He is and has always been A Here and Now God.
For we are a summation of the stories that come before us.

I also find it interesting that it’s not necessarily culturally popular to know about your family’s history and stories. For Black people, we know that most of us are descendants of slaves, but not many of us know where exactly we come from, what family-owned us, or where we were originally from.

THE STATE OF JESUS’ WORLD

A Jew…taxation…looking for him to reform the empire.

But he didn’t do it the way the people thought he should…

In Christians and Roman Rule in the New Testament: New Perspectives, Richard J. Cassidy describes the political and economic conditions of Augustus’ rule in detail. The senate and equestrian classes (including Augustus) enjoyed great wealth from the purse of conquered peoples and the trade that increased as the borders moved outward.

Not only so, but many slaves were acquired during the military conquests that were to the benefit of the wealthy people of Rome.

Jesus was no stranger to military power and exhaustion. Taking from the poor to make the rich richer. He saw how the Roman empire “enjoyed great wealth from the purse of conquered peoples and the trade that increased as the borders moved outward.”

Jesus was no stranger to taking from the poor to build up and prop up the rich to make them richer. Jesus was also no stranger to enslavement “...for slaves were acquired during the military conquests of Rom that were to the benefit of the wealthy people of Rome.”

These were just some of the political and economic conditions of Augustus’ rule during the time of Jesus.

Keep this in mind as we read our passage for tonight…

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a) NIV

The Transfiguration

28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure,[a] which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy

37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

41 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

THE EMBODIMENT EXERCISE

We’re going to do a little exercise – something different. Give you guys an opportunity to talk to one another and learn from one another. We’re going to take the next 5-7min and I want you to think about…

The wholistic story of you who you are.

All that you’ve gone through in your life up until this point.

If you know it, think about your parents - all that they went through.

Your grandparents – all that they went through.

Your great grandparents – all that they went through.

Your ancestors, your people – all that they went through.

Think about the summation of all of those stories…

Think about…not just you…but ALL the people that you are connected to…and answer this question:

As you think about the holistic story of your ancestors, your people, your family…who do you feel that YOU embody?

Who do you say that you are?

Who do YOU say that YOU embody?

**Disclaimer: if you don’t know much about your family history and where you come from, that’s okay…stick to what you know.**

Get in groups of 3-5 as you feel comfortable.

We have masks in the back if you want to grab one.

If you want to talk without one that’s fine.

If you don’t want to talk at all because you don’t feel comfortable, that’s okay too.

Let’s begin.

(7MIN TIMER)

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS

The reason why that exercise was important is because I believe that Jesus being on that mountaintop was also an embodiment.

Jesus was the fulfillment of stories, prophesies, prayers and tears that had come before him.

On that mountaintop of Transfiguration, Jesus He embodied the fulfillment of prophesies, love, and identity.

Laura, an Australian Catholic summarizes well.

She says…

Moses (symbolizes) the giver of the law and Elijah (symbolizes) the greatest of the prophets. Therefore (on that mountaintop) together, they represent “the law and the prophets”.

The Law and the Prophets were two main divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures:

The Law or Pentateuch was the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy)

The Prophets, which could include the Wisdom literature and psalms: (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings….Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel ….Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi)

Now, keep that in mind…

In the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus says:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

And later in Matthew 22:37-40,

‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

By appearing with Moses and Elijah transfigured on the mountain, Jesus shows that He is the one who fulfils and sums up all the promises in all the books of the law and the prophets…

Jesus fulfills the creation story, the exodus story, the israelites being delivered out of enslavement from the Egyptians and delivered into liberation and the promised land.

Jesus fulfills the constant struggle of the Children of Israel forgetting who they are and then remembering who they are. Jesus fulfills this deep, complex love story of identity and belonging.

Then I also find it interesting that on the mountain of transfiguration Peter wants to set up camp for all of them, a great cloud comes so he can no longer see Moses and Elijah…but he hears a voice saying, “This is my Son (focus on Him), (He’s the One who) I have chosen; listen to him.”

It was almost like God was reminding Peter in the moment…

Don’t forget where you come from…in the law.
Don’t forget who you are…in the prophets.
But also pay attention to what the Spirit is doing in the Embodied Witness of Jesus in the here and now.

JOHN BROWN: EMBODIED WITNESS

Not only is it Transfiguration Sunday, but it’s also the last Sunday of Black History Month. I want to give an example of someone who embodied history for the abolishment of slavery.

John Brown.

It is said that John Brown was a White man and a man of strong religious convictions, Brown believed he was "an instrument of God", raised up to strike the death blow to American slavery, he saw it as a "sacred obligation".

Brown was the leading exponent of violence in the American abolitionist movement: HE believed that violence was necessary to end American slavery, since decades of peaceful efforts had failed.

Brown said repeatedly that in working to free the enslaved he was following the Golden Rule, as well as the U.S. Declaration of Independence, which states that "all men are created equal".He repeatedly stated that in his view, these two principles "meant the same thing".

There's actually a drama series on John Brown called "The Good Lord Bird" on Show Time if you ever want to check it out.

I believe John Brown was an embodied witness of Jesus because he looked at the scriptures and saw liberation and a God of love….

And then embodied in practice what he believed the spirit of God wanted for the people of his time…FREEDOM. Now, not everybody agrees with his method of violence, and you don’t have to agree with it…but regardless of his method he still embodied liberation, love, and freedom – things He saw in His savior, Jesus.

He didn't just mentally accent to the agreement of the abolition of slavery. He didn't just talk about it’s importance. His physical being became what he saw practiced in the ways of Jesus. John Brown was an embodied witness of Jesus.

There are hundreds of abolitionists in history that you can look up and read about. We know that African Americans have been talking about the abolition of slavery a long time. But here’s John Brown…a White Man…inspired in a church in the early 1800s to join Frederick Douglas in the fight for freedom. He saw it in the life of Jesus and so he embodied what he saw. But the complexity of his humanity is also true and also real…and that is what makes all of our attempts to practice the ways of Jesus together…beautiful.

I grew up in a church space where it was mostly about what you said. Everything was about believing the same thing, talking the same way, thinking the same thing – cult-like really, if I'm honest right?

But, in my opinion, it at times lacked an emphasis on being. We were so fixated on thinking and agreeing as a community that we sometimes forgot to BE…

And on this Transfiguration Sunday I want to remind us that on the mountain top Jesus gave us a picture of what it means to embody the fulfillment of a story being told. For Jesus became an embodiment and then invited his disciples down the mountain on the journey of Lent to BE something. To go into their neighborhoods and BE something.

At Kaleo, we are a community that practices the ways Jesus together. The emphasis is not on the doing but on being which leads us to the doing.

The practice comes as we embody the ways of Jesus. We do…because we are…because we be….therefore we practice and therefore we do.

So it is good to reflect on the stories we embody…just like we did in our practice earlier tonight. It is good…

To remember who we are and where we come from.

To remember that your body is a witness of something.

To remember that we are children of God, loved by God, and there is something He is doing in us for the people of today.

Often referred to as "The Black National Anthem," Lift Every Voice and Sing was a hymn written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900. His brother, John Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954), composed the music for the lyrics.

On this last Sunday of Black History Month, I want to play this clip because it’s powerful to witness Black women and men sing this hymn. The songs we sing beckon us to BE something, to BECOME something, to EMBODY something.

AS THE BAND TO COMES UP AND BEGINS TO PLAY

JESUS INVITES US TO THE TABLE

I want to remind us that even as we go to the table and eat together with Jesus as the host, we don't just sit at the table as ourselves, but we come as an embodiment of story and history.

We sit as a summation of all the people, prayers, prophecies, tears, struggles, hardships, joys, laughter, and love that have come before us. And what is beautiful is that the table is an invitation to embody love…to embody acceptance…that is the table that Jesus hosts for us.

There’s no explanation needed when you embody love for all people.

There’s no explanation needed when you embody Black Lives Matter.

There’s no explanation needed when you embody that we are on Native Land and honor that truth.

The embodiment is a witness OF…and as we AS embody…we then have language FOR…and words are birthed out of that…

Even as we reflected earlier on the state of our world today…and those parts of me said, “Jesus, where are You?”

There’s so much pain, greed, hate, racism, biggotry, oppression…roaming in the streets and in the homes of our country and the world.

I think Jesus' response is "I am here embodied in each and every one of you. And because I am in each of you, the question is not where am I. For I am in you and promise to always be WITH you. The question is, where are you? Because where YOU are...there am I."

So I propose this challenging question to us...where are we? Are we in the marginalized spaces and places where Jesus would be? And do we truly embody Jesus where we are?

As the music plays take a moment to listen to what Jesus has for us.

CONCLUSION

The table of bread and wine is now ready.

It is the table where Jesus is the host, and we are His company. It is the table we share with the poor of the world, with whom Jesus identified Himself. It is the table of communion with the earth, in which Jesus became incarnate. It is the table, not of the church, but of the Lord… it is made for those who love Him, and for those who want to love Him more.

So come to the table, you who have much faith and you who have little

You who have been here often and you who have not been here long

You who have tried to follow Jesus and you who have failed.

Come, because it is Jesus who invites you. And it is His will that those who want Him, should meet Him here. AMEN.