Mtr Taylor Devine

Dear Friends,

This past Sunday I almost got run over by a kindergartner who was honestly so excited to get to Church. I greeted her, and her Mom and I started one of those incredibly efficient hallway conversations, ticking off a few to-do list items in just about two minutes. This family has been with us here since Easter, so they have fresh love for and fresh eyes for how things work together here in praise of God and in care of each other. We always have a lot to talk about. After those two minutes, her daughter said “Mama, it’s Church time, not after Church time.” There’s no arguing with that - we can certainly finish our conversation later!

This kindergartner was making a mad dash for the glory we read about in today’s Gospel reading:

Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him… [then] a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’

In Luke’s depiction of the Transfiguration of Jesus, Peter, John, and James want desperately to stay on the mountain, but before there can be much of an argument, God overshadows the moment in a cloud and instructs them to listen to Jesus. This moment draws them into the next season of following Jesus on earth. They know what to do, or at least the first steps. For a kindergartner who is learning to love God with her family, dashing off to the mountain makes perfect sense, and we don’t want to pull her away from there for our efficient conversations. Soon enough God will call her into all of the work he has given us to do, but for now, I think I’ll follow her toward God’s glory, where she meets him.

In Christ,

Mtr Taylor