October 7, 2012 The Rev Kate Wesch preaching
One cold, wintry day Francis was traveling on foot with Brother Leo, one of his closest friends, to Santa Maria degli Angeli. Knowing that Leo was bothered by the cold and the freezing rain falling on them, Francis said, “Leo, although we may give sight to the blind, cause the deaf to hear, and even raise the dead – these things are not the source of perfect joy.”
August 5, 2012, Charissa Jones preaching
Today we celebrate the transfiguration of Jesus – an account of which we just read from the Gospel of Luke. Do you try to imagine what that would look like? Do you find yourselves, like me, a little jealous of an encounter with something that seems so miraculous? Through the transfiguration, the divinity of Jesus is made undeniably clear to Peter, James, and John. In the midst of their sleepiness they see the changing of Jesus’ face during prayer. The face is both familiar and unfamiliar – recognizable as the man they know so well and yet shining with glory. Even his clothes become dazzlingly white. Jesus allows his followers to see his full divinity with sudden brilliance and clarity.