Matthew 17:1-8 – “Transfiguration and Thin Places” – March 3, 2019

Click here for audio of this sermon

There is an expression attributed to ancient Celtic culture that has become fairly popular in the spiritual/faith circles of our day. The expression is “thin places.” The saying goes that heaven and earth are always only three feet apart, but in thin places, they are even closer. Thin places are physical places or even moments in time when the veil between the material and spiritual is pulled away or becomes transparent. Thin places can be ancient holy sites or particularly moving experiences of nature, or profound events in life such as the birth of a child or the death of a loved one. In all such times and places, we might think that God is coming closer to us, or the barrier that seems to exists between the Heaven and Earth crumbles. But, I wonder if that is really what is happening in those thin places.

Mark 9:2-9 – Containing God, Not Such a Bad Thing – February 15, 2015

At one time or another most of us have tried to figure out how to fit something into a container. We have tried to figure out what size box or bin or bag will best hold an object or objects or liquid or what not. Whether we are packing Christmas ornaments in mid-January or beach towels in mid-July we look at what we have in front of us, we know we want to put it into a container and we try to image what container will serve the purpose. Will the container be too big and waste space or too small and therefore be useless? Will it be too tall or too short? Will it be too bulky?

Well the disciple Peter was asking himself these kinds of questions as he stood on the mountain top beholding the shining Jesus and the visions of Moses and Elijah all talking to each other.