{"id":655,"date":"2024-02-20T11:03:35","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T15:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mountainviewunited.ca\/?p=655"},"modified":"2024-02-20T11:11:35","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T15:11:35","slug":"abridged-worship-february-11-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mountainviewunited.ca\/index.php\/2024\/02\/20\/abridged-worship-february-11-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Abridged Worship – February 11, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meta-Morphing<\/strong> Power Scripture Reading<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abridge Worship Provided By:<\/strong> Rev. Jacob Shaw (Please note that this is not a verbatim account of our Sunday morning worship, but rather a condensed version for those at home to study and enjoy, Blessing)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opening Prayer:<\/strong> Creator God, whose love is higher than the heavens! Righteous God, whose love extends from the mountains and seas to every living thing! You take us under your wing, loving God, where we find refuge. You give us hope and possibility for the journey. You transform our lives with your compassion. May your love flow in us and through us, for now and for eternity. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture Reading<\/strong>: 2 Kings 2:1-12; Mark 9:2-9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Kings 2:1-12<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 <\/strong>When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 <\/sup><\/strong>Elijah said to Elisha, \u201cStay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Elisha said, \u201cAs surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.\u201d So they went down to Bethel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 <\/sup><\/strong>The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, \u201cDo you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, I know,\u201d Elisha replied, \u201cso be quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 <\/sup><\/strong>Then Elijah said to him, \u201cStay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he replied, \u201cAs surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.\u201d So they went to Jericho.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 <\/sup><\/strong>The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, \u201cDo you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, I know,\u201d he replied, \u201cso be quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 <\/sup><\/strong>Then Elijah said to him, \u201cStay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he replied, \u201cAs surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.\u201d So the two of them walked on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 <\/sup><\/strong>Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 <\/sup><\/strong>Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 <\/sup><\/strong>When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, \u201cTell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet me inherit a double portion of your spirit,\u201d Elisha replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 <\/sup><\/strong>\u201cYou have asked a difficult thing,\u201d Elijah said, \u201cyet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours\u2014otherwise, it will not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire\u00a0and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven\u00a0in a whirlwind.\u00a012\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Elisha saw this and cried out, \u201cMy father! My father! The chariots\u00a0and horsemen of Israel!\u201d And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore\u00a0it in two. (NIV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark 9:2-9<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 <\/sup><\/strong>After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 <\/sup><\/strong>His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 <\/sup><\/strong>And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 <\/sup><\/strong>Peter said to Jesus, \u201cRabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters\u2014one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.\u201d 6 <\/sup><\/strong>(He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 <\/sup><\/strong>Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: \u201cThis is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 <\/sup><\/strong>Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone\u00a0what they had seen until the Son of Man\u00a0had risen from the dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We give thanks to God for the Scriptures and ask God to have these words inspire our hearts and minds.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflection:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transfiguration Sunday is a very special day, a day when Jesus pulls back the curtain and shows Peter, James, and John his true divine nature. The word in the Greek for this transfiguration is \u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5\u03bc\u03bf\u03c1\u03c6\u03ce\u03b8\u03b7 (metemorph\u014dth\u0113) which sounds similar to our English word for metamorphosis, which we often think of in terms of a butterfly. We had one thing, then it changed into another. Although many people like the poetic imagery of the butterfly to explain the transfiguration, for anyone who knows me, they can tell you I prefer the Superhero analogy better. Because a butterfly isn\u2019t both a caterpillar and a butterfly at the same time, you have one nature, but lose that nature as it transforms into the new nature. But Superman is both man and super at the same time, what he unveils to the world depends on his will, and the necessity of circumstance. Likewise, Jesus is both man and divine, his capacity to demonstrate that depends on the will of the Father. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both the divine and human are eternally present in Christ and the transfiguration is the revealing of the divine more fully to the disciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is a question here that I want to ask? If Jesus is revealing aspects of his divine nature, why did the author choose to use the word metemorph\u014dth\u0113; \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0meta<\/em> meaning change, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and morphe<\/em> form.
Why not use a Greek word like \u03b1\u03c0\u03bf\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cd\u03c0\u03c4\u03c9 (apokal\u00fdpt\u014d), \u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03ce\u03bd\u03c9 (phaner\u014dn\u014d) which me to reveal, or even \u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03c6\u03b1\u03af\u03bd\u03c9\u201d (epipha\u00edn\u014d), which also meant \u201cto display\u201d and \u201cto manifest\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here are my thoughts on this, and to be frank, these just came to me this week, so I haven\u2019t dived too deep into this, but it makes something interesting for our hearts and minds to think about in faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the reason for metemorph\u014dth\u0113 is because of the prefix meta. You see, in Greek meta has a few meanings in different context. It can mean \u201cafter\u201d and \u201cchange\u201d but if it is used in a sentence just as a word it can also mean \u201cwith\u201d, as in to be with something or someone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you put meta<\/em> and morphe<\/em> together the context makes meta mean change, change-form. <\/em>But if you were to keep the prefix as its own word next to morphe <\/em>it would say with form<\/em>. I think metemorph\u014dth\u0113 was chosen as a poetic pun, because in the transfiguration not only do we see man change into his divine nature, but you also see the divine take shape in human form; God with form; God with shape. God with form is Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is more to this choice of metemorph\u014dth\u0113 because meta\u2019s <\/em>ability to mean change links it to another word, \u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u1fc6\u03c4\u03b5 (metano\u0113te). Metano\u0113te is the Greek word for repent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Metano\u0113te comes from two words, meta which we have already discussed, and \u03bd\u03bf\u03ad\u03c9 (no\u00e9\u014d) which means to perceive, observe, see, or notice. So, repentance comes from a compound word which means with \u2013 perception, or with \u2013 sight. But when you compound them, it means a change-in-perception. This is kind of neat because to change our perception often we need to be given new information, a new sight to change our mind. This makes some sense when we think of the Greek word for faith, \u03c0\u03af\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 (pistis) which comes from the root word peitho <\/em>which means to persuade or to be persuaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what information, what sight is gained to bring people to faith; to divine persuasion? God\u2019s revelation to the world of his love, justice, mercy, and grace; Jesus Christ is God\u2019s revelation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what we see in this moment of revelation of the transfiguration, is that Jesus Christ is God with form, and Jesus Christ is Man with divinity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When our hearts experience the persuasion of a divine sort, when we come to have faith in Jesus Christ; both God and Man – two natures in one person, who is one person in relation with the Father, and the Spirit, three persons in one Being, we come to have a change; an illumination and a repentance. We have a new sight of a God who so loved the words he came and took on flesh, and repentance because we discover that God so loved us that he took upon our sins to reconcile us to His eternal love. And in that transformative faith, we become a bit like Christ on the mountain, we become man, who has God with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So from this Transfiguration we learn so much about God with<\/em> us, with<\/em> from, and how with<\/em> new sight, we will be with<\/em> new life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homework: <\/strong>How is God with you a transformative statement? What would a world without <\/em>God look like? How can we reflect upon the Transfiguration to help us draw nearer to God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closing Prayer:<\/strong> Lord in Heaven, You have shined life into us. Help us to keep that gifts you have given to us shinning. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meme of the Week: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for joining us this week. If you have any thoughts, feelings, or prayers, feel free to leave them in the comment section below. Please be respectful of others’ posts and make room for all those joining us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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