United Methodist Church Westlake Village

Awakened by Faith: The Transfiguration Journey

• United Methodist Church Westlake Village

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Are there moments in your life where you felt a divine presence? Join us as we explore the power of recognition through personal stories and biblical narratives that resonate with our experiences today. From brushes with greatness involving celebrities to the profound moment of transfiguration, we delve into how these experiences shape not only our perspectives but our faith journeys. Discover why we need to engage with the extraordinary in our ordinary lives and how each encounter can be a stepping stone to deeper spiritual awakenings.

We reflect on the significance of transfiguration and how it relates to our journeys as people striving for a better life. The episode invites listeners to consider how seemingly mundane moments can awaken our spirits and connect us to something greater than ourselves. Special attention is given to the idea that we are all potential “transfiguration people,” transformed by encountering Christ's love. Through humor, personal anecdotes, and profound insights, the episode remains engaging and relatable.

Feel encouraged to bring these reflections into your own life and see how you, too, might be transfigured by love and faith. Click to listen and join the conversation! Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave us a review!

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Pastor Darren:

So I have a confession to make. I am 57 years old and I still get giddy when I see famous people. Am I alone on that? No, you know. You see floating around. You know my famous story actually is I'm going to slide this too, because I got elbows, that would be terrible.

Pastor Darren:

My famous story is Brenda and I were walking down at Doheny Beach in Dana Point. Anybody know that area at all? That's kind of my stomping grounds, that's where I grew up in Doheny Beach and we're walking along. Just her and I, on some weekday morning Didn't have things to do. And who did we see? But Karch Karai. Anybody know Karch Karai? Right? Some of us know Karch Karai, all right. Those of you who know volleyball know Karch Karai is like the Babe Ruth of volleyball. No, Karch Karai is like the Babe Ruth of volleyball, like he is that conquered indoor, conquered outdoor, and I think he's still the coach of the women's national volleyball team.

Pastor Darren:

Anyway, I played a lot of volleyball. I lived near the beach. That for me, was pretty cool. It was like oh, you know, and I still talk about the time that I went to the beach with Karch Karai. I did. I also talk a lot about the time I had lunch with Travis Kelsey, the tight end of Kansas City. Yeah, we had lunch together when we were in Pacific Palisades, Brenda and I.

Pastor Darren:

There's famous people who live in Pacific Palisades, brenda and I. There's famous people who live in Pacific Palisades prior to the fire. You'd see people all the time so we'd always be bubbling up. Oh, this is so exciting. But I have had one experience out here in Westlake Village. We call them brushes with greatness in our family, him Brushes with Greatness in our family. Brushes with Greatness oh, I saw a famous person. I saw Jamie Foxx over at Finney's. One day Am I the only one seeing Jamie Foxx out here? I don't know, maybe he lives out here and you see him. Famous actor. So it's kind of fun and you have these moments and you get all excited.

Pastor Darren:

And so we've been walking this journey, talking about setting a course, setting course as people, setting course as a church. And here we have this experience in this scripture in which the disciples see something awesome. And the question is, how does this relate to us? How does this relate to our journey as people, setting a course to a better life? So it is an important scripture. Like I said, it gets read every single year, one of the few that actually is in every year in the lectionary.

Pastor Darren:

A quick summary again, Jesus heads up the mountain to pray. He's taking Peter, James and John. We tend to understand them as the kind of closest to Jesus kind of people and while there, his whole appearance. Well, it changes. Then Moses and Elijah appear and Jesus is together with them. Now you need to know Moses and Elijah. That's like the Michael Jordan and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Hebrew faith and really, in our originations, the Christian faith. These are the big hitters. They're hanging out with Jesus, the disciples who were sleeping. They awake to this and Peter offers to build three tents for them, one for each Jesus, moses and Elijah. Then a cloud comes over and it overshadows the whole event. The voice of God sounds out. This is my son, my chosen. Listen to him. As it all ends, they all keep quiet, seemingly tacitly agreeing not to talk about it as they head back down the mountain. Pretty powerful story, right? An amazing story.

Pastor Darren:

I brought some pictures because I think I invited Kallie to set up some pictures for me. Here's some ways that this has been depicted. You can see the disciples there at the bottom, Jesus in the middle, Moses and Elijah. That's the aura, the energy, the feel that people are trying to grab from this. I think that Luke was trying to get us to feel I've got another one here right. And this one I kind of liked the way it was a little bit hazy like it was. They were just adorned with this cloud so much so they almost couldn't see it was too powerful.

Pastor Darren:

I found a couple more artful looking ones too. Do you like that look? I kind of like that. You'll find as I'm picking artwork. I like the stuff that's just a little bit abstract, isn't quite so on the nose. And I found one more that I think we went one more step. I even like that a lot more, I guess, because I feel like the mystery of faith is always enhancing to me. It's exciting to me. I know a lot of people don't like that mystery. They want answers, they want it decided. I like this stuff because I haven't found that there's that many absolutes in faith and so that I walk in that complexity and enjoy it.

Pastor Darren:

Anyway, we're trying to capture the moment just a little bit here, get you to understand what Luke wants us to understand how important it was. We are particularly fortunate, today we are blessed. As we know, Peter, James and John were there, as was Moses and Jesus. So was Elijah and Elijah's here this morning. Elijah, can you stand and tell how was it? You know, was it big, was it? You know, were you astounded? I asked him coming in. I said are you a good sport? And he looked at me and he said I guess I'm a good sport. So now we know he is, anyway.

Pastor Darren:

So, first of all, what's interesting is you got Peter again trying to capture this moment. He recognizes this event for what it is, this holy moment. Unfortunately for Peter, that day he forgot to bring his cell phone and so he's up there, right, and I mean I would have told him just put on, Do Not Disturb. That's just as good, I bet you. I bet you they weren't getting any bars up there anyway, right, but he's stuck. He can't take a picture to capture the moment. So what does he do? He says we'll build three tents. This is how we'll capture this moment. We're going to sit in this moment, we're going to hold this moment, we're going to live here a bit.

Pastor Darren:

You ever had that spiritual moment where you wanted it to just linger, you wanted to just stay there and maybe, maybe, maybe it would just hold out, such an overwhelming experience. You wanted to hold it in your hand and have it never end. We tend to have these experiences and when we read into that event, we kind of wish we were there. You want to see it right, maybe partly to witness it. It seems like this amazing event. I want to actually see it right, maybe partly to witness it. It seems like this amazing event. I want to actually see it for myself. Maybe another layer is I'd finally get some proof about this thing. You know, Jesus really is the guy. I saw it in front of me.

Pastor Darren:

God was talking, I don't know. For all different reasons, we kind of wish that we were there. We want that assurance of having seen this. But here's the irony of that desire, of that wish. Hasn't God already done this for us in some way? Haven't we all been awakened in some way? Haven't we all been awakened in some way to the divinity in Christ? I mean, why else are we here? How did we get here, except that we had some sort of experience in which Jesus Christ was transfigured, the commitment, the confirmation that Jesus in some way connected to the divine held the divine right in front of us and we came here to learn more about that. Maybe it was an experience of how a church can be that extended family in a good way, taking care of each other, having fellowship together, growing together. Maybe that's something you grew up with and it became your time. You claimed it for yourself. But you had that experience of Christ. Maybe it was some deep wisdom, some experience of understanding of Christian love Made real, that brought you here To this space. Or maybe God just reached in and touched your heart in some truly meaningful way and that's how you found your way here. You've seen the glory of Christ in some powerful way. That's why you're here.

Pastor Darren:

I think sometimes we fail to recognize God's presence because it isn't as showy and as big as this event, this transfiguration event. But let's think about it, let's face it. But let's think about it. Let's face it. It's not like the disciples got a lot of answers in being there. What does God say? But this is my son, listen to him. We didn't walk away with a book full of rules to help us live life the best way we could. There was no manual for setting a course for a better life that came. It was just God saying listen to him. For those disciples, it was still going to be a journey of wrestling of questions, of discerning exactly what God wants for them, pretty much like it is today. I think the goal of this passage, or at least a goal of this passage, might be to get us to start thinking differently about how we see our lives and how we see the faith we are living out. I think God and Luke, in this case Jesus, are trying to get us to understand ourselves as transfiguration people. We talk about setting course, we talk about going on a Lenten journey, but isn't that mostly about being transfiguration people, people who have seen the wisdom, experienced the wonder of Christ and want to live into it more of Christ, and want to live into it more, maybe by sharing it, maybe by going deeper into it themselves?

Pastor Darren:

Do you guys remember that old Packer coach, Vince Lombardi? Remember Vince Lombardi? I know folks in this room. Do I know you do, Vince Lombardi? I know folks in this room. Do I know you do Vince Lombardi? Old school, old school coach. One of his players goes into a touchdown dance. Do you remember what Vince Lombardi said to him Anyone? He said act like you've been there and I heard it with an even extended version. Act like you've been there. No, it's not dirty or anything. Act like you've been there and you expect to be back. Have you heard that phrase? Act like you've been there before and you expect to be back. Have you heard that phrase? Act like you've been there before and you expect to be back?

Pastor Darren:

I think there's something for us there. We are a transfiguration people. The face of Jesus has changed for us in some remarkable way. It's allowed us to feel humbled, maybe even amazed, in some really, really meaningful way. Maybe our United Methodist Church of Westlake Village goal and the journey that we take this Lent ought to be to take us to this place of the assurance of God's presence, where we're questioning less but instead recognizing God's presence when it's there, God's presence when we've seen it and owning it in really, really powerful ways. Maybe for us, potentially and ironically, we might even be transformed as well. Maybe we even get transfigured in some amazing way that other people can see it on us. Can we even consider such an amazing thing happened that we could be seen to be transfigured with the love of Christ that God has for this world? Wouldn't that be something? Amen?