4/7InkzHVUEQeEdU9vpc1tikzEhChrKmPfvXI-FSDBrBQ

transfiguration

Adult Object Lesson: Our Secret God

medium_5788011762

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21  •  Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Psalm 51:1-17  •  2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Shh! Don’t Tell Anyone

Today we are going to talk about our God and His love of secrets.

 

You get to choose an object today. But don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.

 

Here are some ideas for objects:

  • a heart-shaped object of some sort
  • a small cross
  • a wedding ring
  • a seed or acorn
  • a band-aid
  • needle and thread
  • a chocolate kiss
  • a manger from a small creche set

 

If fact you might use several of these! It will add to the fun and the understanding of keeping and revealing secrets.

 

Begin today’s lesson with a question.

Do you remember the last words of last week’s gospel lesson?

 

Help your congregation remember that last week was Transfiguration Sunday. Jesus and his selected disciples climbed a mountain. There, they met in dazzling light with Moses and Elijah. Then they came down from the mountaintop with Jesus, and Jesus said . . .

Don’t tell anyone one what you just saw until after I’m gone.

 

God loves a secret.

 

And then we move to today’s lesson where God is repeatedly described as seeing and hearing in secret.

 

You might think that such hush-hush behavior would create a distance between God and us, His people.

 

But think about it.

 

Doesn’t it draw us closer? It’s Lent. We search our hearts. We find what God already sees. And it’s our secret. In these secret moments, it is just God and you. Secrets create bonds.

 

The only ones likely to break this secret bond are we.

 

So how do we keep our mouths shut? Does God really expect us to keep quiet? The revealing of a secret can be like a dam breaking!

 

One way is to keep in touch with God. Keep sharing our secrets. God knows them anyway. But he doesn’t mind hearing from us from time to time. Jesus put a time limit on keeping the secret of the Transfiguration. The timing for the revelation of our secrets is up to us.

 

This is one of those “adult” object lessons that also works with children. Children understand secrets—perhaps better than adults.

 

As you talk about the God who sees and hears in secret, share your secret object(s). You can just hold one in your closed palm or you can have it nested in a small candy or jewelry box. If you use more than one object, alternate. Your secret will be different from listener to listener.

 

For extra mystique, you might pre-plan to leave one person out. Make sure people realize that someone is being left out.

 

Allow your congregation to figure out what to do about that.

 

That’s part of the power of the secret . . . wondering exactly what we mortals are supposed to do with it!

 

VARIATION 1: You might ask each member of the congregation what meaning they find in the object revealed to them — without revealing what object they saw. This will create some intrigue when a person who sees a band-aid or needle and thread talks to the people who saw a ring or chocolate kiss.

 

VARIATION 2: If you use this object lesson with a larger group or as a camp or youth skit, you can have a few young people circulating through the gathering, each showing a different object. This technique would be a way of engaging younger members of the congregation.

photo credit: Naenia Ivella via photopin cc

_____________________________________

Please Consider Subscribing to 2×2

 

2x2virtualchurch adds a new object lesson to our library each week. There are nearly 100 in our collection. If you like our easy, interactive approach to teaching adult learners, please consider subscribing. You will receive a weekly slideshow (which you can use on your church website or during worship), an object lesson and many other church planning ideas—all geared for small church use.

 

Thank you.

[jetpack_subscription_form]
06 Mar 2014

Adult Object Lesson: Transfiguration

bowls3

Matthew 17:1-9  •  Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm 2  •  2 Peter 1:16-21

Mountaintop Experiences for Valley-Dwellers

You know the old philosophical question: Is the glass half empty or half full? The answer determines, for some, whether you are an optimist or a pessimist.

 

Artists would ask: Are you looking at the positive space—the water—or negative space—the air? Artists know that both work together to create great things!

 

It’s with this question in mind that we are going to ponder a bowl and how it might help us think of The Transfiguration.

 

Use a simple kitchen bowl. Nothing fancy. A glass half-filled with water will also be a useful prop. You might fill the glass from the baptismal font as you start your lesson.

 

Today’s lectionary lessons refer to and compare the Bible’s great mountaintop experiences.

 

In the Old Testament, Moses climbs Mount Sinai to spend 40 days and nights closer to God. In the New Testament, Jesus goes on a little hike with a few select disciples. For all they know they are just taking another stroll with Jesus. If he stops to pray, it will be nothing new. They are accustomed to His ways and are totally comfortable using Jesus’ prayer time to nod off, just as they will do in Gethsemane. Praying is something Jesus tends to do alone.

 

Both mountaintop experiences are beyond memorable. They are highlights of our collective relationship with God—foundational stories of our faith.

 

As you talk about mountaintop experiences display your bowl upside down. It will be like a little mountain. With the bowl inverted, talk about the two biblical mountaintop experiences. Explain that they are like the bowl turned upside down—out of the ordinary—not the usual way we view a bowl.

 

Mountaintop experiences are exhilarating. Having reached the top, we feel a personal sense of accomplishment. We feel closer to God. With the world laid at our feet, we may even feel a little more like God.

 

Allow your learners to think about their own mountaintop experiences. When you’ve talked about the amazing events that occur on mountaintops, slide your fingers down the side of the bowl (mountain) to remind them that both Moses and the disciples came down from the mountain. And so must we.

 

Do we leave God behind? Does God remain in the clouds, waiting for us to return? Now turn the bowl around. The bowl becomes a valley. Valleys in the Bible are a symbol of the depths of despair.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil. For thou art with me.”

God is with us on the mountaintop in spectacular glory. But he is also with us in the valleys—the everyday trials and troubles of life—our personal and collective depths of despair.

 

At this point you might want to pour the water from that half-filled glass into the bowl. Water seeks the valleys. Our baptismal waters, like the River Jordan, flow through the valleys of our life.

 

We need occasional mountaintop experiences to catch the view, to help our spirits soar. But most of us spend more time in the valleys. God is with us there, too.

 

Is the glass half full or half empty? Is your bowl a mountain or a valley? Regardless, God is with us.

 

With that thought we end the season of Epiphany and begin our journey into the valley we call Lent.

Related posts

Teaching the Transfiguration Through Art

Slideshow: (The images of this slideshow can be used for bulletins and web sites.)

Last year’s Object Lesson on the Transfiguration

———————————————————————————————

Consider Subscribing to 2×2

2x2virtualchurch adds a new object lesson to our library each week. There are nearly 100 in our collection. If you like our easy, interactive approach to teaching adult learners, please consider subscribing. You will receive a weekly slideshow (which you can use on your church website or during worship), an object lesson and many other church planning ideas—all geared for small church use. Thank you. [jetpack_subscription_form]

25 Feb 2014

Slideshow for Transfiguration Sunday

Mountaintop Experiences in the Bible

This week’s lectionary features two mountaintop experiences. Moses climbs into the clouds shrouding Mount Sinai and emerges with his face aglow and the Law. Jesus climbs the mountain and meets with Moses and Elijah. As his robes shine and God speaks, disciples huddle in fear.

 

Amazing things happen on mountaintops!

 

Here are some images to help your congregation understand these dramatic biblical stories.

———————————————————————————————

Consider Subscribing to 2×2

2x2virtualchurch adds a slideshow and object lesson to our library each week. There are nearly 100 in our collection. If you like our easy, interactive approach to teaching adult learners, please consider subscribing.

You will receive a weekly slideshow (which you can use on your church website or during worship), an object lesson and many other church planning ideas—all geared for small church use. Thank you.

[jetpack_subscription_form]
24 Feb 2014

Thoughts on the Transfiguration: A Video

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/58940441 w=400&h=300]
11 Feb 2013

Teaching the Transfiguration through Art

The Transfiguration is one of those church commemorations that never really resonates. It is hard for us earthbound mortals to envision and connect with the story.

Yet it remains a popular subject with artists. Reviewing some art of the transfiguration might be helpful.

TransfigurationArtHere are four renditions. Some artists attempt a realistic portrayal. Others stick with stylistic or representational. Titian tries to draw us in as if we are standing behind the disciples or perhaps hiding behind a rock! Notice in the stylistic representation how the shaft of light pierces each of the disciples.

The common elements are the six figures. Christ is central. Moses and Elijah flank Christ. Sometimes you will see a personification of God hovering over Christ’s head.

TransfigurationArt2

In this icon it is interesting that the artist depicts an elderly Elijah and a youthful Moses. Their heavenly form preserves them at their most memorable.

The three disciples are usually depicted in various states of awe. James and John are usually stunned speechless. Peter is trying to be part of the moment.

For teaching purpose, the painting below by Giovanni Battista Moroni is very forthright in representation. When it came to religious paintings, this 16th century portrait artist was considered a bit ordinary. But his ordinary depiction has the elements of the story.

Giovanni-Battista-Moroni-xx-The-Transfiguration-1

The disciples awake to find Jesus having a chat with Elijah and Moses. They are discussing heavenly plans. It’s a strategy session. Fortunately, Moses brought the Law with him and Elijah brought his prophecies. What is about to unfold must agree with the law and prophets! Everybody on the same page!

There are the clouds and the bright lights and white raiment. They are clearly on top of a mountain, feet on solid ground. Peter is bold enough to address Jesus and the patriarchs. “Lucky you brought us along. We can build you each a shelter.” The gesture says it all! James and John are overwhelmed. You can almost hear the voice of God coming from that break in the clouds.

Transfiguration2003-3But there is also something for our modern eyes to contemplate in this fifth, more modern depiction. The three earthly figures are dwarfed by the experience.

 

05 Feb 2013

Adult Object Lesson: The Transfiguration

transfigurationThe Magic of Prayer Is in the Listening

Luke 9:37-45

Today’s object is a magic wand.

You don’t have a magic wand? Use any kind of pointer, stick or even a straw. Remember, it’s magic!

Today’s gospel tells the story that has come to be known as the Transfiguration.

Four men (Jesus, Peter, James and John) climb a mountain to pray. Suddenly, there are six men!

It has all the trappings of a magic show. People appear from nowhere. People disappear. There are clouds obscuring their vision and brilliant lights to direct the eye.

Keep in mind that Peter, James and John climb the mountain with the knowledge of Moses and the stories told of his mountaintop encounters with God. When Moses and Elijah appear, it may be to them as if they are experiencing history. We might liken it to suddenly seeing Abraham Lincoln and George Washington on the podium on Inauguration Day.

Climbing a mountain to pray is nothing new. Moses had a habit of climbing a mountain when he wanted to talk to God, too.

The experience was a bit ho-hum at first.

While Jesus was praying the three disciples were fighting sleep. Seems like this is a recurring temptation for them. They sleep in the Garden of Gethsemane, and Peter later falls asleep while praying on a rooftop.

That prayer is a challenge is nothing new. We want to talk to God. We hope to listen to God, but when given the opportunity, we feel inadequate. We fall asleep. An escape!

Talking to God is daunting.

But on this particular day, the three disciples were to experience the profound. What they were about to see was so like magic that they dared not talk about it until after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

(Wave your magic wand dramatically as you retell the story.)

They saw Jesus transform. Presto!

He became like light itself. They had heard about this. It had happened to Moses. The great and powerful Moses. The giver of the Law.

Speaking of Moses . .  . there he is. He appears with Elijah, the prophet, no stranger to  magical occurrences.

Abracadabra! They are here. Presto! They are gone.

The disciples are left listening to God. And what does God say?

“This is my Son. Listen to him.”

The Bible texts which follow this story reveal that Jesus is growing impatient with his disciples and their inability to make connections between what he teaches them and how they should apply his teachings.

The magical part of prayer isn’t so much in how we speak to God. It’s in listening to God speak to us. Elaborate on this.

Presto!

04 Feb 2013