Astounded at the Greatness

Transfiguration is about astonishment. It is about amazement. It is about awe. It’s something that might be hard to capture in worship in your overly familiar sanctuary with the people you know so well. So, how do we capture this sense in our weekly expression of worship? We sing it. And we see it. Art is probably the best way to evoke a sense of awe. This week, then, let us find the hymns that speak of the wonder of Christ, the amazing love, the transforming grace, the constant presence. There might not be a long list of familiar Transfiguration hymns, but there are many in praise of the Christ who was revealed.

Art can also give us a breathtaking moment when we encounter the wonder and beauty of the world and the Christian story. True, there is a subjective element to art, but the attempt to capture a glimpse of the transfigured Christ or the world in which he walked can bring us to a moment like the one shared on the mountain top that day. Give them something to see, not to explain, or to define, but to express, to hint. Give a glimpse of something beyond the world we see so often we no longer look at it. For example, one pastor took photos of things inside and around the church, but from unusual angles, or really close, so that familiar became something new and different for a moment.

Let our prayers point to the transcendent Christ, even while we express gratitude for the immanent Christ. Is there space for testimony for those who have had an experience of the glory of God in their lives? Can our liturgy speak of a Christ both familiar and unknown? Watch your language as you speak of the one we follow. Do it always, but especially today on this Transfiguration Sunday. The words we choose to describe and depict the Risen Christ matter and shape the thinking of those who gather for worship week by week.

The worship team's task is not to create a worship experience that will knock socks off. Instead, it is about finding ways to point to the one who can inspire a response of awe. We aren’t looking for the community of faith to be awestruck by the worship but rather astounded at the greatness of God and the Christ by which we know God.