by Nancy Sneller
Transfiguration Sunday
Sunday, February 27
Psalm 99
Looking at Our Holy God
In second grade, I was introduced to the phenomena of a solar eclipse. My teacher warned me not to look directly at the bright sun. To protect my eyes, I had to wear safety goggles, which was a bit scary for a little kid like me. Peter, James, and John saw Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, and he looked so radiant that Mark wrote, “His clothes were dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them” (Mark 9:3). When we look at Jesus in our mind’s eye, it might be scary to consider him in all his holiness. It’s easier to picture him as a babe in the manger or as gentle Jesus holding children in his arms. Jesus said if we have seen him, we have seen the Father, because he and the Father are one. The psalmist reminds us to exalt God not only for his gentleness but for his holiness. The truth is, we don’t need goggles at all; we simply need eyes of faith.
Holy God, help us to see you through the safety of Jesus and to worship you in all your glory. Amen.
Monday, February 28
Exodus 34:29-35
The Eternal Glow of Glory
On Christmas morning a child’s face might glow with excitement. At the beach, a teenager’s face might glow with sunburn. Whenever Moses came back from being in the presence of God his face glowed. The thing about glowing faces is that the glow is temporary. The child quickly moves on to the next exciting moment in life, the sunburn fades, and Moses put a veil over his face so the people wouldn’t notice that with time, his face became as normal as ever. Even the radiant glow on the face of Jesus faded as he moved from the Mount of Transfiguration to Mount Calvary.
Maybe our faces don’t literally glow, but as believers in Jesus our hearts glow with his glory. When we become united with Christ his Holy Spirit flows into us, flooding us with grace, life, light, goodness, and glory. Not temporarily but for all eternity! As we become more and more like Jesus, his glory becomes our glory, a glory that never fades away.
Lord, let the eternal glow of your glory shine in our hearts today and always. Amen.
Tuesday, March 1
Luke 9:28-36
The Light and Dark of Glory
The word chiaroscuro means light and shadow in Italian. Great artists like Rembrandt and da Vinci used chiaroscuro to create the contrast between light and dark. Imagine the chiaroscuro of the transfiguration scene. Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, atop the mountain, each one as radiant as a flash of lightning. It all seemed so right. It all seemed so light. Yet what were they talking about? The cross. With radiant appearance, the three spoke of the deep darkness of the cross.
Back in 1825, John Bowring wrote a song called “In the Cross of Christ I Glory.” One line in verse 3 says, “radiance streams from the cross.” How can it be? It seemed the songwriter understood chiaroscuro as well as any painter, and we can understand it too. The cross brings glory to Jesus—the glory of doing his Father’s will, the glory of salvation for God’s people, the glory of his resurrection, and the glory of his eternal reign.
Lord, help me to see your glory. Amen
Ash Wednesday
Wednesday, March 2
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Hearts, Not Shirts
Josh usually rode his bike home from the soccer game without incident, but one day he fell on the gravel road. A kindly driver stopped his car and called for an ambulance. Josh ended up in the ER, with multiple bruises and a broken rib. When his frantic parents arrived, his first words were, “The doctor tore my soccer jersey!” Of course, the torn jersey was the least of Josh’s problems. In fact, it wasn’t a problem at all. Tearing the jersey was necessary for any healing to take place.
The prophet Joel tells us not to tear our garments but to tear our hearts. That’s what Ash Wednesday is all about. That’s what the season of Lent is all about. We tear our hearts in confession, repentance, and lament. Why? Because when God’s people truly repent, he responds with compassion and grace; he covers us with grace and forgiveness. We need the heart-rending work of Lent before we can experience the healing power of the cross.
Lord, we return to you, for you are gracious and merciful. Amen.
Thursday, March 2
Matthew 6:1-6
Don’t Toot Your Own Horn
Jesus said, “When you give to the needy, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” Was Jesus exaggerating? Was he telling us to drop money in the offering plate with one hand tied behind our back? Was he telling us to put our left arm in a sling every time we give money to the poor? Of course not. He was telling us not to look around, seeking to be noticed when we give to those in need. He was telling us not to tell everyone how generous we are when we give. He doesn’t want us to toot our own horn, not because it’s ill-mannered, but because God looks at our heart. God is looking for generous hearts, he’s looking for the pure in heart, for hearts with faith that express themselves in selfless secret servanthood. Whether we give away a million dollars or a widow’s mite, let us give with humility, not horns.
God, the glory in giving is yours, not ours. If we toot any horn at all, we toot yours. Amen.
Friday, March 4
Matthew 6:16-21
Where’s Your Treasure?
Recent news reports are filled with stories about people have lost their homes. It might have been because of a tornado, or a flood, or fire. Some people were fortunate enough to go back and search through the rubble for their valuables. If it happened to you, what would you search for? For old photo albums? For your great-grandmother’s diamond ring? For your tax records? Jesus said do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, because we might lose them. Better, he said, to store up treasures in heaven, because where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. Jesus understood that a life that accumulates treasures on earth is a rat-race kind of life that makes us work harder and longer just to earn more money, just to buy more stuff. Storing up treasure in heaven is easier—as we work, we rely on the love of God, we are content with God’s providential care, and we are grateful for what we have rather than greedy for what we don’t.
Lord, you are the real treasure that we seek. Amen.
Saturday, March 5
Psalm 51:1-17
The Glory of Repentance
In the TV sitcom Family Matters, Steve Urkel was the awkward neighbor to the Winslow family. Steve was so blissfully unaware of his own bumbling actions that disasters developed in his wake. Whenever he caused damage, he would ask innocently, “Did I do that?”
If we are honest, we have to admit that self-deception is often our downfall as well. Isn’t it easy to deny our sin, downgrade it, or block it from our conscious awareness?
The season of Lent provides an antidote to self-deception. That antidote is repentance. The prophet Naaman had confronted King David after his sins of murder and adultery, and in Psalm 51, David prays, “I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.” During Lent, let us seek to imitate the psalmist and not Steve Urkel. We can pray that the Holy Spirit will lay out our sin before us. We can face the truth of our sin and ask God for mercy. We can experience and re-experience the glory of God’s forgiveness.
Father, our sin is ever before us. We repent and turn away from it, and in so doing, reveal the glory of your love and grace. Amen.
About the Author: Nancy Sneller
Sheboygan, Wisconsin – I was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My husband and I attended the same church and school beginning when we were two years old, so we definitely qualify as “childhood sweethearts.” We now live in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. We have three married children and 11 grandchildren, and we’re so grateful for God’s blessings on our family. For most of my adult life I was an elementary school teacher, and it wasn’t until I retired from teaching that God called me to be a Covenant pastor. Now I am the pastor at Bay Evangelical Covenant Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Borrowing the words of hymn-writers, I testify that God’s grace is amazing and that he works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform.
