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Change and the Bible: You may not think these go together. The Bible is an ancient set of writings, not very changeable, but my understanding of it has changed over the years, and that change is what I’d like to talk about this morning, Transfiguration Sunday, the end of the Epiphany season. This Wednesday we observe the beginning of Lent. As we turn toward faith, who changes? What is different? God, the global church, the California Nevada Annual Conference, the Bridges District, the local church, you and me, the “good book” or books, the hymns and gospel songs, our goals and dreams, our hearing and eyesight?

Listen to a Sunday School song I learned growing up in the First Evangelical Free Church, Rapid City, South Dakota: 1 John 4:7-8, sing the KJV: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. Beloved, let us love one another. Fist John four, seven and eight.” [note the old language which has become new for a new generation]

As a child I was taught the “Perfect Bible:” inerrancy in the original autographed copies [which we don’t have]. At Pacific School of Religion, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and the Franciscan School of Theology, I learned something about literary criticism: a critical method of interpretation. This gave me a change in perspective. I have a conservative upbringing and a liberal education. When I learned to see the Bible differently, I was transformed.

The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart, by Peter Gomes

1996, criticism, interpretation. Gomes (rhymes with homes) was a thundering black Baptist preacher, theologian, and author who taught at Harvard. He announced that he was gay a generation ago, and became one of America’s most prominent spiritual voices against intolerance. As reported in the New York Times, March 1, 2011 Rev. Peter J. Gomes died of a stroke at the age of 68. He said, “The Bible and the social and moral consequences that derive from its interpretation are all too important to be left in the hands of the pious or the experts, and too significant to be ignored and trivialized by the uninformed and indifferent.” Gomes asked his readers to “grasp the spirit, not the letter, of scriptural passages that have been misused to defend racism, anti-Semitism and sexism, and to attack homosexuality and abortion. He offered interpretations that transcend [and transfigure] the narrow context of modern prejudices. The Bible alone is the most dangerous thing I can think of. You need an ongoing context and a community of interpretation to keep the Bible current and to keep yourself honest. Forget the thought that the Bible is an absolute pronouncement.”

John Wesley’s four perspectives, which have been called the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral,” have been guiding the people called Methodists for over 200 years. The four are: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience. Wesley encourages us to weigh these against each other in a process of discernment in community dialogue. Then we do not arrive at one persons view of the truth, one person’s “proof text.” Take it seriously, but not literally. Look for the metaphors, look for the poetry, the reach for the divine that goes beyond words.

We look for the divine/human or human/divine element in the writing and the living of our faith. We discover a growing respect for other faith traditions as we learn and grow where we are. I am a third generation Christian, but I am the only one in my family that has learned to see the Bible from this new vantage point. I have benefitted from a liberal biblical education, and from ongoing study of the newest theological books and commentaries. I commend this path to you.

Changing pastors and parishes, generations in ministry, grief and joyful expectation: Gaye, Linda, Mariah, and Brian are leaving El Sobrante, Pinole, Open Door, and St. Luke’s this July 1. This is the United Methodist Church in its good process of retirement for older pastors and moving the mid-career pastors to new appointments. I served five years in Sutter and Meridian, a two point charge, three years as Associate Pastor in the 700 member Modesto First UMC, and I have been at Richmond First ever since. I hope to retire from this church in ten years or so. “Know every leaf on every tree” was written as a way to process my grief upon leaving my first parish. It speaks about change as a natural occurrence which can be trusted. I’ll miss you, but I have hope for the future. Maybe the new pastor, or the new parish, or retirement in ten years, will be better in some ways… Change is part of life. Transformation is desirable. As we grow in faith, we become more like Jesus, more loving, more wise, more self-sacrificing. The story of the transfiguration gives us a glimpse of the glory yet to come. But it is just a glimpse. Peter wants to stay up there on that high mountaintop with just a few chosen ones, but Jesus directs them back down to the place where the people wait for food, clothing, shelter, and basic human rights. From the sanctuary to the garden, from the garden to the basement, and beyond to the communities in which we live and work.

Today we are reminded of the call to follow Jesus as we change the world for good, in our time, in each small way, making a big difference. Let us pray.