Faith in the Cracks
Faith in the Cracks
From Light to Lent
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On Transfiguration Sunday, we stand on the mountaintop — glimpsing the radiant glory of Christ before turning toward the ashes of Lent. In this episode, we explore the movement from light to dust, from revelation to repentance, and from spiritual highs to faithful presence in ordinary days.
Transfiguration reveals who Jesus is: radiant, beloved, holy.
Ash Wednesday reminds us who we are: fragile, beloved, human.
Lent lives in the space between those two truths.
Join us as we consider how this season isn’t about perfection or performance, but about making room — room for truth, healing, and grace to seep into the fractures of our lives.
Welcome to season four of Faith in the Cracks. I'm Pastor Karen Wright. Life has cracks, moments between activities, places where we feel fractured. This is the space where we listen for God in the ordinary moments of life, where we are reminded that just as cracks let things in, it's a space for light and love to shine through. So just like plants grow in the cracks of a sidewalk, let faith grow in the cracks of our lives, trusting that God is at work within us. Episode 6, From Light to Lent. Transfiguration Sunday is the final Sunday in Epiphany, a season of light. It's a season of revelation. We've watched Jesus be made known to the world through the teaching, the healing, calling the disciples, proclaiming the kingdom of God. And in the Gospel of Matthew, we skip several stories. We move from the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5 to the mountaintop of Transfiguration in chapter 17. And just before this story, Peter has declared, you are the Christ, when Jesus has asked them, Who do others say that I am? And in Matthew's telling, Jesus turns to tell the disciples that they are not to tell anyone. And then Jesus begins to speak about his coming, suffering, and death. I can only imagine how jarring that must have felt. Glory and suffering, confession and confusion, clarity and cost. And then Peter, James, and John go up the mountain with Jesus. And there they see him as he truly is. His face shines, his clothes become dazzling white. Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets, the promises, the scriptures appear. A voice from heaven declares, This is my beloved son, with whom I'm well pleased. Listen to him. It's a moment of unveiled glory. The heavens have opened up, and the disciples are there to witness it. Radiant, holy, unmistakable. And Peter, who by far is one of my favorites, Peter is overwhelmed and doesn't quite know what to do and wants to build tents. One for Jesus, one for Moses, one for Elijah. To capture it, to contain the glory, to hold on to all of its brightness. But the moment is not meant to be held. The light fades, the cloud lifts, and then there's just Jesus. And I imagine that he walks over, touches them on the shoulder, says, Hey, it's time. Let's go. And down the mountain they go, back to the valley, back to the crowds, back to the suffering, back to the work of love and transformation. And so this week we follow them down. And on Wednesday we arrive at the threshold of Lent. Ash Wednesday. A day when worship services are include the imposition of ashes, a cross on your forehead in black ash, the words, remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. It's an honest, quiet moment. We've gone from transfiguration and seeing who Jesus is. And Ash Wednesday shows us all of our fragile, beloved humanity. And Lent is a season of solemnity and of journey. Remembering we are not glorious, but not forgetting that God is. And it's not about being miserable. It's not about spiritual endurance. Lent is about making room, making space, room for truth, room for God, room for healing. And the mountaintop matters because we need those glimmers of glory. We need those reminders that Christ is more than what we see or more than what we can understand. But we don't get to live on the mountaintop. We live in ordinary Tuesdays, in hard conversations. We live in unnoticed acts of faithfulness. And so as we move from mountaintop into ashes, it's not about chasing the big moment, but practicing faithfulness in the ordinary ones. So as we're turning the corner towards Lent, don't aim for perfection. Look for promises and practices that create space for reflection. Places where you can lean into service. Or maybe you let go of things that no longer serve you. Maybe you're just honest with God and with yourself about what's fragile and holy within you. We walk from light and into Lent. We walk from glory into dust. From revelation into repentance. And we do not walk alone. Until next time. Thanks for listening. New podcasts are released every Monday. If you like the show, share it with a friend, or scroll to the bottom of the episode description and support the show for the cost of a cup of coffee once a month. You can also check out my webpage at faithinthecracks.com. As you go through your week, remember you are a child of God and you are love. May God seep into the cracks and bring forth new life.