Mother Paige reflects on John 3:16 and God’s love for the whole world, paired with the call of Abram and Sarah to be blessed in order to bless every family on earth. She emphasizes that faith is an active verb shown in lived action, not merely intellect, doctrine, or a formulaic prayer, and that Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness. Noting the broader context of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, she highlights the choice people make to love darkness rather than light and invites listeners, especially in Lent, to examine how their lives reflect God’s love and to “pivot” practices when needed. She urges gentleness with questioning Nicodemus, whose arc includes continued inquiry, later defense of Jesus, and presence at his burial, and encourages ongoing questions and repeated choosing of love and light.

00:00 Opening Prayer

00:12 God Loves the World

01:02 Abram Called to Bless

01:50 Faith as Action

02:46 Light Versus Darkness

03:59 Lent as a Pivot

05:12 Nicodemus Questions

05:49 Born From Above

06:53 Choosing Love and Light

Kathy Wilder, Executive Director of Camp Stevens, thanks St. Peter’s for ongoing support and shares a story from the 2007 Camp Stevens fire, including meeting a firefighter who had once been a camper through a foster care partnership and whose experience at camp helped shape her life and career after incarceration. Wilder connects the story to Jesus’ wilderness temptations, framing the temptations as reflections of power and empire, and relates them to current realities including ICE raids, genocide in Palestine, antisemitism, school shootings, and attacks on transgender people. Citing the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, she contrasts Empire’s fear with God’s love and urges choosing love. Wilder offers three practices: “revolutionary patience” (attributed to the Rev. Carter Heyward and discussed after the 2024 election), “see no stranger” (from Valerie Kaur and a Sikh tenet) with a call to stay curious and seek common ground, and embracing change—an ethic she learned from Peter Bergstrom and that helped Camp Stevens rebuild after the fire and adapt through the pandemic, leading to a new vision statement, “envisioning a world of wholehearted belonging.” She shares personal news that she and her wife, the Rev. Hannah Wilder, are moving to Reno where Hannah will serve as rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Sparks, and she offers gratitude and a farewell to St. Peter’s, closing with a traveler’s prayer about being swift to love and to be kind.

00:00 Welcome and Camp Stevens

00:52 The 2007 Camp Fire

02:03 A Firefighter’s Transformation

04:28 Jesus in the Wilderness

05:26 Empire vs Love Today

06:50 Stephanie Spellers Quote

08:45 Three Practices for Courage

08:54 Revolutionary Patience

10:29 See No Stranger

11:30 Embrace Change at Camp

12:49 Moving to Reno Goodbye

14:22 Traveler’s Prayer Closing

Rev. Madeline Polhill reflects on Jesus’ Transfiguration and Moses’ mountaintop encounter with God as moments of divine mystery and glory. Rather than explaining the spectacle, she focuses on what follows: the disciples’ fear and Jesus’ gentle reassurance, “Get up and do not be afraid,” connecting it to repeated “do not be afraid” moments throughout Matthew’s Gospel. She emphasizes that Jesus leads the disciples back down the mountain to continue the work of love and ministry that will culminate in the cross, and invites listeners, especially as Lent approaches, into a journey of self-examination, repentance, service, and discipleship. Centering the voice from the cloud—“This is my Son, the beloved… listen to him”—she calls the faithful to follow Jesus, take refuge in God’s glory, and return to the world to do the work Jesus calls them to do.

00:00 Opening Prayer & Welcome

00:22 The Transfiguration: Awe, Mystery, and Mountaintop Glory

01:30 Moses on the Mountain: Exodus and Divine Mystery

02:32 What the Transfiguration Confesses: Radiance in Jesus

04:30 From Majestic to Mundane: What Happens After the Vision

05:10 Fear and the Gentle Command: “Get Up, Do Not Be Afraid”

06:08 “Do Not Be Afraid” Across Matthew’s Gospel

07:57 Back Down the Mountain: Returning to Ministry and the Cross

08:52 Lent Invitation: Following Jesus into Repentance and Service

09:27 Listen to Him: The Voice from the Cloud and the Call to Follow

10:20 Closing Charge & Blessing: Held by God, Sent into the World