INTRODUCTION
Good morning everyone, I hope you are well and have not been too inconvenienced by the terrible weather we have had recently. We are rapidly approaching Lent which starts on Wednesday and we have an evening service at St Max at 7.30, but if you prefer a service during the day, there are services in the team that you can go to – 9.30 at St Anne’s, 10.30 at St. Peter’s and 11am at Christ Church. Enjoy your pancakes on Tuesday. Information about Lent groups will be forwarded later.
Today’s reading is about the Transfiguration and I have Rev Hannah to thank for the reflection and Mark Pearson for the Intercessions. Thank you to them both.
Jan B.
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
We meet in the presence of God.
Who knows our needs, hears our cries, feels our pain and heals our wounds.
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
PRAYER OF PENITENCE
Jesus says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand”. So let us turn away from sin and turn to the Lord, confessing our sins in penitence and faith.
Lord God, we have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight. We are truly sorry and repent. Have mercy on us according to your love. Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin. Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
GLORIA
Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ only Son of the Father, Lord God Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world; have mercy upon us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit. In the glory of God the Father. Amen.
THE COLLECT
Almighty Father, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he suffered death upon the cross: give us grace to perceive his glory, that we may be strengthened to suffer with him and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
THE NEW TESTAMENT READING
2 CORINTHIANS 3. 12-4.2
Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practise cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
THE GOSPEL
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Glory to you O Lord.
LUKE 9. 28-36,43
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you O Christ.
REFLECTION
This week in our Gospel reading from Luke we are treated to a familiar tale, the transfiguration. It is an event we are told about in Matthew, Mark and Luke and each has a different style in doing so. Luke’s telling of this event is one that could almost be mistaken for being cinematic in its presentation. Luke’s telling of this event mixes and weaves reality with more supernatural elements and the encounter gives the participants a new vision of God: a new way of seeing and experiencing God. This is new ground and it leaves people feeling different. The Israelites are scared, awestruck. Peter is excited and he desperately wants to hold on to the moment – he wants to stay in that place, experiencing the glory of God.
Although there is potentially much to unpack in this short passage, for me Peter’s response at the top of the mountain is one that particularly resonates. Seeing this glory and identifying that this is a significant event, Peter wants to preserve the moment forever. His idea is to do this by putting up structures for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Preserving those ‘mountain top’ moments is something that I think strikes deep into the heart of society these days. My natural response when reflecting on this is to think about how in our current world people try to use social media in this way. Posting images of the mountain top experiences serves to preserve a snapshot of such events allowing people to revisit and dwell in these moments as often and for as long as they like. The thing is, we can find that dwelling too much on mountain top experiences leads to dissatisfaction when the rest of life doesn’t match up. There is a risk as well of us constantly comparing ourselves to others around us, feeling like what we experience is inadequate when put alongside.
We should be reminded that it isn’t possible to live permanently at the height of spiritual experience, on the mountain top. Peter has to continue with his everyday ordinary life. The part of the passage that we don’t have today is the piece that follows immediately after the transfiguration event. After coming down from the mountain, Jesus is met by a boy who is in need of healing. This boy is one that his disciples had not been able to heal before him, only Jesus’ touch is able to accomplish this. Here there is a lesson for the disciples and for us all, no matter how high the mountain top or how long we try to preserve the experience, at some point we have to come down. With Jesus there are not just mountain tops, but deep valleys also.
Ultimately, this encounter leaves Peter a changed man, just as any encounter we have with Jesus should leave us changed. Just as Moses’ face shines when God passes by so Peter will never see Jesus in quite the same light again. Everything that subsequently happens is set against those moments of glory on the mountain. Although we might find some of the elements of this to be a bit fantastical and within the realm of the supernatural, how much easier to accept the resurrection, and to receive the Holy Spirit if you have already tasted a little of God’s glory in this way.
Rev Hannah
THE CREED
I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again; ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
THE PEACE
God is love and those who live in love live in God and God lives in them. May the peace of the Lord be always with us. Amen.
I
INTERCESSIONS
During the intercessions, we pray for the church, our country, our government, people in difficulty and those who have died. You can use your own prayers or if you prefer here are some on today’s theme.
In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, let us pray to the Father.
Almighty and loving God, you loved this world so much that you gave your only Son, Jesus Christ to be our Saviour. He emptied himself of glory and became your suffering servant, living a human life, despised and rejected and tortured to death on a cross.
Yet you exalted him above all things. He is our Lord and we have known his presence with us. Today we give thanks for your glory shown on the mountain where you pulled back the veil of heaven and Jesus was revealed in majesty. You call upon each one of us to listen to him. We open our hearts to your Word and ask you by your Spirit to lead us in your ways and give us strength to follow you. Show us how our lives may be transfigured by your presence, that the radiance of Jesus would shine through to the dark places of our world.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
We give thanks today for all who have built up your Church through their holiness, their witness and their faith in you. We give thanks for those who have inspired us and challenged our way of life. Lord, grant us the power to be the people you want us to be
and to do what you want us to do. Bless all who minister to us and teach us your holy word.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
We pray for the nations of the world and those who govern, and we ask that our world leaders seek justice, mercy and peace. We pray for Elizabeth our Queen and those who govern nationally and locally, that our land may be led in ways of righteousness and respect for all people. We pray for the people of the Ukraine and all those who suffer from war, violence or poverty.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
We give thanks for all who have revealed your love to us through their own love. We ask your blessing upon our homes and our loved ones. We remember all who are quietly sacrificing their lives and their freedom in the care they are giving to others.
We ask you to bless all who are caring for the ill and those who are disabled or infirm.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
We ask your blessing upon all who are struggling at this time, all who are oppressed or who are in danger. We remember all who are suffering because of their faith: scorned, the persecuted and the ignored. We pray for all who are ill at home or in hospital.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
We rejoice in the communion of saints, that we are one in you and your love. We remember those whose service on earth is done and now rejoice with you in glory.
We ask your blessing upon all who have been an inspiration to us and have enriched our lives by their love but are now departed from us. We think of those whose anniversaries fall at this time, Roland Isherwood, Annie Fletcher Sutcliffe and Edna Maycraft
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
Faithful God, as we prepare this week for the coming of our Lenten journey, may we reflect your love in the way we live our lives so that the world can see that we are followers of Christ and by our words and actions draw others into his loving care.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ,
Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
THE BLESSING
May the Lord bless us and watch over us, the Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious to us and the Lord look kindly on us and give us peace and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with us and those who we love now and forever. Amen.
