Lent 5: I am the Resurrection and the Life

Van Gogh’s ‘Rising of Lazarus’

Lent 5
22/3/26

Ezekiel 37:1-14
Romans 8:6-11
John 11:1-45

This is a rather long and well-known passage of John’s Gospel; it is good that we should hear the entirety of it. There are many threads to pull especially in Lent as we get closer to Easter. We will soon be confronted with the death and resurrection of Jesus through Holy Week and on Good Friday. What does it mean to be resurrected?

It is more than simply popping back to life again. Often the story of Mary, Martha and Lazarus gets reduced down to a miracle story of Jesus. An impressive miracle story of course. However some of the more important parts get left out. The rising, resurrection of Lazarus shows us something of Jesus’ character.

Jesus is our friend. I baptised two brothers a couple of years ago and I asked the older one what does it mean to get baptised? He paused for a moment. Then with the biggest smile on his face, he said, ‘it means that I am Jesus’ friend forever and Jesus is my friend forever.’

Jesus is the friend that will never leave us. Jesus loved his disciples and Mary, Martha and Lazarus. He spent his life travelling around and teaching them so they could pass on the message to others. Mary, Martha & Lazarus appear to have been particularly close friends as Jesus is known to have stayed with them and they are mentioned by name.

Jesus does not always do what we want him to, when we want. The fact that Jesus knew that Lazarus was sick and did not immediately rush to his bedside, but waited for two more days is awkward. We have this idea that God should act and react whenever we summon him to meet our needs and wants.
When this does not happen people get angry and God takes the blame for all failures and misfortune.

There were reasons why Jesus did not rush off: the disciples were afraid that the Jews were going to stone Jesus and they were far away from Bethany at the time. Jesus tells the disciples that, ‘this illness does not lead to death, but rather it is for God’s glory, so the Son of God may be glorified through it.’

There are things that we will never understand about how God and Jesus work on this side of death. We do not know how God’s glory fully works. It is good to be curious so that we can begin to understand and that comes through learning about Jesus by looking at this life.

Everyone who trusts in Jesus will live forever. The pinnacle of John 11 is in the words of Martha as she knows that Lazarus will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Despite her distress, sadness and that request that seemed to go unanswered; Martha understands, at least on some level, that death is not the end of the story. Pitiful is that word that comes to mind for those who think that there is nothing beyond this life.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Jesus says to Martha, ‘Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ Martha believes this. I happen to believe this. I am confident that other people in church today believe this. Do you?

The resurrection is the central event that everything about Christianity hangs on. We will all experience physical death in this life; the death of those that we love and our own. How do we make sense of it? Unfortunately most of the popular narrative around death today is painfully lacking and brushed over. That it is nothing, no big deal. Death is something to be embarrassed about, not to be burdened by or be too expensive.

One of my cousins died last week after a short bout of cancer. It is really awful for his wife, children and grandchildren. I had not seen him for a long time but he was part of the family ever since I can remember. Those ties go back a long way; we also shared our Christian faith. A belief in the resurrection is the only thing that has brought any comfort at all. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. I have no questions or qualms over the fact that as bad as it is right now, my cousin Greg is now living in the light of the resurrection.

Jesus wept. People sometimes get the impression that God is somehow removed, distant from us or worse, not particularly interested in what is going on down here. If we want to know what God is like, then we need to look at the person of Jesus. In Jesus we see love and compassion, forgiveness for those who want it and boundless patience. Jesus was so moved by the broken hearts of those around him, he cried. The Greek translates it as he ‘burst into tears’. That is much stronger than a few tears sliding down his face.

Jesus is not afraid of bad smells. Nothing is beyond God’s reach. Nothing we can ever do or not do, say, think, act is too much or too bad. We are loved by God unconditionally forever.

Jesus can raise people from the dead. Jesus can and did raise people from the dead on a few occasions. Miraculous! However, they went on to die again another day. Jesus also raises people from spiritual death who do go on to live forever. This is out of love, the most extraordinary love we will ever know.

The resurrection of Lazarus is about love, God’s glory and his willingness to send Jesus into the mess and sorrow of our lives and deaths. We too will be resurrected one day if we believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. God gives us this life in the resurrection of Jesus. Dry bones can live again with the breath of God and so can we.

Lent 3: Well well well!

Annibale Carracci ‘Christ and the Samaritan Woman‘

8/3/26
Lent 3
Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 95
Romans 5:1-11
John 4:5-42

There are many studies, psychological and otherwise, that try to measure willingness to change. It takes a lot of effort and intention to make changes in our lives; this is when we are willing too! We only need to watch the news from the Middle East to witness the massive and generally unwanted changes that are occurring to millions of people. For some it might be short-term and others it will be irrevocable. It can put into perspective the changes we might be facing.

The stories of the Israelites and the woman at the well are about change. Moses had led the people out of slavery in Egypt to the promised land. They are struggling to connect with God’s past actions with their present needs; the default position is to panic and complain.

The woman seems unlikely to believe that her life will ever change. She is being offered salvation in the course of a single conversation; can’t be that easy can it?!

God’s mercy is all around them even though they cannot or will not see it. God’s mercy is all around us too. Mercy comes in many ways and in these two stories I want to talk about it coming physically, socially and spiritually.

Physically

Moses had only recently led the Israelites across the Red Sea to escape slavery in Egypt. On arrival into the wilderness of Shur, the lack of water is a big issue. The first water found at Marah was bitter and undrinkable. The Israelites’ reaction is to complain to Moses who in turn cries out to God. God does what God does and provides Moses with a piece of wood to be thrown into the water to make it sweet.

God then leads Moses and his people to Elim, where they camp by 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees. Lots of water and life is good. But they have to move on and lack of water again becomes a problem. Same response: complain to Moses with even more anger than last time; blame him for the exodus because he wants to kill them, their children and livestock. Woe is us!

God responds again by providing more water. This time Moses must strike the rock at Horeb. Water comes out and the people drink. Problem solved, for now.

What does this say to us today?

God provides. In a world of war and uncertainty this is still true. God provides all that we need. We do need to cry out though to make our needs known to God and to others. Mercy is all around. God uses other people to answer our prayers and uses us to answer the prayers of others. He gave us family, friends and our church family. Look at the people sitting around you, they could be the answer to your prayer. They can certainly help to meet any needs you might have right now but they do not know what they do not know.

Socially

The story of the Samaritan woman at the well is fascinating. She too has a physical need for water but her social circumstances dictated collecting her water when no one else was around. The well would have been a place of social gathering for the women of Sychar. Kind of like the modern-day equivalent of the workplace water cooler or village cafe.

But not for her. There was a lack of mercy and understanding.

The collection time is significant. Noon is the heat of the day. Who would want to schlep heavy jugs of water at the hottest point in the day? No one else would be doing this. She was on the margins of society. There is nothing to suggest she was a prostitute or promiscuous although that gets read into this story. There may have been many reasons for her five husbands. Maybe she married young. Her first husband could have died, and she was passed along to his brothers. She could have been infertile as there is no mention of children. She had no power to divorce her husband as that power was given only to the man.

Whatever the reason for her 5 husbands it might not have had much to do with her.

Then one day, she meets Jesus at the well, at the loneliest and hottest point of the day. There are huge social implications for Jesus and the disciples. In the wider story, Jesus and disciples are travelling around Judea and Galilee to teach, preach, heal, and cast out demons. They have arrived in Samaria, a place traditionally hostile to the Jews.

Jesus is not only in Samaria but talking to an unaccompanied, social outcast female Samaritan. Jewish men did not speak to lone women in order to avoid any form of sexual temptation or impropriety. Jesus is not bound by these conventions and the longest recorded conversation he ever has with anyone begins. This is an astonishing thought.

This woman on the margins, judged and looked down upon, with virtually no control over her situation gets the most face time with Jesus at the most socially active place in the city at the most deserted time.

What does this say to us today?

We were made to live in a community. We are born into them with our families. Think back to the isolation of Covid – a mere 6 years ago; the social and mental health implications of that time hangover many people. Some people live in isolation under normal conditions. There are people for whom any social isolation is the worst thing they can imagine.

There are some practical things we can do. There are people in the village who are isolated; if you know them, have you visited recently? If you are feeling isolated, make a list of things you could do around your house, a list of people to call, email or write to, a list of books to read or films to watch. Build a schedule – might sound silly but we all need purpose. I will be so crass as to suggest more prayer and Bible reading, it is Lent after all.

Despite our circumstances, Jesus will meet with us when we want to meet with him. The Samaritan woman was getting on with the business of everyday life when she met Jesus. He was waiting for her. He is waiting for us too.

Spiritually

There are many times when reading Gospel stories I would love to hear the original tone of voice. One commentary suggested that the woman comes across as cheeky, brave, vulnerable and a bit flirtatious. Jesus responds to her with warmth and humour yet continues to push her beyond the superficial. You can see a quick wit in her responses. Jesus responds on that level but everything he says has a serious point to it.

Jesus tells her that everyone who drinks the water from the well will be thirsty again, but those who drink the water He offers will never be thirsty ever. This water will become a spring of water gushing up to eternal life (John 4:13-14). This is of course the water that the Samaritan woman wants. She wants it because it will stop her from coming to the well by herself in the heat of the day to avoid the other women who judge and condemn her.

Jesus responds by asking her to call her husband, another external problem she has. By asking her to call husband six, Jesus shows that He knows what is going on internally too.

From a previous Lent study: ‘She longs for a more satisfying life. From freedom from the shame that made her go to the well when she expected no one else to be there. Jesus treats her with respect and dignity.’

The woman does admit that she knows that the Messiah is coming (verse 25) as an attempt to create even more distance. Yet again she is matched by Jesus. The Messiah she has in mind is safe and impersonal and won’t interfere too much in her daily life. That is not the Messiah she met though. She met the Messiah who very much wants to be involved in our lives and knows every detail.

What does this say to us?

Anyone else try to do that with Jesus? Try to distance and distract? Not letting Him get too involved in your everyday life and business. He wants to be with us – if we will let him! It is helpful to remember what Jesus doesn’t do: He didn’t tell her to sin no more, blame her, condemn her. Works with her where she is at.

She went away changed; the small but not insignificant detail of the left-behind water jug tells us that. She went for water as in H2O and came away having experienced some of the living water Jesus offers. She still had some doubt, ‘He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ We are told at the end of the story that many Samaritans came to believe in Jesus because of her story.

It is a time of great uncertainty across the world. We may feel isolated, but we are not alone. Jesus is merciful; He is the living water we need to satisfy our thirst. He will provide for our physical needs as he did for Moses and the Israelites. He will provide for our social needs if we find ourselves alone at the well in the heat of the day. Jesus will meet our spiritual needs with his living water in whatever way we find ourselves isolated.

I will leave you with this final explanation for what the Samaritan woman found in Jesus that day. She had five husbands, was living with man number six, when she met Jesus, number seven. Seven, is the number associated with perfection. In Jesus, that woman met perfection. We too meet perfection in Jesus. Perfect grace, perfect mercy, perfect love.

Lent 1: Three Questions

The Temptations of Christ, 12th century mosaic at St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice.

22/2/26
Year A – Lent 1

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” – Charles Baudelaire (French poet & essayist).

“Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in.” – Billy Sunday (American evangelist & professional baseball player)

“The devil hath power / To assume a pleasing shape.” – William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

“We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.” – Oscar Wilde.

Scripture tells us repeatedly that the devil is the father of lies. In the wilderness or in the Garden of Eden there is nothing on offer but lies. We see the devil at work in the Genesis and Matthew readings which are always set for the first Sunday in Lent. It is a reminder that the devil/evil/darkness/temptation has been around from the beginning. No one is immune from it, not even Jesus. We have to learn to be aware of it and stand against it. The quotes chosen this morning give a glimpse of how others have contended with the devil.

Many people are convinced that the devil does not exist. We can invite him in. Evil is not always unattractive at first glance. We are our own devils and cause much of our own destruction.

In Genesis, the devil takes the form of a serpent, more crafty than any other animal God had made. The serpent takes an effective and basic approach to deception: casting doubt. Did God really say… Eve knew what God had said, she repeated it verbatim. The serpent carried on telling Eve what would happen which was a lie. She ate the fruit (not necessarily an apple), gave some to Adam and the rest is history.

At the heart of the fall of Adam and Eve is disobedience resulting from lies and deception. Most of our personal problems, the world’s problems stem from lies, deception and ultimately disobedience. Who should we be obedient to? Who should we disobey? What lies have we fallen for?

In Jesus’ baptism, his identity is revealed by God as being his son, precious and beloved. The Spirit then leads him into the wilderness where that truth is powerfully tested and assaulted by the devil. Jesus is not treated as we might expect post-baptism. If you have been to a baptism recently you may have experienced a lavish celebration after the event! There is no cake or bouncy castle for Jesus, no lingering in the glory of baptism for him.

One explanation for Jesus’ temptation is that he had to determine what kind of Messiah he was going to be. Jesus was at the very start of his public ministry; He might as well start as he means to go on.

I want to briefly look at the temptations that Jesus faced and ask three questions that I had not ever considered before.

Stone to Bread

Jesus’ temptation begins after his forty days and nights in the wilderness; likely at this weakest point physically, spiritually and psychologically. Many of us may know the restorative power of a nap and a snack to change perspective. The first need the devil attacks Jesus with is for physical food. Tell this stone to become bread and Jesus of course could do that. There is nothing quite like having hunger satisfied quickly.

The question is: what is truly nourishing for you? If we are thinking about food I am reminded of family meals with everyone around the table. The nourishment of conversation, laughter, being with the people we love. So often we eat junk, we are marketed cheap calories and convenience that do not satisfy our souls or bodies.

We can also ask this spiritually – what nourishes your soul? As you are here this morning I would guess that coming to church does. I know for myself that I am nourished at the Communion table, in times of prayer and reflection. I want you to be fed spiritually, to take this seriously. Do we trust that God and His Word will sustain us?

Jump and Let the Angels
The second temptation is also about trust in God as the devil wants Jesus to put God to the test. This never ends well! Sometimes we put God to the test too when we try to bargain with him, ‘I’ll do this, if you’ll do that.’ We bargain because of our need for safety. Human beings are hardwired for survival and to do that we need to be and feel safe.

The second question is: What is true safety? For a number of years I saw safety in my Canadian passport and credit card with a high limit. If it all went wrong here in the UK, then I could go. Be home again by dinner tomorrow. A growing number of people in this country carry weapons; young people with knives. Is that true safety?

This is driven by fear; I was afraid of failing, running out of money, not having a job or not liking what I was doing. Often fear is far greater than any perceived enemy. God is more than capable of handling our questions, our doubts, our anger and even our temptations. They need to be handed over to him though. What is not acceptable is dangling these things, threatening to do them in order to make God responsible for our actions.

True safety has nothing today with weapons and passports; it has to do with trust. Trusting that God is with us, we are loved. No need to jump off the cliff.

Worship Me and All is Yours

It is very difficult to imagine that Jesus would be tempted to worship the devil. This final temptation is about power. People crave power and the devil knows this. We want to be in control of our own lives, destinies, plans. Adam and Eve were tempted by the prospect of power. They believed, with no proof at all, that eating a piece of fruit would make them like God.

The serpent convinced them that there was more to God than he was letting on. Surely just living the good life in the garden was not all that God wanted. Really? The idea that we can become our own ‘god’ is pervasive in current culture. We want to be powerful, image is everything. Is it? People are falling down all over the place – so get torn down, others throw themselves down.

The third question: What is true power? We learn again and again, or we fail to learn again and again, Jesus’s own central teaching: true power has nothing to do with governments or kingdoms or popularity contests or how many people you can command. True power is the mysterious path that Jesus walked. It comes with no guarantees. It is self-giving surrender, the strangest of paradoxes, and it leads to the cross.

Lent can be a wilderness season of sorts as we make time (or should make time) to examine where we are at with God. To ask ourselves what is truly nourishing? What is true safety? What is true power? Jesus was able to answer the devil at each turn with scripture from Deuteronomy. Maybe we need to brush up on what the bible says (or doesn’t)! Maybe we need to think again about where our trust lies.

A wilderness season, however challenging, will never be wasted if we believe and know that God is with us, that those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, that our identity lies in being His beloved son or daughter. If we can hang on to that, then whatever the wilderness throws at us, whatever illusions we live under can be overcome.

Ash Wednesday: Trap, Truth & Transformation


Psalm 51:1-18
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
John 8:1-11

This print is going to be the focus of my reflection today. It was painted by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1565 and now hangs in the Courtauld Gallery in London. It is entitled ‘Christ and the Women Taken in Adultery.’ This Gospel story has been painted by many others but none quite like Bruegel. The most striking feature is the different shades of grey. The greys represent the human response to sin; to point out the hypocrisy and the virtue of mercy that this Gospel story highlights so well.

The woman has literally been dragged from an adulterer’s bed and brought to the feet of Jesus. This is THE TRAP. The Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus using a woman’s public shame.

Her offence was punishable by death according to the law of Moses. The stakes are even higher for her. She is not looking at the crowd; but she is not looking directly down either. Her left ear is slightly cocked towards the crowd; maybe listening to what people are saying to her or about her.

We have all been trapped by sin. Maybe even publicly. Jesus came to free us from our shame by showing mercy. This is The Truth.

Jesus’s silence and response exposes the hypocrisy of the crowd, causing them to leave. The crowd, according to Bruegel, are showing the human reaction to being confronted with sin. The men closer to the front are much more exposed, a lighter grey than those at the back. Some are turning away, wanting to stay hidden, unexposed. The truth hurts much of the time!

The two men on the right are very exposed but notice their hands. One has his hands hidden under his cloak and the other’s hands are darker than the rest of his body. Their faces and mouths might say one thing yet their hands are telling another story. What is true? Our mouths and our hands need to match.

Every person in this picture except for Jesus is a sinner. Fortunately, this is not the end of the story for any of us. At the centre of this picture and in the most amount of light is Jesus. He is kneeling and writing in Dutch. Jesus is the best lit and most exposed person in this picture.

In this story Jesus is not who does the exposing but the scribes and Pharisees. He cares for this woman, protects her from death and puts her on a new path. The Truth is that we are loved and forgiven.

Finally, The Transformation (vv. 10-11): The shift from condemnation to grace (“Neither do I condemn thee”) and the command for a new life (“Go and sin no more”).

Many people fear being ‘found out’ whether for having done something wrong or by not being the person they present to the world. Some people have a view of God as being out to get them or expose them for their sins. God is the angry Father just waiting for a mistake to be made. Jesus does not condemn her as the crowd did. She does not get off the hook either as she is told to ‘Go and sin no more.’ She had some work to do.

Tom Wright says this about her forgiveness: “If she has been forgiven, if she’s been rescued from imminent death she must live by that forgiveness. Forgiveness is not the same as tolerance. Being forgiven doesn’t mean that sin doesn’t matter. On the contrary: forgiveness means that sin does matter but that God is choosing to set it aside.”

The same is true for us, if we have been forgiven then we must live by that forgiveness. We can all have this and do it. A clean heart and a new and right spirit. But we have to do some work first. Ash Wednesday is a time to reflect and pursue forgiveness of our sins. As Christians, the bigger issue is that we let things interfere in our relationship with Christ. It might seem small or insignificant but if we do not tend to these things or issues they can blow up at an exponential rate.

Ash Wednesday offers the chance to sit down in the ashes in some form of repentance to address our sin and brokenness. Sit down before you fall down. As we have seen from both the Gospel and the Psalms sin gets exposed. Sometimes rather publicly.

To come to a place of repentance is no small feat and is not for the faint of heart. It takes real courage to review ourselves and our actions, to acknowledge where and when we have been wrong, and been sinful. Repentance literally means to turn in the other direction and commit to change. It is only through Christ and being in Christ that death and sin are defeated.

Use this season of Lent to trade them in for the generous mercy and steadfast love that God has for you.

Sunday before Lent: Eyes & Ears

The Transfiguration by Feofan Grek

15/2/26

Exodus 24:12-18
Matthew 17:1-9

We are entering the last week of the Epiphany season as this coming Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. Over the past few weeks we have talked about Epiphany. As a reminder, an epiphany is a moment of awakening or coming to new knowledge. Sometimes they are dramatic affairs and other times they are quiet and we simply know that something has changed.

Matthew 17 describes one of the greatest epiphanies ever; the Transfiguration of Jesus before Peter, James, and John. It is complete with blinding light, clouds, a heavenly voice, and appearances by Old Testament prophets Moses and Elijah.
The event was so mind-boggling that many people dismissed it as a cleverly invented tale. This tale appears in Mark & Luke as well as Matthew so we know it is an important event.

Close your eyes just for a moment.

I would like you to consider: what does Jesus look like to you?

What colour is his hair, his eyes, teeth – crooked or straight? Ears – big or small? Tall or short? Hands – rough or smooth?

Create a picture of what you think He looks like.

Matthew’s Gospel presents a very human Jesus. He was born, he had parents who travelled with him to Egypt; Jesus had a childhood. He eats, drinks, sleeps, goes to a wedding, goes sailing, meets up with friends. He travels, he cries, he gets angry, he wants to be alone. All very normal and human activities.

Jesus also heals people, exercises demons, calls people to follow him and does supernatural things. As he teaches and preaches, the crowds are growing and the Pharisees are starting to close ranks. Then we have the Transfiguration. If there were hints that Jesus was something more than strictly human, here we have it.

The Transfiguration is the luminous story of a mystical encounter, not only between God and God’s Beloved but also between those at the centre of the story and those who watch. Those at the centre are Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Those who watch are Peter, James and John. And then, of course, there are all of us watching all of them.

I want to focus on the watching, the listening and the closeness to God that happens in this story.

Peter, James and John are invited to accompany Jesus up the mountain where he physically changes his appearance before them. The description is that of a heavenly being, dressed in white. We see a similar description of Jesus, the Son of Man, in Revelation.

These three probably had a better understanding of who Jesus was, beyond being only human, than any of the others. Right before the Transfiguration occurs, Jesus asks Peter ‘who do you say I am?’ and Peter replies ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’. Jesus blesses Peter for this answer.

Once this acknowledgment takes place, Jesus begins to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, to suffer and die at the hands of the chief priests and the elders, and on the third day rise again.

While this admission made no complete sense to Peter, James and John, they have already decided who Jesus is. He is the Messiah. They had stayed close to Jesus throughout his ministry being the first disciples called. They stayed with Jesus through to the end; even Peter who denied three times never really leaves Jesus.

If we want to see who Jesus is, if we want to listen to Him – we need to stay close to him.

Go back for another moment to your mental picture of Jesus. How far away is he from you? Three inches, three feet, across the room, a speck in the distance?

Where we place Jesus in our thinking and in our lives says something about how close we are to him. If we want to see his face then we need to stay close. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep your ears on Jesus too.

For the second time, the disciples hear a voice from the cloud saying ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased. They first heard this at Jesus’ baptism; but this time there is an addendum, ‘listen to him’.

If we want to hear Him; then we need to stay close to Him. Jesus does speak but we are not always ready to listen to his voice. People sometimes tell me that they don’t think they have ever heard from God or had any encounter with him.

I am always curious to know how people position themselves to hear from God. Closeness to God is a thread that runs through both the Old & New Testaments.

There is an intimacy to a relationship with God; we see this as he takes aside certain people – Moses, Elijah, Peter, James and John for particular purposes. Sometimes we have to be taken out of our circumstances and situations to meet with God.

The Exodus story has Moses taken up to spend an extended amount of time in God’s presence: forty days and forty nights. Moses is given instructions for the building of the ark of the Covenant and laws and commandments for the people of Israel whom he was called to lead.

Moses reappears in the Transfiguration story as representing the Old Testament law that is fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. Throughout the Old Testament God is hidden because he is too glorious to be seen by his people. They could not survive in all that glory.

I saw someone at the airport this past week after a few months. I knew she had left her job and was not well that last time I saw her. On Thursday I could not believe that change in her – she looked fantastic, different. Her opening line to me was ‘Sue, I found God again’ and she shared the most amazing story about her return to church after many years. She was recently baptised, is attending an Alpha Course and knows that she is in the process of being healed. She has been transformed, transfigured by meeting the risen Jesus.

It is through Jesus that we can stand in the glory of God, that we can be transformed. The God that is hidden in the Old Testament is revealed and exposed in the person of Jesus in the New.

It is in the Transfiguration that we are reminded of greatness and otherness of Jesus and of God which is helpful as we head into Lent. We need reminding that Jesus is more than our thoughts or images of Him.

I think that many Christians try to reduce him down, make him fit into our lives, constrain him to our view of the world. We easily dismiss Him when he doesn’t do or act how we want him to.

On Transfiguration Sunday we come to the end of another liturgical season. We have spent time with the people who experienced Epiphany (the wise men, Mary & Joseph, Simeon & Anna). We now prepare for the long darkness of Lent. We do not yet know what mountains and valleys lie ahead. We cannot predict how God will speak, and in what guise Jesus might appear.

We can trust in this: whether on the brightest mountain, or in the darkest valley, Jesus is with us. Even as he blazes with holy light, his hand remains warm and solid on our shoulders. Even when we’re on our knees in the wilderness, he whispers, “Do not be afraid.”
So listen to the ordinary. Scan the horizon. Keep listening. Keep looking. It is good for us to be here.