A Service of the Word For 

Use on Zoom

OPENING

Leader   We come from scattered lives to meet with God. Let us recognise his presence with us.

Silence

Leader   As God’s people we have gathered:

All          Let us worship him together.

All          Lord, direct our hearts, and teach us to pray.  Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

HYMN    Christ whose glory fills the skies 

CONFESSION

Leader   The gospel calls us to turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.
As we offer ourselves to him in penitence and faith, we renew our confidence and trust in his mercy.

All          God our Father,
long-suffering, full of grace and truth,
you create us from nothing and give us life.
You give your faithful people new life
in the water of baptism.
You do not turn your face from us,
nor cast us aside.
We confess that we have sinned
against you and our neighbour.
We have wounded your love and marred
your image in us.
Restore us for the sake of your Son,
and bring us to heavenly joy,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Leader   May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  

All          Amen.

Psalm 50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TKfWuL5yG8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TKfWuL5yG8

Reading               2 Corinthians 4: 3 - 6

A Song of Triumph (The Venite)

Leader   Come, let us sing to the Lord our God

All          raise the roof to the Rock of rescue.

Leader   Come into the presence of the Lord with thanks

All          raise the rafters with songs of praise.

Leader   The Lord is the great God, over all;

All          greater than every other power.

Leader   He holds the depths of the earth in his hands,

All          and the mountain peaks belong to him.

Leader   The ocean is the Lords; it was made by God;

All          the land was formed by his own hands.

Leader   Come, let us bow before the Lord our maker;

All          with humble heats we worship God.

Leader   The Lord is God and we are his;

All          we are the Shepherd’s very own flock

Paraphrase of Psalm 95: 1 - 7

Hymn    O God beyond all praising 

Reading       Mark 9: 2 - 9

A Sermon for the Sunday Next Before Lent

Mark 9: 2 – 9

We’ve all seen the adverts for washing products which claim to leave our clothing whiter than white.  Whether we prefer liquids, powders, capsules, soapnuts or oxygen balls, all we really want are clean clothes, but in a crowded market, advertising a product which makes the dirtiest of clothes look cleaner than clean is important.

The art which Lever Brothers used to advertise their soap products has become iconic. At the time it would have been unthinkable to use religious imagery, but just imagine how powerful an advertisement for soap products using a picture of the Transfiguration would be.

In today’s Gospel we hear of Jesus transfigured in front of his trusted inner circle of disciples.  It was an experience that Peter, James and John had to keep to themselves for now, but where to start?  How do you describe something which no-one else has seen and is beyond human experience?  They did what we would do, using images and experiences which others would understand.  Whether Mark heard the story from Peter, James or John, or it was passed on by someone else, we don’t know, but Mark heard that Jesus became dazzlingly bright.  So white that no bleach would ever turn his clothing so white.

This is quite a vision of the glory of God.  No wonder we are told that Peter was terrified.  In Jesus’ day, it was thought that anyone who saw this kind of glory would die.  No human being could look at the perfect glory of God and live.

However we understand the transfiguration, clearly Peter, James and John were enormously privileged to be present as the divine Jesus is revealed to them.  On a mountaintop in Israel, they quite literally glimpse a foretaste of heaven.

Last week we heard John and Paul as they tell us that Jesus existed with God in the beginning.  Paul told us that because Jesus created all things, he reigns over everything.  Today, as we turn towards Lent, we see through the eyes of Peter, James and John, the divine Jesus of heaven and earth.

As we stand on the cusp of Lent, the glory of the divine Jesus stands in front of us.  It is a privileged glimpse. We have no more right to gaze on the transfigured Jesus in his divine glory than those 3 disciples did.  It is a glimpse which should drive us to our knees in preparation for Ash Wednesday as we recognise that we are not worthy to be in the presence of such divine glory.

 The Ash Wednesday service this year will be virtual, and so we will not hear those words: ‘Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return, turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ’.  Perhaps, having glimpsed the perfect glory of God in the transfigured Christ we do not need to.  This glimpse alone should be enough to make us recognise our imperfect state.  Enough to remind us how much we need to turn away from sin and turn back to Jesus.  The 40 days of Lent provide us with opportunity to do just that, but that is not the end of the story.

The transfiguration gives us a reason to look beyond our sinfulness and our need to turn back to Jesus.  As Peter, James and John descend the mountain, Jesus talks with them.  For now they must keep the experience to themselves.  Only after the Messiah has risen from the dead, will they be able to tell others of their experience.

Soon, we will begin our journey through Lent.  A journey which invites us to walk with Jesus, not just through the 40 days of his temptation in the wilderness, but to walk with him along the way of the cross.  A journey on which we are invited to pause at the place of crucifixion and gaze at Jesus on the cross. It is not a comfortable journey, but it is a necessary one if we want to experience the fulness of the resurrection.  

Only when we journey through Lent and the way of the cross can we arrive at the resurrection, certain that the resurrection of Jesus is a foretaste of the eternity which awaits us. An eternity in which we will join Pater, James and John, not sharing a mere glimpse of the divine Jesus, but gazing at him for all eternity.

It will not a swift transformation; it will take a lifetime, but this is the way by which, in the words of the hymn writer, we will be ‘changed from glory into glory, till, in heaven we take our place.’

 S Anne Lawson

11/2/2021

Hymn    River, wash over me                 

Statement of Faith

Leader   Let us affirm our faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Leader   Do you believe in God the Father,
source of all being and life,
the one for whom we exist?

All          We believe and trust in him.

Leader   Do you believe and trust in God the Son,
who took our human nature,
died for us and rose again?

All          We believe and trust in him.

Leader   Do you believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit,
who gives life to the people of God
and makes Christ known in the world?

All          We believe and trust in him.

Leader   This is the faith of the Church.

All          This is our faith, 
we believe and trust in one God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

Leader   Let us pray to the God of glory,
              revealed to us in his Son, Jesus.

Father, lengthen and deepen our 
attention in span
as we, your people, listen to your beloved Son,
so that we do not fail to hear his will for us,
or share his longing for the world to be saved.

Let us worship the Lord:

All          in the beauty of holiness.

Leader   Father, with such humility you 
entered the world 
to save it through love’s living;
increase our desire to enter into 
one another’s suffering and hardship,
to share the world’s resources fairly
with one another,
and recognise all humanity as brothers and sisters.

              Let us worship the Lord;

All          in the beauty of holiness.

Leader   Father, let us not take one another for granted,
but wake each morning ready to notice the Christ in each person we see and speak to;
and reverence your hidden presence
in all creation.

              
Let us worship the Lord;

All          in the beauty of holiness.

Leader   Father, in our prayer we stand alongside
all who are too weak to pray, or too confused;
may all who are suffering
sense your love and comfort,
and be given strength to persevere,
and peace of mind and spirit.

              Let us worship the Lord;

All          in the beauty of holiness.

Leader   Father, we give you thanks for
those who have recently died,
that they may rest in peace and rise in glory.

              Let us worship the Lord:

All          in the beauty of holiness.

Leader   Father, thank you for providing always
the encouragement and inspiration we need
for the work you would have us do;
give us the grace to trust your will for us
and walk forward boldly in your company

              Merciful Father

All          accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Amen.

© Susan Sayers (adapted)

The Collect for the Sunday Next Before Lent

Leader   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.

All          Amen

Leader   Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us.

All          Our Father, who art in heaven,

              hallowed be thy name;

              thy kingdom come;

              thy will be done;

              on earth as it is in heaven.

              Give us this day our daily bread.

              And forgive us our trespasses,

              as we forgive those who trespass 

                                           against us.

              and lead us not into temptation,

              but deliver us from evil.

              For thine is the kingdom,

              the power and the glory,

              for ever and ever.

              Amen.

Hymn    Love divine, all loves excelling 

Closing Prayer

All   In darkness and in light,
in trouble and in joy,
help us to serve your purpose,
and to praise your name;
through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Christ whose glory fills the skies Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies (Ratisbon) - YouTube

O God beyond all praising O God Beyond All Praising - YouTube

River wash over me River wash over me - YouTube

Love divine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hmfqe_8SEI