Virtual Worship - 27 February 2022

This service will also be shared by Rev Phil Drake with the congregation at Thornton on this date.

 Service Sheet (pdf)

Call to worship: 

It is the God who said: Let light shine out of darkness,
who has shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Christ 

(2 Corinthians 4.6)

Hymn:

Be Thou my vision O Lord of my heart (words below) or you may like to look at Be still for the presence of the Lord (StF 20, MP 50)

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my hear
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one

Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise
Thou mine inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art

High King of heaven, my victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all

Opening prayer

Give us, O God, a vision of your glory,
that we may worship you in spirit and in truth,
and offer the praise of glad and thankful hearts;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament reading: 

Exodus 34.29-35. The shining face of Moses.

29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant[a] in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. 32 Afterwards all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34 but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Gospel reading: 

Luke 9.28-36. The Transfiguration of Jesus

28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 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. 33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings,[c] one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ 36 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.

Time for reflection

This story is about a change which the disciples witnessed in Jesus. In the gospel passage, here is Jesus - changed - other - transfigured. Jesus takes on a special appearance as his clothes dazzle and his face shines. He appears in the company of Elijah and Moses - and company for Jewish people doesn’t get more special than that! And to top it all there is a voice from heaven which says, ‘This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.’ It is a vision of glory: a glimpse of heaven breaking through into our world. I don’t know how many of you realise that the Methodist Church keeps a collection of modern art. It was started by two men in Penarth in South Wales in the 1950s as a private collection before being donated to Methodism. One of the paintings in the collection is by an artist called John Brokenshire. It is a picture of dark clouds divided by a bright white cloud (see the accompanying image). Although Brokenshire was not a Christian, it can invoke a religious image. Many people looking at this picture will realise why the Trustees from the Methodist Art collection decided to buy this painting: the bright cloud was like a white dove. It certainly reminds me of the dove that descended upon Jesus at his baptism when a voice from heaven had also been heard, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ And these same words we also hear in the gospel account of the transfiguration of Jesus.

The painting is indeed offering us a glimpse of glory, an image of light against the darkness. The transfiguration account is also an image of light against the darkness. In this story, the brightness of glory is set against the dark backdrop of suffering. Before and after the transfiguration story there are conversations between Jesus and his disciples, when Jesus tells them that he must face suffering and death - and this is something the disciples find hard to accept. The setting of the transfiguration story within these conversations about the suffering to come remind us that there is an intimate connection between suffering and glory. It tells us that the Jesus of glory and the Jesus of suffering are one and the same. The questions of who Jesus is (as God’s own Son) and what Jesus does (by his suffering and death) belong fully together. You cannot separate the two - they are completely intertwined.

As the Passion story unfolds in the Lenten season ahead we might notice a further intertwining of glory and suffering:

Jesus is declared King of the Jews but has to wear a crown of thorns;
He is paraded and lauded as king; but also mocked and spat at and insulted;

He is anointed with oil; and anointing is both the sign of kingship and a part of the ritual for the dead.

In other words, the Jesus who is glimpsed in glory at the transfiguration is also the Jesus of suffering to be seen on the cross. What the disciples saw on the mountain top was a glimpse of the glory of Christ revealed in his resurrection. As Christians, we are called to look for glimpses of God’s glory in our world today even and especially amidst the hurt and the hardship, remembering that Christ through his own suffering has brought us into the brightness of the glory of God.

Response:

Look at this picture of people climbing to the top of Snowdon in north Wales. Can you recall a time when you climbed to the top of a large hill or mountain and what you saw when you got to the summit? Sometimes you do not always get the view you think you are going to get. Anita Sethi, in her book ‘I belong here’ (Bloomsbury, 2021), writes about climbing to the top of Penyghent in the Yorkshire Dales and arriving at the summit with cloud all about her. Waiting patiently, however, brought its own reward as the mists parted and she was given a glimpse of the wonderful view, and which makes her want to dance! Sethi writes from the experience of someone who was born and raised in northern England but suffered racial abuse whilst travelling on a train. Her experience of walking in the Pennine uplands of northern England brought her glimpses of healing and hope amidst the hurt.

Prayers of intercession

O God of healing and holiness,
we bring before you the leaders of our world in need and ask that they would have the discernment to listen to each other and to you, that there may be justice and peace.

We bring to you the leaders of the Church and other religious organisations and communities and ask that they would have the discernment to listen to each other and to you, that there may be vision and unity.

We bring to you those with responsibility for health care – doctors, nurses, administrators, ancillary workers and more – and pray that they may be strengthened and encouraged by encountering you in their work.

We bring to you those with healing needs (especially…),
and pray that they will hear you and feel peace; that they will encounter you and feel healed; that they will know you and feel loved.

In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.

Song: 

Mission Praise 664/Singing the Faith 397 The Spirit lives to set us free (Walk in the light) or Mission Praise 338/Hymns and Psalms 167 In the cross of Christ I glory

Blessing: 

The Lord bless and keep you and make his face to shine upon you. The Lord look on you with kindness and give you peace. Amen.

Credits: Opening Prayer taken from The Methodist Worship Book, 1999, copyright The Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Painting, ‘Oil on canvas’ by John Brokenshire (born 1958) from the Methodist Modern Art Collection, image copyright Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes, with permission to use in resources for worship. Prayers of intercession copyright Roots for Churches Ltd used with permission.