Sunday Service for 14 February 2021, Transfiguration Sunday

Worship Service for 14 February 2021, Transfiguration Sunday
Prepared by the Rev. Teri C Peterson, Gourock St. John’s
Manse phone: 632143
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland (dot) org (dot) uk

To hear an audio recording of the service, including music, phone 01475 270037. please share this number with your friends, neighbours, and family members who don’t have easy internet access!

 Full Sunday Service Video (despite what the email says, this week is not the Moderator, it’s all home-produced! If you missed the moderator-hosted service last week, you can find it in the previous post!)

Thanks to Stephen Henry for the 4th, 10th, and 11th photos, and Derek Reid for the 5th. The rest of the photos are by Teri, unless otherwise noted.

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Opening Prayer
Today I invite you to join in a journey to see and hear Jesus, as the disciples did on the mountain.
Take in a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
Breathe in God’s grace…and breathe out with gratitude.
Breathe in God’s love…and breathe out with peace.
Breathe in God’s mystery…and breathe out with hope.

Look around the room where you are sitting.
It may be a place you spend a lot of time,
but really look at it, rather than looking past.
What do you see?
What colours…what furniture…what artwork or photos…
where are the windows? what is the light like today? Where are the shadows falling?
What can you smell? Lunch in the oven, washing drying, a scented candle, lingering hand soap?
What do you hear? The boiler humming, neighbours talking, wind rushing outside?
How do you feel here?
…
Now close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Let it out slowly.

Hear the call, a whisper: “come away.”
Come away…with Jesus.
Come away…from all that is familiar and ordinary.
Come away…to follow.

Imagine footsteps on the ground in front of you,
and do your best to put your feet into them as you picture yourself walking.
Keep your eyes on the footprints & set your own feet into them as you go.
Listen for his voice, and watch his path.
…

When you look up, you find yourself on top of a hill. Look around and take in the view.
Can you see houses? What style are they? How about trees? Water? How far up are you?
How does it feel to be above the fray of regular busy-ness for a bit?
Take a deep breath here…
and in the clear air, look over at the One who called you here.
What does Jesus look like today?
How tall is he? What colour eyes …and hair …and skin does he have?
What is he wearing?
What is beautiful, or quirky, or notable about his appearance?
…
Keep your eyes on him, and listen.
Jesus has things to say—to pray, to teach, to heal—
so just take this time, away with him, to listen.
Listen as he speaks to God…as he speaks to the prophets…as he speaks to you.
…
…
…
We aren’t the first disciples to have trouble being still and paying attention,
difficulty staying awake…
so busy, working so much, trying so hard.
God knows how that feels.
Focus your eyes on Jesus
as light shines through him…
as he becomes brighter and brighter,
burning an image of God’s glory into your mind.
It is good to be here.
Listen To Him.
…
what do you hear?
…
what do you see?
…
what do you feel, as he speaks?
…
what would you like to say to Jesus, as his light shines on you?
Speak to him now, honestly—whatever comes to mind,
whether you have questions,
or requests,
or ideas,
or just things you want to talk about.
…
…
…
Look into Jesus’ eyes—see the light, and the love.
And see where he turns his gaze next.
Follow him again, each of your steps in one of his footprints,
step by step, as close as you can.
Keep that bright image in your mind
even as you look at each next step.
…
When you are ready, slowly open your eyes and look around at your familiar place.
With the light of the world as your lens,
how does your space feel now? What is the same? What looks different?
How are you different, now that you have seen his glory?
…
What is Jesus saying to you in this ordinary place?
What is Jesus calling you to do in this regular life?
Picture his shining eyes, and follow his gaze…
Let his words sink into your ears:
God is Love.
You are loved.
Love your neighbour as yourself.
I will show you the way.
Now you have seen the light, let it shine, wherever you are.
…
May it be so. Amen.

Hymn 448: Shine, Jesus, Shine

Scripture Reading: Luke 9:28-45 (Common English Bible)
Jesus has been out and about in cities, villages, and countryside, healing people with illnesses and who are possessed by demons, teaching in parables, calming the sea, and feeding the crowds. He sent his disciples out into the villages to heal and teach as well. When they returned with stories of all the Spirit had done through them, Jesus took them away to a deserted place so they could rest and pray. While there, he asked them “Who do people say that I am?” and then more importantly asked them “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered “you are the Messiah.” And then Jesus told them, for the first time, that he would suffer, be killed, and be raised on the third day, and that we all must take up our cross and follow him. That’s where we pick up the story in the gospel according to Luke, chapter 9, beginning at verse 28. I am reading from the Common English Bible.
~~~~~~~
About eight days after Jesus said these things, he took Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes flashed white like lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him. They were clothed with heavenly splendour and spoke about Jesus’ departure, which he would achieve in Jerusalem. Peter and those with him were almost overcome by sleep, but they managed to stay awake and saw his glory as well as the two men with him.
As the two men were about to leave Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it’s good that we’re here. We should construct three shrines: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—but he didn’t know what he was saying. Peter was still speaking when a cloud overshadowed them. As they entered the cloud, they were overcome with awe.
Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my chosen one. Listen to him!” Even as the voice spoke, Jesus was found alone. They were speechless and at the time told no one what they had seen.
The next day, when Jesus, Peter, John, and James had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. A man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to take a look at my son, my only child. Look, a spirit seizes him and, without any warning, he screams. It shakes him and causes him to foam at the mouth. It tortures him and rarely leaves him alone. I begged your disciples to throw it out, but they couldn’t.”
Jesus answered, “You faithless and crooked generation, how long will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” While he was coming, the demon threw him down and shook him violently. Jesus spoke harshly to the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. Everyone was overwhelmed by God’s greatness.
While everyone was marvelling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, “Take these words to heart: the Son of Man is about to be delivered into human hands.” They didn’t understand this statement. Its meaning was hidden from them so they couldn’t grasp it. And they were afraid to ask him about it.

For the word of God in scripture
For the word of God among us
For the word of God within us
Thanks be to God.
~~~~~

Sermon: Brutiful
Sometimes it feels like more of our lives are spent in the second day of this story than in the first. We know what it is like to be surrounded by illnesses we don’t understand and cannot solve, to feel helpless in the face of a loved one’s pain, to be bewildered and overwhelmed when we look at the world. Jesus had given his disciples the power to heal, yet when the moment arrived for their first unsupervised clinic and they were faced with the full truth of illness, they couldn’t do it. The weight of expectation — of the crowd, the desperate father, of Jesus, and even their own expectations of themselves — was too much and all they could do was look helplessly on like everyone else. They didn’t have the confidence in the power Jesus gave them to actually use it when they needed it. No wonder Jesus was a bit exasperated with them!

I don’t know what stood out to you most when hearing the Scripture read today, but the thing I keep noticing is how many times it tells us that the people around Jesus were overwhelmed. On the mountaintop we heard that they saw “heavenly splendour” and glory…that they were almost overcome by sleep…that they didn’t know what they were talking bout, they were overcome with awe, they were speechless. At the bottom of the mountain everyone was overwhelmed, marvelling, didn’t understand, and were afraid to ask him about it.

And they told no one. The three who were on top of the mountain didn’t tell anyone about their experience…and the ones at the bottom didn’t ask any questions about their failure or what to do differently next time. Everyone just tried to move on.

That’s not so different from today. I know people who have had amazing mountaintop experiences, when they have seen or heard God so clearly, but they are afraid to talk about it because they don’t want people to think they’re crazy. And I know people who have had incredible grief, or who are going through really difficult times, and they are afraid to talk about it because they think no one will understand.
And some of those people sit next to each other in church, live in the same street, ride the same buses, have met up at the same cafe or pub on the same day for years, and don’t know any of it.

Sometimes life is overwhelming — both overwhelmingly difficult and overwhelmingly fabulous. Or, as one writer (Glennon Doyle) puts it, life is both beautiful and brutal — it’s brutiful. And Jesus calls us to see his truth in both ends of that spectrum, and everywhere in between.

It’s easy enough to see God when Jesus is shining on top of the mountain, chatting to the prophets of old. But how can we see God when our child is desperately ill and no one can do anything to help? Or when everything is just the same, day after day — when we haven’t left the house in a year, and we have to decide what to make ourselves for dinner, alone, for the 300th day in a row?

I think one of the ways we adjust our vision to see God in such a wide variety of situations — and in the everyday — is to share our experiences with each other. Perhaps we expect we ought to keep these things private, but Jesus confounds our expectations! When we share the beautiful mystical moments, when the presence of God is so clear it’s practically blinding, then we’re better able to carry that into other times, rather than just tucking it away in our memories as “that strange thing that happened once a long time ago but didn’t affect my faith or life.” What if the disciples had spoken together of what they saw and heard on top of the mountain…would they have been better able to understand what Jesus said at the bottom of the mountain, and learned the lessons he was trying to teach them about who he was and who they were? The same is true in reverse — it matters that we share the brutal experiences as well as the beautiful, as well as the mundane — because together we can help one another see God at work in all of it, even when it feels like we are in it alone. That’s what it means to be people of faith: to be looking for God so that we can join in God’s work in every aspect of this brutiful life. After all, how can we join in God’s work if we can’t see it? And how can we see it if we don’t have fellow Christians helping us discern and process and act?

I attended a virtual seminar this week in which one of the speakers said that there are two kinds of churches — churches that do interesting things, and churches whose spirituality is inside their walls. This story seems to give us exactly that: the disciples on the mountain are so dazzled by seeing the full glory of Christ that they want to stay there. But at the bottom of the mountain are people who need them to act like the ones that Jesus empowered to do interesting things — to heal, to restore, to bring life. But the thing is, being followers of Jesus requires that we carry that mountaintop vision of the shining light down into the shadowed valley, and the challenges of the valley with us when we go up the mountain. If we always keep them in their separate places, tucked away in private memories, quiet behind the sanctuary walls, then how can the light shine in the darkness? We are the Body of Christ — bearers of the light of the world. And the brutiful world needs us to do all those interesting things Jesus empowered us to do.

May it be so. Amen.

Hymn 543: Christ, Be Our Light

Prayer
Holy One, you call us up the mountain to pray,
to come apart and let your holiness dazzle us.
You bring us to these moments,
overwhelming our senses
and lifting us out of ourselves for a moment.
In the midst of our tiredness and our uncertainty,
in the flash of understanding and the wonder,
the Spirit is at work, even now,
on the mountaintop and in the valley.
We give you thanks for revealing yourself,
for your light so bright,
for your grace so amazing,
for your wonders so beautiful.
Carrying our gratitude, holding on to your light,
we turn our eyes back to the world you so love,
praying that we might see your glory there as well.
Show yourself to us in this time set apart,
and again in the work you lay before us,
and again in the wonders of your creation,
and again in the face of our neighbour.
We lift our prayers this day
for those who need a glimpse of your goodness —
for those who are ill, undergoing treatment, or waiting for test results…
for those who care for others in body, mind, or spirit…
for those behind the scenes of our everyday lives — in the health service, in the shops and delivery vans, in the post office, in the council, in social care…
for those who are lonely and isolated, longing for a phone call or a note that tells them they are not forgotten…
for those who carry the weight of leadership in these times, seeking the good of all and the best use of resources, and navigating the complicated relationships between and within our nations and communities…
for your Church, commanded and empowered to be your Body on earth, bearing your light and doing your work.
Guide us, O God,
as we seek to hold the mountaintop experience
and the walk through the shadowed valley
together in one faithful life.
We ask in the name of the One who was, and is, and is to come, Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today 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 forever.
Amen.

Benediction
Friends, whether your week holds a shining mountaintop or a shadowed valley, may you see God’s presence and join in God’s work together. And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you; may the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion; may the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone; and may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.

Announcements

* All worship is online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print) until further notice — the building is closed during the government’s lockdown and during level 4 restrictions. We will let you know when in-person worship begins, and whether any new procedures will be in place at that time.

* The Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online by clicking here. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church or the manse by post and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please stay safe!

* The theme for worship during the season of Epiphany is “Confounding Expectations.” We will be considering how Jesus and his ministry are beyond, around, beneath, outside, blowing-open, confusing, and generally…confounding, compared to what we expect!

***The coffee money that we normally send on to the school in Venda has been exhausted. If you would like to contribute to keep our donations to the school going, please contact Rab & Eileen for bank details for donations, phone 634159.

* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to share with your friends, too!

* Evening Prayer with Connect will be led by Karen Harbison this evening. Join us on the Connect Facebook Page at 6:58pm.