Scripture Readings: Joshua 5:9–12 | Psalm 32 | 2 Corinthians 5:16–21 | Luke 15:1–2, 11–32

“Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’” (Luke 15:31-32).

Our Gospel reading this morning is one of the most well known and beloved parables of Jesus. A powerful story told to help us understand and respond to His Kingdom work. This story has often been called the Prodigal Son… as prodigal means ‘wasteful’ ‘lavash’, or ‘recklessly extravagant’, in reference to the younger son’s completely careless use of his inheritance.

It's a story that stands out as a profound example of the radical nature of God’s mercy and love, and grace… a story that tells us that no matter how far we have wandered, we really can be welcomed home again. Inviting us to turn around again and return to the Father’s eager embrace.

But this parable is much more than simply a story about the depths of God’s mercy and grace. It’s a story about broken relationships, and reconciliation… about the restoration of the bonds between a father and his sons… but just as importantly, between the sons themselves.

In this parable, we are not simply being reminded of God’s great mercy and saving love offered to us… we are being called to respond to His mercy and love… in how we relate to those in our lives. Perhaps especially those we feel the most estranged and divided from.

And I don’t know about you, but I can think of very few other topics that are more relevant today than reconciliation… the coming together again of those who have been torn apart. Every day it seems, there’s yet more divisiveness and broken bonds in our world… fractured friendships, at the local, national, and international level.

The conflicts we face in life can be incredibly challenging. And it’s not always easy to know how to respond, or what we can do to move forward. But thankfully, in today’s parable we have been given a word from our Lord Jesus Christ not only offering us hope for our own forgiveness and grace, but also an invitation to change how we see and respond to this deeply divided world that we find ourselves in.  

In the first part of the parable, Jesus introduces us to a family of three: a father and his two sons. Right away, we’re told that the younger son demands his share of the inheritance, and then heads off to a distant land, where he wastes everything he had received, and is left with nothing. Now, the scandal here is not just about the younger son being careless with his money… it’s also about the shameful way that he treats his father, and the damage done to their relationship.

In the largely patriarchal and honour-shame cultures of the ancient Near East, fathers were the honoured head of the family. They were expected to be treated with great respect, and deference. And the same would go for the older sons, those who were expected to fill in for their father as head of the household once he dies. So when this youngest son rudely demands his inheritance right away, he isn’t just being impatient, he’s acting disgracefully… it would be like saying to his father: ‘I wish you were dead.’ And it suggests a complete break in their relationship… disregarding all that he had done for him.

But then everything blows up in his face. Disaster strikes, and the younger son finds himself in desperate straits. A famine strikes the land, and the son is left destitute. His new friends abandon him, and he’s forced to do degrading work with no hope of relief. And here at rock bottom, that’s when he comes to his senses, and he remembers that his father’s servants were much better off than he was now. 

Of course he knows that there’s no chance of making amends now and restoring their broken relationship. But maybe his father will have pity on him, and take him back as a hired servant. So he swallows his pride, and rehearses his apology… expecting to have to bear the full weight of his mistakes… and heads back home full of shame, but hoping against hope that maybe… just maybe… his father will be gracious enough to give him a job so that he will not starve. 

But as it turns out, the younger son does not understand the depths of his father’s mercy and love. 

His father sees him from afar… and he runs. He runs to his boy, and embraces him… and covers his mud-caked face with kisses. The son starts to recite his prepared apology, but the father doesn’t even wait to hear it. Instead, he calls for his own best robe, and his ring, marks of familial status and honour, to be given to his long-lost child… and then the father calls for a feast. 

And the youngest son is swept up in an amazing act of grace, and lavish love beyond anything he expected or deserved… or even dreamed of. Where he expected to find condemnation and shame, he is surrounded by compassion and forgiveness instead… a beautiful glimpse of the very heartbeat of the message of the Gospel.  

Can we identify with this son’s experience of being embraced by his father’s gracious love? I hope so!

This parable offers us a powerful image of God’s love, that Christians have looked to from the beginning to understand and express the kind of welcome we have been offered in Christ. This story often hits home when we have moments of conversion… coming to faith for the first time… or of reconnection… returning to the Lord after he have wandered away, and are suddenly made aware that God’s love for us is so much bigger than our brokenness… and so much stronger than all our guilt and shame… It’s like coming to life again: when everything seemed lost, suddenly we’re found and welcomed home.

But this parable is more than a powerful vision of our own forgiveness, and if we stop here, we are actually missing one of the most important parts of this story’s message. 

Because this story is not only about one son. It’s about a family. The parable tells us about another son. The elder brother. The one who was expected to be honoured, like his father. The one who never stepped out of line. Who never shamed his father, or his family, or wasted his inheritance. The son who worked hard and who always did what was expected of him. 

A son who, just like his younger brother, does not understand the depths of his father’s mercy and love.

His story picks up with the party already started. The older son comes back from a day of working in the fields, and he hears about the feast in honour for his long-lost brother. But unlike his father, the older son is filled with anger and deep resentment. And so, he refuses to join in the celebration. 

So his father leaves the party and goes out to find him.

When he does, he begins to plead with the elder son to join them, and the always obedient, responsible son responds by letting his father have it. Now before we look down on him, let’s think about his position. Let’s listen to his complaint. Luke 15:29-30,

“But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’”

‘What has this all been for?’ he says. ‘I’ve worked and slaved for you all my life, and for what? You’ve never blessed me like you bless this useless, horrible son of yours!’

Can we identify with this older son sometimes? Do we ever feel weighed down with duty… working hard to do what’s expected, but then seeing nothing to show for it? All the while, seeing other, completely undeserving people being lifted up? If you’ve ever felt this way… if you’re feeling this way today, you’re definitely not alone. And thankfully, this word from Jesus our Lord is for you… to bring you peace and hope as well. But this parable is also a challenge to us… correcting some assumptions that we all make from time to time about the true nature of God’s mercy and love, and how it works in our lives, and in our world.

One way to explain the older son’s point of view is to say that he is relating to his father with a basically 
transactional framework: ‘If I do this for you, you’ll do that for me.’ Of course, there’s a flip side to this too: ‘If I don’t do this for you, you won’t do that for me.’ This is a vision of the world where we all basically get what we deserve… and it deeply shapes how we relate to ourselves… and how we relate to the other people in our lives.

But the Gospel, the Good News of offers us another way to see both ourselves, and others… not based on evaluating what everyone does or does not deserve… but based on what the Living God has done for us, and for them too… through God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

And this parable… this story asks us all: ‘Do we truly understand our Heavenly Father’s mercy & love? How in tune are we with God’s amazing, saving grace for sinners of every sort?’

In the parable, the father seeks to share his life and joy with both his sons… not as a reward, but as a gift. As an outpouring of his own generosity, and willingness to embrace them both as his own. 

With the younger son, we see this clearly, as the father honours and welcomes his child home with unexpected ease, and overflowing joy… seeing his wasteful and wayward boy as one who has been brought back to life from the dead.

And with the older son, we see the father seeking him out, eager for his diligent child to come and share in his joy as well. And we also see the father patiently listening to his elder sons’ angry accusations… against his brother, and also against the father… but then gently challenging the older son’s assumptions… inviting him to adopt a whole different way of seeing himself, his relationship with his father, and with his estranged brother. Luke 15:31-32,

“Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

The son seems to have thought that his father had forgotten him… that he had been loved less, and neglected. But in the father’s eyes, that’s not the case at all! It’s not an either/or. He loved both his children, and wanted them both to share in his love together. 

But to do that, the elder son had to choose to make room in his heart and his life for his brother again. He would have to start to see that the new life of his brother mattered so much more than money, or honour, or his ideas about what anyone deserved. 

This story is an invitation to live by God’s grace. To receive His grace, and then to extend it.

And the story is left hanging. How would the older son respond? More to the point: how will you and I respond???
 
After all, this parable is not at all a hypothetical scenario. It is a word from our Lord Jesus Christ, challenging our own assumptions, and calling us to a deeper understanding of our Heavenly Father’s great mercy and love… one that will actually begin to alter how we relate to God, and to all those around us.

In other words, it’s pointing us to Jesus Himself… to God’s own beloved Son, our Saviour.

The One who went out to the lost, to the scandalous, the losers, the compromised, and corrupt, and called them turn around and to share in the New Life of God’s Kingdom… embracing them as His beloved sisters and brothers, not because they deserved it at all, but because of God’s own great mercy and love. 

And we know, Jesus was also rejected by those who were self-righteous… those who could not or would not recognize in Him the mercy and love of the Living God at work… and who were angry and scandalized that Jesus would claim to be so close to the Holy One, and yet still hang out with all the wrong kinds of people. 

But Jesus didn’t come to pick sides. He came to seek the lost, and to share God’s great mercy and saving love with everyone and anyone who would receive it. And He did this by taking our place once and for all at the cross.

Jesus gave His life for both the younger and the older brothers… for all of us, no matter which ways we have wandered from the holy ways of our Heavenly Father: through being shameful or self-righteousness… through our anger or our carelessness. Christ Jesus took on all the consequences of our world’s ungodliness… in every form it may take… in order to save and embrace us all… bringing us to Himself forever.

As St. Paul says in second Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

But here’s the kicker: what Jesus has done for us, He has also done for everyone else. That includes those who have hurt us, or who deeply frustrate us, or who give us reasons to be afraid. He doesn’t condone what they’ve done, or want it to continue. Far from it! 

But the truth remains that Jesus Christ gave His life for them too. And our Heavenly Father seeks to save them too. As much as we may want to at times, you and I don’t get to draw the lines about who gets embraced by the love of God.

But if we leave it there, we’re actually missing the biggest scandal of this story, and like the older son, we’re still left standing outside, refusing to come in. The real scandal of God’s mercy and saving love is that He wants us to share it with them too. Not to stand off at a distance, grumbling, but to be an integral part of how his love is made known. 

In other words: Jesus embraces us, so that, with the Holy Spirit’s help, we can embrace our estranged siblings too, and help them return to the loving arms of our Father in Heaven.

Or better yet, in St. Paul’s words: “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:16-21).

Of course we know, that we can’t make people respond faithfully to this Good News of God’s reconciling love. And there is no guarantee that those we share it with will want anything we have to offer. And we can never try to force people who are estranged to be reconciled. It has to be a two-way street. In order for broken relationships to truly heal, there’s lots of healing, and listening, and rebuilding of trust that will need to take place. 
 
But as Christians, we have already received God’s reconciling mercy and grace, and are now called to share it with those around us in Jesus’ name… looking at ourselves and everyone around us, not simply from a human point of view, but as beloved sons and daughters that Christ Jesus died to save.

So how will we respond to all those around us today? That all depends on how we see them, and on our understanding of the mercy and saving love of our Heavenly Father. 

So may we see and treat everyone… ourselves, our loved ones, our neighbours, and even our enemies, in the light of the Gospel… the Good News of what Jesus Christ has done to seek out and save us all. Amen.  

Today marks the third Sunday of Lent, a sacred season for Christians to prepare in mind, body, and spirit, to follow our Saviour Jesus Christ to the cross, and the solemn commemoration of His betrayal, death, and resurrection at Holy Week.

Some of the traditional practices of the season of Lent include fasting, the study of Scripture, prayerful reflection, and generous almsgiving. 

To help us grow in our understanding and faith as Christ's disciples today, each week we will be sharing links to two videos from the Bible Project from their series on The Sermon on the Mount.

You can find this week's videos,  'Wisdom Within Laws About Oaths, Retaliation, and Enemy Love', and 'Warnings About Religious Practices' below: 

Scripture Readings: Genesis 15:1–12, 17–18 | Psalm 27 | Philippians 3:17–4:1 | Luke 13:31–35

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34).

How we respond to danger and threats says a lot about what we value… and what we trust in. 

At one level, this response to danger happens completely unconsciously. When threatened, our body’s self-defense mechanisms kick in to help us do what we must to survive… what’s sometimes called the ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ response to stress. Our bodies automatically prepare us to challenge the threats head on, to flee as fast as possible, or to temporarily seize up, in the hopes that the threat will pass us by. 

All of these biological strategies have their place, and are useful in certain circumstances. And all of us have different default reactions… ones we jump to more easily than others. But this physiological response is only part of our overall approach to dealing with dangers in life. Our will also plays an important role in how we react to threats.

When we have more than a second to think about what to do… when we have a chance to actually choose our next steps… and decide between all the pathways before us… that’s when our response to danger really reveals what we care about, and what we think is the best way to protect it.

Our reading today from St. Luke’s Gospel tells of a moment when Christ Jesus our Lord comes under threat: when He receives a warning that powerful people are out to get Him. And in this passage, we get a glimpse of both what our Lord Jesus is truly passionate about… and also a vision of what it means for us all to respond to threats and dangers from the point of view of God’s Kingdom.

Our passage begins with Jesus being warned by some Pharisees that the puppet-king Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, wanted Him dead. Now as you might remember, Herod Antipas’ father, King Herod the ‘Great’, had also sought to kill Jesus, when He was a child, after the visit from the Magi. At that time, Herod the ‘Great’ was threatened by news of a newborn King of the Jews, and ended up killing all the young boys in Bethlehem, but Jesus and His family fled to safety in Egypt. 

And now, like father like son, Herod Antipas sees the adult Jesus as a threat… someone who was causing trouble and upsetting his own vision for Galilee. We don’t have all the details of why Herod Antipas wanted Jesus dead… just that he did. And usually, when powerful people like that want you dead, that’s reason enough to flee.

And so some Pharisees, who have as a group had some confrontations with Jesus at this point, but who were not outright enemies yet, decide to warn Jesus to get out of town, and out of trouble. “Get away from here,” they tell Him, “for Herod wants to kill you.” (Luke 13:31).

What would you do in His place? How would you respond to this kind of warning?

Well, Jesus responds by doing something quite unexpected. He says He has His own work to do, work that Herod’s threats won’t stop Him from doing. And though He soon will be leaving Galilee, it’s not to flee away from danger, but to journey straight into the heart of it! 

Luke 13:32-33, “He said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’” 

Right away, Jesus dismisses the ruler of Galilee as ‘that fox’… a cunning predator of small creatures, but not really that much of a threat. Then He lays out His own agenda: to do the works of the Kingdom of God. To drive away the dark spiritual powers holding us humans in bondage and fear… curing the sick, and bringing healing to people in mind, body, and soul. In short, Jesus was far too busy bringing God’s life and light to those who desperately needed it to worry about what Herod Antipas was up to… and more than that, He knew where the real danger lay. 

He knew His mission… and that His path would soon take Him to Jerusalem, whose name means ‘city of shalom’ or ‘city of peace’. 

Jerusalem… the home of the Temple of Yahweh, first built by Solomon, son of King David, and which was the central place of worship for God’s people… before the city was sacked by the Babylonians at the time of the Exile. But the Temple had been rebuilt when the Exiles returned, and this building had recently been refurbished and made great again by Herod ‘the Great’… the same one who also murdered the children of Bethlehem, to protect his own interests. Jesus knew His path would take Him from the largely rural and familiar region of Galilee, to this sacred but politically unsafe city.

Jerusalem was of course, the centre of Judean religious and political life. It was where the Chief Priests offered their spiritual leadership, and ritual practices. It was the headquarters of the Sanhedrin, the Council of elders who took charge of many aspects of the lives of God’s people in that region… and who would eventually form the plot for Christ’s false accusations, arrest, and death. And Jesus knew all this was coming.

For Jerusalem, the centre of so much of the drama of the Scriptures, was where many of God’s prophets were sent to call God’s people to repent… to turn back to God… but kept on facing rejection, persecution, and death.
Herod Antipas could not concern Jesus less. And so, in heading to Jerusalem, our Lord was not seeking to avoid danger… He knew He was walking straight into the fire! 

But why would He do this? What was His motivation here? 

It was certainly not to start a fight: to go toe to toe with the city’s powerful but corrupt rulers… to try and challenge their authority by overthrowing them with violence. 

And it wasn’t out of some effort to prove that He was impervious to threats or danger… bravely facing the abyss to somehow show off His courage and spiritual prowess.

Why does He say He’s going to Jerusalem? Because He wants to rescue them! He longs to spare them all from the fate that He knows they are in danger of embracing. 

In other words, Jesus goes to Jerusalem, despite all the dangers it holds for Him, because He loves them! Because God the Father loves them! Because He has been entrusted with God’s great rescue mission, and He will not be deterred from it. 

Luke 13:34-35, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’” 

The image Christ uses of a mother hen gathering her brood is itself a beautiful one, but as the bishop and scholar, N.T. Wright highlights, in the context of coming danger, this image speaks of an incredible act of love. Forgive this long-ish quote, but I think it is worth it:

“Fire is as terrifying to trapped animals as to people, if not more so. When a farmyard catches fire, the animals try to escape; but, if they cannot, some species have developed ways of protecting their young. The picture here is of a hen, gathering her chicks under her wings to protect them. There are stories of exactly this: after a farmyard fire, those cleaning up have found a dead hen, scorched and blackened—with live chicks sheltering under her wings. She has quite literally given her life to save them. It is a vivid and violent image of what Jesus declared he longed to do for Jerusalem and, by implication, for all Israel. But, at the moment, all he could see was chicks scurrying off in the opposite direction, taking no notice of the smoke and flames indicating the approach of danger, nor of the urgent warnings of the one who alone could give them safety.” (N.T Wright, Luke for Everyone (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 171–172.)

Jesus uses the image of a mother hen putting her own body between her offspring and the dangers that would otherwise completely overwhelm them. It’s a picture of self-sacrifice in order to spare those who are loved even more than life.

And so, Jesus knows He is heading into the fire… straight into danger, in order to save His people. But how would they respond? Would they take shelter beneath His outstretched arms? Or would they scatter, seeking shelter and security somewhere else?

Centuries before Christ, we know Jerusalem fell to the armies of Babylon, and it was destroyed… just as many prophets of God had predicted… all because God’s people had turned away from the LORD, and rejected His holy ways.

And just a few decades after Jesus said these words, the powerful armies of the Roman Empire would again march through the city of Jerusalem, and bring it down… overthrowing a Judaean revolt, spurred on by charismatic, ‘would-be’ messiahs… who rejected the way of peace that Jesus Himself pursued, and calls us to followed.  

Although some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem had listened to Jesus’ call, especially after the Good News of His resurrection was proclaimed by the Apostles, starting in the ‘city of peace’, many of those who did not embraced violence and bloodshed, and thought that the sword was the best way to save their people. But in the end, Jerusalem was again overthrown, and its people scattered or slain. 

Of course, our world is full of threats and dangers. They’re not only found in Jerusalem.

So, when we feel like we’re in the fire… threatened, in danger… frightened… where do we run? What do we turn to? 
Facing the barrage of challenges of our day… many of us can be tempted to respond by looking for some sense of security by following a strong leader who we think will fight for us, and our own interests. Or maybe, we’re more inclined to look for ways to stay out of trouble… to freeze or appease those who threaten us… even if it means consenting to things that we know take us further away from God’s holy ways. 

As St. Paul warned us, in our second reading this morning, there are many at work in our world who really are living “as enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18), even if they claim to be our champions… those whose agendas and influence may seem to offer us hope, but actually lead us straight into the fire. 

But alongside this warning, St. Paul also gives us a word of hope: a reminder that our true citizenship is in heaven… that our real allegiance is not bound to any earthly state, or leader, but to the Kingdom of God… a Kingdom which we are called to serve here and now… while we await the return of our true Saviour, the Risen King Jesus… who alone is our assurance of victory and glory. 

And so, even if for a time we are threatened and must face many dangers, we believe that Jesus will raise us up… and so we can, and must seek always to stand firm in Him.  

And this is what Jesus calls us to do: to seek and find our shelter in Him. 

Not to entrust ourselves to all the foxes out there, who might promise us protection, but are just as likely to turn and devour us. Those who are happy to use us to get what they want, but who do not really care about our fate.

We are called to trust in His saving love… the love that brings the freedom of God’s good Kingdom to light, and forgiveness and healing to our lives in surprising ways… the love that led Him straight into the fire for all our sakes: choosing to endure the cruelty and shame of the cross in order to rescue… not just His friends, but even His enemies!

This is the love that Christ Jesus has for us, and for our world: God’s self-giving love, that sees even those who stand against us as beloved… longing to embrace us all and bring us safely together in His healing arms.

And so, as we continue our journey through Lent, at a time when many of us and our neighbours feel deeply insecure, and under threat, Jesus is calling us to trust in His sincere, self-giving love… and to follow Him. To follow Him to the cross, knowing that we’re not going to be spared our share of the dangers and fires of life… but trusting that whatever we face, Jesus our Risen Saviour is with us… and His saving love will see us through… and that, as we stand firm in our faith in Him, and put His love into practice, those around us can come to know where they too can turn to find true refuge, and come to believe in the rescuing power of His love. Amen.

Scripture Readings: ​Deuteronomy 26:1–11 | Psalm 91 | Romans 10:8–13 | ​Luke 4:1–13

“Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Luke 4:12).

Today’s reading from St. Luke’s Gospel tackles head on what I’m sure is everyone’s favourite topic: temptation. That familiar experience of being drawn away from what’s really best for us, by what seems better… but leads to disaster. 

We all face them, temptations. Big ones and small ones. Ones that we can easily excuse giving into, and others that can shake us to the core, and cause all sorts of chaos in our lives, if we aren’t careful to resist them. 

And as we begin the sacred season of Lent, and prepare to follow the story of our Lord Jesus to the cross, our first leg of the journey calls us to revisit this strange but pivotal moment when Jesus Himself was tempted… how He endured and overcame the trials before Him, and remained faithful to His Heavenly Father, and to His Kingdom’s mission.

But unfortunately, I think it can be easy for us to miss the point, not just of this episode in Christ’s life, but also of this entire sacred season… especially when we are tempted to look at this story, and the whole journey of Lent as primarily some sort of process of self-improvement. As a time when we mostly focus on making ourselves a bit more disciplined, generous, and spiritual… practicing self-control, in order to overcome our own temptations.

But thankfully, the Good News is not really about how we can become slightly better people. It’s about what Jesus Christ has done for us all… when we had completely failed.

And so, even though there is much we can learn from Christ’s three trials in our Gospel Reading today, we are actually being offered far more than mere examples of how to avoid sin and resist giving in to our own temptations. And we’re also being given far more than an inspiring story of just how awesome Jesus is.

Rather, we are being invited to see this strange story as an early but essential victory in God’s great rescue mission: how Jesus is reliving the story of God’s people… a particularly challenging part of their story… but this time, instead of failing the test, and giving in, He gets it right!

This story from Luke Chapter 4 calls us all the way back to a pivotal moment in Israel’s story: to the story of the Exodus, and Israel’s journey through the wilderness. After being freed from slavery in Egypt, and passing through the waters of the Red Sea, the people of Israel were led out into the barren desert by God’s own divine presence… into a new and challenging situation where they would have to learn to trust Him… or not.

But as the story goes, right away the people begin to doubt the goodness and trustworthiness of the God who saved them… because He led them into the wilderness, where there’s not enough food and water to go around.

Of course, this was a pretty legitimate problem to have! They really do need food. They really do need water. Their situation required some sort of a response! But what would it be? They could have turned to the LORD, and sought His help, trusting in His steadfast love. But instead, they turned on Him in their hearts, and assumed that they really knew what was best for them.

And they weren’t the first people to make this mistake. All throughout the Scriptures, we see this familiar challenge taking place. Think of Adam and Eve in the Garden, where they doubted God’s word about the forbidden fruit. And think about Abraham and Sarah, distrusting God’s solemn promise that He would provide them with a son. Again and again, throughout the Bible, we find that our ancestors in the faith keep on failing to trust in the LORD. Is it then so strange that we see Israel in the wilderness falling into these same temptations? 

But even so, that doesn’t mean there was no other choice.

Yes, they were in a tough spot. But remember, God had already rescued them! God had delivered them from slavery, and shown them His power and glory. God had claimed them as His own beloved children. And had promised to be with them! To dwell among them, through all of their times of trouble. And God was leading them to a new and bountiful land, promised long ago to Abraham and Sarah, for their descendants… offering them real hope for the future that they could have never dreamed of, never mind achieved on their own.

In their story we can see the clash between what the Living God had said… and the challenges of their circumstances. And this kind of conflict required them to make a choice: to trust the LORD, or not.

And when we find ourselves in similar situations, with serious, and totally legitimate problems before us that we need to deal with, the same choice lies before us too. 

Will we trust the LORD, and place our faith in His goodness and steadfast love, even when it’s hard to see? Or will we turn our hearts away from Him, and try to do things our own way?

This is an important question for us to consider, but the Good News is not actually about what we will do. The Gospel is about what Jesus Christ the Son of God has done for us!

Turning back to our Gospel reading, we find Jesus facing the same situation His ancestors did… reliving their crisis of faith in the desert, but with an entirely different result.

Like Israel passing through the Red Sea, Jesus goes through the waters of baptism in the Jordan River, where he is affirmed as God’s beloved Son by a voice from Heaven, and the Spirit’s anointing. And then, just like Israel, Jesus is led by God’s Spirit out into the wilderness, where He goes forty days without food, His very real hunger growing stronger day by day. 

Even though He really is God’s beloved Son, Jesus finds Himself facing a legitimate problem. His body needs food, and He feels it… and in that moment of great vulnerability, the Tempter arrives, and does his best to derail Jesus’ mission… just as the Tempter had done with Adam and Eve in the Garden… and behind the scenes, with Israel in the wilderness too… through the stomach.

But this tactic of the Tempter is not just about food. What he’s really seeking to do is to feed people doubt.

In the Garden, the Tempter asks: ‘did God really say that? Are you sure you can trust Him to give you what’s best? What about this amazing thing over here?’

And in the desert, the Tempter asks: ‘can the LORD really be relied on to give you what you need? You don’t seem to have enough, do you?’

And to Jesus, weakened with hunger, the Tempter asks: ‘if You really are God’s beloved Son, You can just take care of Yourself. There’s no need to lean on the LORD, or trust Him when things get really tough. Just use Your own power, and end Your needless suffering. That’s the most reasonable thing to do.’

But this temptation to doubt God doesn’t work with Jesus, who responds by quoting from Deuteronomy Chapter 8. Christ only says a few words in response, but I think having a bit more context makes things a bit clearer for us. 

Deuteronomy 8:2-3, “Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

We do not live by bread alone… our life comes from the LORD. Jesus passes the test by trusting in His Father.

In the next test, Jesus is shown a vision of all the Kingdoms of the Earth… which is what God promised to His Messiah… that His Chosen One would one day reign as the eternal King of Kings. But then the Tempter asks: ‘Why wait? Why worry about all the struggles and the hard road ahead?  Just bow down to me, and it can all be Yours right now! No need to bother about patience and faithfulness, or just bow to me and it’s all free!’

It seems to me that many today are quite tempted by this kind of offer. Even those of us who claim to be devote Christians seem willing to trade faithfulness to the LORD and His holy ways for a taste of political power, a sense of security, and influence over the culture.

For those who tend to think that the ends justify the means, this temptation can be very strong. I mean, think of all the good we could do if we were in charge! Just bow down a bit to the Tempter, and all we want is within our grasp! No need to struggle to do the right thing. No need to stand up against injustice, or oppression, or lawlessness.  We can seize the kingdom for ourselves! Take the forbidden fruit, and become like God… without having to bother to learn to let God’s love rule in and over our hearts.

Again, Jesus refuses to listen to the Tempter’s words. Jesus replies: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” (Luke 4:8). He chooses again to trust His Father in Heaven, and to do His will alone.

For the third trial, the Tempter again seeks to drive a wedge between Father and Son: ‘If you are God’s Son’ he says, ‘prove to it now to Yourself, and to all of God’s people! Throw Yourself down off of the pinnacle of the Temple in a divine spectacle, so that everyone will see and believe that You really are who You think You are! If You do, surely the LORD will save You, and not allow You to come to harm. Remove all doubt, once and for all. Put Your life completely in God’s hands! If He really loves You… won’t He keep You from all harm?

This is another big temptation for many today too… and maybe even for some of us here this morning: the temptation to question God’s love for us, when we are faced with suffering. I mean, wouldn’t God spare those He loves from having to go through times of great anguish and pain? Why doesn’t He send His angels to catch us when we fall, like in Psalm 91?

Well, I believe that sometimes He really does! We can and do receive divine help and deliverance, probably far more often than we realize. But that doesn’t solve the problem here… because sometimes instead of being lifted up without a scratch, we find ourselves falling flat on our face. Sometimes we end up really hurt, and frightened, and humiliated… and wondering if we have done something wrong to turn God against us, or if He ever even cared. 

And Jesus faced this powerful temptation too… even having the Scriptures twisted to test Him, and try to get Him to draw a straight line between God’s love and being spared all suffering: ‘if You really believe that God loves You, that God can be trusted, prove it! Put Your life on the line, so that everyone can see God step in and save You!
And once again, Jesus refuses to give in. Recalling the story of Israel grumbling against God at Massah and Meribah, He quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 “Do not put the Lord your God to the test…”

Trusting God does not mean making Him prove Himself on our terms, but of placing our lives completely in His hands, come what may. And being beloved by God does not mean that we will not suffer. Far from it. And we know this first and foremost because of another moment when Jesus must face this test again… not from the top of the Temple in Jerusalem this time, but on a hill outside the city walls… crucified… hanging from a cross for all to see.

Here we find Jesus enduring unimaginable suffering: betrayed by His friends, beaten by cruel soldiers, humiliated and shamed, dying alongside criminals… all while God’s people mocked Him with these words: 

Matthew 27:39-43, “Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads  and saying, ‘You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’’  ”

If You really are the Son of God, come down from the cross… and we will believe in You!

If God really loves You, wouldn’t He want to save You? 

But in this moment of extreme physical, emotional, and spiritual anguish and pain… Jesus again passes the test.

He stays on the cross, suffering in body, mind, and soul… enduring it’s agony ‘til the end… and doing what no one in all of human history has done, before or since: Jesus entrusted His life completely into the hands of God His Father, giving up His own perfect life in order to save all of us sinners once and for all.

The conflict that began back in the wilderness, and that continued all throughout His life, came to a climax at the cross: where, in spite of every temptation to save Himself, and seek a way to spare Himself the horrors of what lay ahead… Jesus believed completely in His Father’s love and it seemed to cost Him everything.

But as we know, in the end, Jesus was not put to shame! His trust in God’s love was totally proved to be true! He was raised again and revealed to be the Chosen conqueror of hell and the grave… the firstborn from the dead, and the first fruits of God’s New Creation!

By trusting in God’s rescuing, resurrecting love, Jesus became our Saviour: braking the power of our sin and shame, and atoning for all our unfaithfulness… opening up the way for us to follow Him into God’s new and unending life, filled with the same Spirit that was at work in Him.

So in our own moments of testing and temptation… when we feel weak, and powerless, and begin to doubt God’s goodness and love, let us trust in Jesus, our crucified and Risen Saviour! Let us turn our eyes to Him, and remember His faithfulness. Let us remember His promise to be right here with us, sharing His Holy Spirit with us, and empowering us to follow Him into His Kingdom.

And as we make our way together over the coming weeks through the season of Lent, let us remember the Good News that Jesus our Saviour is the One who overcomes all of our failures. He remained true to the end, and He remains true even when we His people may stumble and fall. So let us trust in Him! Let us lean on His strength, and His saving love… following Him with all we are and have, and placing our lives completely in His hands. Amen.

​And our Songs this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 58:1–12 | Psalm 51 | 2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10 | Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21

Ashes to ashes… dust to dust.

These words are often uttered in the context of a burial, confronting us in the midst of life with our own mortality. They recall the tragic words spoken to Adam and Eve in the early chapters of Genesis, after these humans, created from the soil of the earth and raised up to share in God’s image, turned their backs on the LORD, and fell in their pride and folly. 

“By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread 
until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; 
you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19)

Ash Wednesday is an important opportunity for us to remember this sad part of our shared human story… for us to stop playing games, or glossing over uncomfortable truths, and to get real… to face our vulnerability, and sin head on… to recognize together that we are not just weak, but helpless in the face of death… that we are not just caught up in a broken system, but an active part of it as well… to remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall all return… that in so many ways, our world is still estranged from the will of our Heavenly Father… and far off course from His intensions… bound to futility.

I promise you, there is Good News here. I know this is heavy, and hard, but there is real hope being offered, even here. 

Which is more than we often encounter when we look around at our world today. Everywhere we turn, there seem to be plenty of reminders these days that we are helpless: constantly bombarded by news about the series problems our world is facing... especially all of the problems brought about by proud and powerful rulers, and the devastation they can cause… a climate crisis out of control, and little political will to do much about it… injustice seemingly given the green light, again and again, while the wicked seem to flourish.

But as we are tempted to despair, Ash Wednesday reminds us that all those who trouble the earth are dust as well. That despite all of their pride and folly, to dust we all shall return.

This is the common plight of humankind… poor or rich, kind and cruel, wise or fool… no matter how much we may long to experience life in all it’s fullness, we are all going to die.

The difference becomes: how will we all respond to this reality?

Will we just go on playing games and pretending? Distracting ourselves, or denying the fact of death, and the inevitable end of all our hopes and plans? Will we give in to fear, and desperately cling to whatever gives us some sense of comfort or control?

Ash Wednesday calls us to respond in a different way: with humility and faith… and facing the limits of our lives by trusting in the mercy and love of the Living God. 

Humility is not given very much attention these days, but it’s a vital Christian virtue. It’s connected to the word for “earth”… as in soil… dirt… dust… and it refers to that which is lowly… and openhearted… as opposed to being prideful, self-centred, and vain. Humility is not the same as self-consciousness, or shame, or a poor sense of worth… but rather the ability to recognize and operate within our limits… to be in touch with reality. And so, Ash Wednesday invites us to remember who we really are… with all of our flaws and faults… but instead of then falling into despair, to turn instead to the LORD in faith.

Yes, Ash Wednesday is a call to faith. An invitation to trust that, even though we are dust… we are called to turn our eyes to the Creator and Redeemer of the Earth, and to seek His mercy… not by pretending do be perfect, or especially pious, but drawing near as we really are, and humbly saying ‘yes’ to what He has graciously offered us: full forgiveness… true freedom… and new and everlasting life through Jesus Christ.

Ash Wednesday points us to Jesus, God’s perfect, sinless Son, who out of self-giving love stepped into all of our messes of ashes and dust, and took it all on His own shoulders… to set free all those oppressed by the injustice of others, and also ensnared by their own wickedness… to feed the hungry with the bread of His own body, and the wine of His blood, the true food from heaven that sustains and satisfies in ways beyond compare… and to cover up the nakedness of all our guilt and shame, wrapping us up in His own honour and glory, and embracing us as His beloved sisters and brothers… humbling Himself at the cross to lift up us creatures of dust, and fill us with His divine life and holy love. As St. Paul puts it: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Ash Wednesday reminds us of the Good News of Jesus Christ our humble and faithful Saviour… the Good News God’s life-giving love for you and I, and all of us creatures of ashes and dust… a love that alone can raise up the dead, and that will make all things new.

So may we respond to the invitation of Ash Wednesday: may we acknowledge our powerless. May we repent of our pride, and our selfishness, and sin. May we confess our need for God’s mercy, offered to us through the cross of Jesus Christ. And may we believe that His holy, reconciling, and life-giving love is what we all really need. Amen.

Scripture Readings: Exodus 34:29–35 | Psalm 99 | 2 Corinthians 3:12–4:2 | Luke 9:28–43

“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...” (Luke 9:35-36).

Have you ever had a truly life-changing experience? 

If so, what made it so impactful? How did it change your life? Was it like a light switch? Suddenly shifting everything in an instant? Or was it more like a seed, something that takes time and attention to grow and bear fruit?

Looking back on my life so far, I think I’ve had my share of amazing experiences… moments of wonder, surprise, fear, and insight that seem to have left deep impressions on how I see the world, and respond to my circumstances… for better or for worse.  

And although I’ve had a few ‘light switch’ moments, the experiences that seem to have had the biggest effect on my life are the ones that I’ve spent time and effort remembering… and reflecting on… exploring the meaning and implications of what happened, and then choosing to change how I act, again and again in response to it. 

Today, we Christians celebrate Transfiguration Sunday: the amazing moment when Jesus Christ was revealed to a few of His closest disciples in all His glory, as the Chosen Son of the Living God.

In many ways, this part of Christ’s story can bring us to the edge of our imaginations… pulling back the curtain a bit and giving us a glimpse of reality often hidden from our human eyes. We’re told that Jesus climbs up a mountain with three of His followers, Peter, James, and John, and while He is praying, His appearance is suddenly changed before their eyes… and his clothes become dazzlingly white. And then, two of ancient Israel’s heroes of the faith, Moses and the prophet Elijah also appear in glory beside Jesus, and begin conversing with Him.  

Now I don’t know about you, but even my most powerful and memorable times of prayer and worship have never come close to this kind of experience. And clearly, this mountaintop moment made an impression on the three disciples who witnessed this change in their Master. 

But this story is about much more than a private epiphany, or spiritual experience that took place thousands of years ago. It is a story that’s meant to be transformative for everyone who hears it, including you and I. For the Transfiguration of Jesus not only reveals who He is, but it also calls us to do something in response to this revelation… to let our lives be changed by it.

But before we dive right into our Gospel Reading this morning, let’s take a moment to remember and reflect on our First Reading today, from the book of Exodus.

Our First Reading today takes place at a crucial, life-changing moment in the story of Israel. Yahweh, the Living God, had seen the oppression of Abraham’s descendants in Egypt under Pharaoh, and had sent Moses to Egypt as His messenger, to set His people free. In an amazing revelation of God’s power and glory, Egypt was overturned by ten mighty plagues, and Pharoah’s once mighty army was washed away in the Red Sea… while the people of Israel were led safely out of Egypt into the wilderness. And this dramatic departure is where the book of Exodus get’s it’s name… after the Greek word for exit. 

But they weren’t just delivered from Egypt with no destination in mind. God set them free to become His Chosen people… to enter into a covenant, sacred relationship with Him, no longer living as slaves, but as His beloved children… a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, reflecting His goodness, and love out into the world. And so, God led Israel up to a mountain in the wilderness called Mt. Sinai. And there, Moses went up to meet with God, and receive from the LORD their divine instructions on how to live as God’s people. The commandments that they were all to listen to in order to be transformed by God’s holy love. 

But even as Moses was on the mountain top with the LORD, the people rebelled against the God who had saved them. They built a golden idol to worship, and abandoned the commandments of the LORD that they had promised to follow. 

Even though they had witnessed first hand the glory and power of God, when He delivered them from Egypt, their lives still needed to be transformed if they were to truly be God’s faithful people.

Thankfully, God does not give up on them. Moses intercedes on their behalf, and the LORD spares His unfaithful covenant partners… and makes a way to dwell with them, despite their wickedness and sin. God gives Moses the plans for the Tabernacle, a sacred tent where God’s holy presence would remain at the centre of Israel’s camp, moving with them throughout their wanderings, and where God would receive their sacrifices as a way of repairing their already strained relationship. 

And in our First Reading, which takes place after the golden idol episode, we hear that when Moses comes down from meeting with the LORD on Mt. Sinai, his face shines, reflecting the glory of the Living God among the people. The Israelites could see that, after spending time with the Living God, Moses was changed… he shone with God’s own divine glory …and it unsettled them. 

There’s a whole lot more we could say about this passage from Exodus, but at this point, it might be best to move on to our Gospel reading from Luke Chapter 9, and see where the story goes next.

St. Luke tells us that, like Moses before Him, Jesus also ascends a mountain to meet with God. He goes up to pray, but not alone… Peter and James and John join Him. And while He prays, something changes… or at least, the three disciples experience their rabbi in a new and glorious way: His appearance changes, and His clothing shines… and He's seen talking with two famous (and long dead!) messengers of God, Moses and Elijah, who each had their own divine encounters with the LORD on mountain tops. 

Imagine being one of those three disciples in this moment. Imagine seeing the teacher you had followed… the One you were convinced would bring about God’s Kingdom… suddenly transformed in glory before your eyes, and chatting with visitors from heaven. Even if you were confused, and unsettled, and afraid, would you want it to last? Would you want to keep the curtain pulled back, just a bit longer, and see just a bit more of this glorious reality? 

When we’re in the middle of life-changing moments, at least the good ones, it’s easy to want them to last… to try to hold onto them, and preserve the experience of wonder, or connection, or joy that we have received. 

And that seems to be what’s going on in Peter’s mind. He doesn’t want this moment to end. Luke 9:33, “Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said.”

I really appreciate that St. Luke tells us that even St. Peter didn’t understand what he was saying. Sometimes we all don’t fully grasp what’s going on, or the right way to respond, and it’s good to know that we’re in good company when that happens to us. But looking a bit closer at what St. Peter blurted out in light of our reading from Exodus might help shed some light on the significance of this story for you and I today. 

The word translated here in English as “dwellings” is the same word for tent… or tabernacle… calling to mind the Holy Tabernacle that God instructed Moses to build at Mt. Sinai so that the LORD could dwell in the midst of His people as He led them through the wilderness, as well as make possible a way to atone for their sins. 

Yes, Peter was a bit mixed up on the mountain top, but his impulse in that moment was to go back to that famous moment at Mt. Sinai, and look for a way to keep these three glorious servants of God, Moses, and Elijah, and Jesus, with them. And suddenly, through his confused words the whole story of God’s relationship with Israel is being highlighted: how the LORD saved, and bound Himself to His people, so that they could share in His glorious life.

And there’s more! Remember what Moses and Elijah were talking to Jesus about? Verse 31: “They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” The word “departure” here is the Greek word “exodos”… calling to mind the most significant, and transformative act of God in Israel’s history, delivering them from oppression, and leading them out of slavery to become something new… His own holy children.

And with this famous Exodus in mind, we’re now told that Jesus would soon have an exodus of His own, not out of Egypt, but in Jerusalem… the city of David, where first the Holy Tabernacle, and then the Temple of God dwelt… the centre of power for Israel’s leadership… the high priesthood, and the political and spiritual authorities… the scribes, and the elders. In this intense moment of prayer, Jesus was being prepared for some new act of God’s deliverance that He would bring about… opening up a new way for His people to be set free, and share in God’s glorious new life.

That sounds a lot like good news to me. And honestly, so many people in our world are truly longing for a glimpse of freedom, and relief, and a chance to experience new life. Whether we’re thinking of war-torn places like Ukraine, Gaza, or Sudan… or those living under the growing threats and political tensions of our day… or the crushing pressures of poverty, discrimination, anxiety, and tribalism… tragically, the only vision of reality that many around us see is pretty bleak.  

In times like these, where can we turn to find hope? How can we help our world to find hope too? What kind of help can we offer our neighbours? What can we do to change what’s going on? 

To find the answer, we must turn back to our Gospel Reading, and hear what happens after St. Peter’s remarks. 
Luke 9:34-36, “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…”. 

These words stand at the centre of the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus, and they serve as a kind of anchor for our entire lives as Christians: The Living God singles out Jesus of Nazareth as His Chosen One… His Son. And God then tells us to listen to Jesus.

Listen to Him about what???

Well, about everything, really. About how to live God’s way today. About what it really means to be God’s faithful children… reflecting the goodness and love of the LORD out into our world, serving as a new kingdom of priests, and holy nation, drawn from every corner of Creation. About the need to stay alert, and resist the tempting voices that call us to abandon our calling. About the promise of sharing in God’s glorious new life if we stay true to the end. 
Just as Moses came down from the mountaintop meeting with God to give God’s people a new way to live, Jesus has come down and opened up for us all a way to share in God’s blessed new life. And we are commanded to listen to Him. Not just to hear what He has to say, but to obey. To take to heart, and put into practice His words in all we do.

This is all true in a general sense. But in St. Luke’s Gospel, there’s a much more specific context for this command to listen to Jesus, which is made clear when we consider the last thing Jesus says before this part of the story. Luke 9:18-27,

“Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’  They answered, ‘John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’ 

He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, ‘The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.’ 

Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.’” 

Are we listening to Jesus? Do we really take to heart what He just said to us? That the only way He would fulfill God’s great act of deliverance would be to be rejected, to suffer and die, and be raised again? And that, if we want to follow Him, we too must let go? That we must say no to ourselves… to our fearful commitment to our own survival above all other considerations? That we too must be prepared to take up our cross… to be rejected, and ridiculed, and suffer for the sake of Jesus? That if we focus on saving ourselves, we’ll be lost… but if we lose ourselves for Jesus, we’ll ultimately be secure. Are we listening to Jesus, even when He says things like this?

If not, who are we listening to? What other voices are we following? Who else is guiding our actions, and shaping our values, and calling for our loyalty? Who else do we believe has our best interests, and the fate of our world at heart? 
 
As we know, there are plenty of voices out their offering us easy answers, or telling us what we want to hear… and there are voices trying to tear us down, so we will just get in line, and give in to their demands.

But these voices can’t compare to the Good News that Jesus alone has brought about: the Good News of God’s saving love, offering forgiveness, and freedom for all who will come and follow Him. 

Listening to Jesus… trusting in Him is a truly transformative experience… one that requires our ongoing attention, and honest commitment… but which is worth far more than what it may cost us. Placing our faith in Jesus, and what He has done to deliver us and our world at the cross… actually listening to Him… and engaging with all the challenges of our day by choosing, again and again, to stay true to Him, is an incredibly powerful activity… revealing God’s goodness and love to our neighbours that  desperately need even a glimpse of this healing, and help, and hope at work in our world. Not because we have all the answers, but because God’s Holy Spirit is at work in us!

As St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, “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.” 

The Transfiguration of Jesus is more than a strange episode: it is an anchor for us in the storms of life. A reminder that, despite how things might appear at times, Jesus is not just an inspiring historical figure from long ago, far removed from our troubles and concerns… He is the Chosen One, the Beloved Son of the Living God, sent to deliver us once and for all, and whom we are called to listen to and follow throughout our lives. 

As we seek to listen to Christ’s voice, and follow Him… we know it will mean letting go of much that we might rather hold onto. We know it will mean taking up our cross, and suffering for His sake. But we also know that He graciously gave up His life at the cross to deliver us, and our world… and that He rose again to bring God’s blessed new life to us, now and forever. 

Like St. Peter, we might not always know what to say or do. At times we’ll be confused, or scared, or frustrated by the ways our world is operating. In times like these, may we again entrust ourselves to our Saviour: May we listen closely to the call of our LORD, and obey Him, even when it means going against the flow… and may we believe that as we do so, the Holy Spirit of God is also at work, transforming us to become more and more like Jesus our Saviour… who is still working through us to bring God’s great deliverance to those around us. Amen.

​And our Songs this week can be found here: