Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only light,
Son of Righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night:
Dayspring from on high, be near;
Daystar, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn
Unaccompanied by thee;
Joyless is the day’s return,
Till thy mercy’s beams I see;
Till they inward light impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine,
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, radiancy divine,
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day.

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:

And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen

 

From Easter to Pentecost:

Allelulia. Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia

 

In Lent and other penitential occasions:

Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins;

His mercy endures for ever.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

Let us pray:

Almighty God, to whom all hearts be open, all desires known and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name, through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

This prayer is omitted during Lent and Advent:

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth.  Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.  Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.  Amen.

 Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. 

Amen.

2 Kings 2:1-12

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”

Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”

Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Psalm 50:1-6

Deus deorum

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For 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 Jesus Christ.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

All stand for the Acclamation and Gospel reading.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

This is my Son, the beloved; Listen to him!

Alleluia!

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:

Mark 9:2-9

After the Gospel reading

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Today, on this final Sunday before the start of Lent, we recall the Transfiguration of Jesus, no matter in which of the 3 years of the reading scheme we happen to find ourselves.  It is recorded in the Gospels, just after the event in which we have seen the best, and the worst of Peter, and he has got himself into trouble with Jesus.  Peter has made that wonderfulconfession of faith, and states that Jesus is ‘The Christ.’  At first Jesus praises Peter and calls him a ‘Rock’.  However, he then tells the disciples that he has bad news, and that he must go to Jerusalem, be arrested, tried, and suffer at the hands of the religious leaders, who will kill him, and then he will be raised from the dead.  The reaction of Peter is to protest that this must never be allowed to happen, and Jesus ends up telling him that he is a hindrance, and calls him ‘Satan’!  It is after this dramatic event though, that Jesus shows that he has not given up on Peter, and the Transfiguration takes place.

It is a remarkable event, in which Jesus goes up a high mountain – we know it is important because it is mentioned by all the three Synoptic Gospel writers – Matthew, Mark and Luke.  They are called the ‘Synoptic Gospels’, which means ‘see together’, because, unlike the other Gospel writer, John, they use similar material and words, often in a common sequence.

We are not quite sure though which mountain they go up – Mount Tabor is the location of the Church of the Transfiguration.  Others have suggested Mount Hermon, Mount Nebo or Mount Meron.  Mount Tabor is located between Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee, but it is only 1,900 feet high and a fortress occupied its summit, which makes it unlikely for such an event.  Mount Hermon is 9,200 feet high, but it is miles away, thereby making it an unlikely place for Jesus and the disciples to encounter a great crowd, including scribes, on their descent.  Mount Meron, 4,000 feet high, is located 12 miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee.  It really doesn’t matter though, and as long as we remember it was a mountain we won’t go far wrong.  Mountains were important places, and notably it was Moses who went up the mountain and met with God, so Jesus now does the same.  He takes with him his special, ‘inner-ring’ disciples, Peter James and John.  On the mountain, Jesus is subject to a change in appearance.  Mark tells us that his clothes suddenly became the most ‘dazzling white’, and Matthew tells us that his face ‘shone like the sun.’  Again the readers would note how Jesus is being shown as the ‘New Moses’. In Exodus Chapter 34 we read: ‘Moses came down from Mount Sinai.  As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, he did not know that the skin of his face shone, because he had been talking with God.’

Bright light is often associated with divine revelation.  Paul described his conversion on the road to Damascus as an encounter with blinding light, accompanied by a voice from heaven.

Two men appear with Jesus – we are told that they are Elijah and Moses, and they spoke with him.  In a state of fear and no doubt bewilderment, Peter tries to get them to stay, and offers to put up some tents.  That is not such a crazy idea, as it was the Feast of Tabernacles, and at the bottom of the mountain there were lots of people living in tents at the time.  This moment is not however destined to last, and a cloud appears, again reminiscent of the cloud which came to Moses, and what is believed to be the voice of God, makes a proclamation, which is slightly different in all three gospels, but along the lines of ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased – my chosen one – listen to him! ‘

Unsurprisingly, we are told that the disciples end up on the floor, and in Matthew’s Gospel there is a lovely moment recorded, that Jesus came and touched them and said ’Rise, and have no fear.’  This event is so out of the ordinary, and beyond our experience, that we don’t know what reallywent on.  In the Gospel of Luke, we are told that it occurred when they were on the mountain, praying. There is always a temptation to try and see normality in the events described in the Gospels!

Not only did the disciples refuse to reduce this experience to any normality – it was on the basis of such an event, that they went on to proclaim the story, refusing to deny what had happened, even to death. It was in this moment that the disciples had become aware of the fact, that when they looked at Jesus, they were looking into the face of God in all its grace and glory. At that moment of Transfiguration, the veil that shrouds the mystery of faith was lifted, and they saw that God was present in human form, reconciling the world to his own self.

There are important truths which stand out in this episode, and which influenced those disciples, so much that they were not afraid to give their lives in defence of the Gospel. As the veil is removed from their eyes, the disciples see who Jesus is, and they see two figures from history, who are alive to God. The Transfiguration provided the disciples, and through them, us, with a glimpse of another world. It is an opportunity to remind ourselves that there is a reality beyond the world around us, which is greater than that which we can simply see and touch. There are possibilities available to us, through the presence of God, greater than most people could ever imagine. The Transfiguration challenges us to think in a new way, just as the disciples see Jesus in a newlight. They understand the presence of God in an amazing experience – from now on everythingwill be different.   Amen

Please stand for the Nicene Creed.

Let us together affirm the faith of the Church.

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven:

was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,

and became truly human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

Let us pray for the world and for the Church:

Prayers of intercession are now said and at the end of each prayer the priest says:

Lord in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

or

Lord hear us,

Lord graciously hear us

At the conclusion of the prayers the priest says:

Almighty God, who has promised to hear our prayers.

Grant that what we have asked in faith we may by your grace receive, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 Jesus said: Come to me all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

or

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

THE CONFESSION:

God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy, welcoming sinners and inviting them to the Lord’s table.

Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, confident in God’s forgiveness.

Merciful God, our maker and our judge, we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, and in what we have failed to do: we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves; we repent and are sorry for all our sins, Father forgive us, strengthen us to love and obey you in newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Almighty God, who has promised forgiveness to all who turn to him in faith, pardon you and set you free from all your sins, strengthen you in all goodness and keep you in eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

THE PEACE:

The congregation stands.

We are the Body of Christ.

His Spirit is with us.

 

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

Please greet each other with a sign of peace.

Christ, upon the mountain peak
Stands alone in glory blazing.
Let us, if we dare to speak,
With the saints and angels praise him –
Alleluia!

Trembling at his feet we saw
Moses and Elijah speaking.
All the prophets and the Law
Shout through them their joyful greeting-
Alleluia!

Swift the cloud of glory came,
God proclaiming in its thunder
Jesus as his son by name!
Nations, cry aloud in wonder!-
Alleluia!

This is God’s beloved Son!
Law and prophets fade before him;
First and last, and only One,
Let creation now adore him:
Alleluia!

THE OFFERTORY

Blessed are you, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have these gifts to share. Accept and use our offerings for your glory and the service of your kingdom.

Blessed be God forever.

 Let us pray

We do not presume to come to your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies.  We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose nature is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us.  Amen.