Scripture & Reflection: Sunday 2nd March & for the week ahead:ScriptureThe Transfiguration28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure,[a] which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. (Luke 9. 28-31)ReflectionThere is much that is strange in the story of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain but essentially, it is a story about a key moment in Jesus’ life. It is, most of all, a moment of prayer. It is as Jesus prays that his apprearance is changed. His physical transformation reflects the power of that intense, transcendent experience. It is in prayer that Jesus knows he is God’s son. It is in prayer, in the deep experience of embracing God’s presence, and being overwhelmed by it, that his apprearance is changed. In that experience, Jesus knows again the calling of his baptism and sees afresh the journey he must make to Gethsemane and beyond.It is in prayer that we too are invited to journey with Jesus, where we have the opportunity to encounter the love of God and to know that we are loved by God.I hope that you can take a moment today to be still in the presence of the Lord in prayer.Lyn Hayes ALM
Scripture & Reflection: Sunday 23rd February and for the week ahead:Scripture:22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they put out, 23 and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. 24 They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’ (Luke 8: 22-25)Reflection:These verses have it all; leadership, drama, miracles and a resolution. We read that Jesus is comfortable with his disciples and confident in their ability, so he catches up on some sleep on the boat journey. But when Mother Nature comes along and does her thing, the danger is very real. The storm is so severe that the boat and its occupants are at risk of drowning. The fisherman would’ve been acutely aware of the risk of this, and they must’ve felt helpless. They don’t actually ask for Jesus for help, they simply make the statement that they are in real trouble. Jesus is capable of doing anything, but he questions his followers harshly. They weren’t being over-dramatic; the risk of death was right there. But even in times of trouble and panic, it is Jesus who they, and we, should turn to. No matter how big or small the storm is to us in our lives, the first question we should ask is “where is our faith?”. The next steps we take will depend on our answer. Victoria Bray
