Worship & Prayers for                                           The  Sunday next before Lent

Opening Rite

If you’re at home you might wish to light a candle, make sure you are sitting comfortably and take a few deep breaths to still yourself. 

The Lord is here His Spirit is with us

When Christ appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  As he is pure, all who have grasped this hope make themselves pure.

So let us confess our sins that mar his image in us.

Prayers of Penitence

After a period of reflection

Your unfailing kindness, O Lord, is in the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds:  Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Your righteousness is like the strong mountains, and your justice as the great deep: Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

For with you is the well of life and in your light shall we see light: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.  Amen

The Collect

You might like to keep a few moments of silence

Almighty Father, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he suffered death upon the cross: give us grace to perceive his glory, that we may be strengthened to suffer with him and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Exodus 24:12-end

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.’ So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. To the elders he had said, ‘Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.’  Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Psalm 99

/R: The Lord is KIng, let the peoples tremble.    

The Lord is king: let the peoples tremble; he is enthroned above the cherubim: let the earth shake.  The Lord is great in Zion: and high above all peoples. /R:

Let them praise your name, which is great and awesome; the Lord our God is holy. Mighty king who loves justice you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God; bow down before his footstool, for he is holy.  /R:

Moses and Aaron among his priests and Samuel among those who call upon his name;  they called upon the Lord and he answered them. He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; they kept his testimonies and the law that he gave them. /R:

You answered them, O Lord our God; you were a God who forgave them and pardoned them for their offences. Exalt the Lord our God: and worship him upon his holy hill, for the Lord our God is holy.  /R:       

2 Peter 1:16-end

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honour and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.  So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

The Gospel according to Matthew                                                   Chapter 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.  As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, ‘Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord   Praise to you O Christ

Reflection

Matthew’s account of the transfiguration is told in a straightforward and factual way, often seeming to attempt to prove legitimacy. In front of three witnesses (the number required for a court), Jesus is revealed in his eternal glory. Peter, not knowing how to react, suggests building shelters for Jesus and his guests (something the apostle does not report in his letter!). The action takes place six days after Peter has declared he knows who Jesus is.  The voice confirming Jesus’ identity terrifies the disciples, but when Jesus touched them and told them not to be afraid, the guests from heaven have left them.  It could be argued that the transfiguration decisively shifts the agent of governance from Yahweh to his Messiah, a shift foreshadowed in Daniel 7 and a shift that will result in the sharing of sovereignty by the Messiah with his people, the democratisation of governance seen in Isaiah’s servant songs.

The links between the readings 

For Transfiguration Sunday, the compilers of the lectionary have focused on texts that are about the revelation of God’s identity. Moses ascends the mountain to receive the Law on tablets of stone but the crowd below is treated to a revelation of God’s majesty and authority. This is recalled and expanded in Psalm 99. The two transfiguration accounts (Matthew and 2 Peter) focus on what this episode tells us about Jesus. Peter is keen for us to understand that this story is not a cleverly designed myth, but an account of a key fact of our faith: the identity of Jesus. It brings into clear focus the one we are following. 

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Prayers

Spend a few moments praying for the people you know and love, for the world, for peace and for the relief of refugees everywhere. 

On the Sunday next before Lent

Holy God, you know the disorder of our sinful lives: set straight our crooked hearts, and bend our wills to love your goodness and your glory in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Praying for the Earth                                                            Light pollution

We thank you for all the lights of the natural world and for the lights of human ingenuity. Help us to appreciate the variety of light and the value of darkness. Grant us wisdom in the use of light, so as not to pollute the awesome beauty of the night sky. May we continue to see the stars, and wonder at our place in the vastness of the universe. Amen

From the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer for the Church

Porvoo Communion:Diocese of Roskilde (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark) United Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe (Ireland)

Anglican Communion: Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean Primate: The Most Reverend Gilbert Rateloson Rakotondravelo

Bedlington Deanery: Benefice of Delaval Priest in Charge: David Atkinson Reader: Christina Malvern (PTO)

From our Parish Prayer Cycle this week 

pray for all residents of Saxton Grove, Conway Drive, Stanway Drive and Melville Grove

For the sick and those being cared for in hospital or at home      

For those in residential care    

For those whose year’s minds are this week 

Jessie Forbes Allan, Daniel Thomas Stoker, Hilda Cummings, Ernie White, Walter Evans, Ann Hall, Harold Baker, William Johnston Craggs, Ian Richardson, Angelina Sarah Cross, Muriel Macrae, John Brown and Robert Hall

You might like to end your prayers with The Lord's Prayer  

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.  Amen.

The Conclusion

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Let us bless the Lord!      Thanks be to God!