And a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom
I love. Listen to him!" Mark 9
Pray
Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
I love thee, yet not with a perfect heart as I would;
I trust thee, yet not with my whole mind.
Accept my faith, my love, my longing to know and serve thee,
my trust in thy power to keep me.
What is cold, do thou kindle, what is lacking, do thou make
up.
I wait thy blessing, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Collect
for the Sunday Next before Lent
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, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings for Today:
Old Testament. 2
Kings 2: 1-12
New Testament Reading:
2 Corinthians 4: 3-6
And 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
Introduction
Christians are often referred to as Pilgrims. That is
because the Christian life can be viewed as a journey. Christians believe that
when we are done with this world we go to be with God, in a place which is
regarded as our spiritual home.
Upon that journey we find times when we are full of hope and
excitement, and other times when life seems hard and our faith is tested. In
the passage from Mark today the disciples are given a glimpse of the majesty of
God, it will make them feel great - but it has a much deeper purpose - it will
serve to sustain them when times are hard. The Christian is therefore prepared
in advance that the road may become rough and steep. It is at such times that
we must remain even more firmly fixed on Jesus our Saviour
Gospel Reading Mark 9: 2-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and
John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was
transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one
on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who
were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to
be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud
overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the
Beloved; listen to him!’ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with
them any more, but only Jesus.
Post Communion Prayer
Holy God, we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ: may
we who are partakers at his table reflect his life in word and deed, that all
the world may know his power to change and save. This we ask through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen
The Electoral Roll
If you worship regularly at one of our benefice churches or
wish to sustain your link with the church and you are not on the Electoral
Roll, please do fill out a form that can be found at the back of the Church.
Long Crendon : Churchyard Tidy
All hands on deck please for
February 21st 9.00am – 12.00ish
THIS WEDNESDAY :
February 18th ASH WEDNESDAY
Holy Communion 8.00pm at Nether Winchendon
This day marks the first day of Lent. At the service, ashes
from last year’s Palm Crosses, which have been burnt, are gently put on the
forehead in the sign of a cross (only for those who wish it). Ashes are a very
ancient symbol of penitence. They also remind us of our mortality; that the end
of our human journey is the dust of death.
We have all, in the words of the Prayer Book, ‘erred and strayed like
lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.
We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things we
ought to have done and have done those things which we ought not to have done’.
Penitence involves a ‘metanoia’ a change of heart and a turning again towards
God in whom alone is our healing and our wholeness.
Prayer
Lord God, with Lent we approach the springtime of the year
when the face of the earth is renewed and life emerges out of death. We pray that this season may be a veritable
springtime for our souls, so that our lives, quickened by the breath of the
Spirit and warmed by the sunshine of your love, may bear abundant fruit and be
made radiant with the beauty of holiness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Come for a
pancake….
in St. Nicholas’ Chearsley
Shrove Tuesday, 17th February 2- 3.00pm
Donations to The Children’s Society
Meditation
Lent is quite early this year. It seems only a few days
since the children went back to school after Christmas, and we were still
hoovering pine needles out of the carpets! With Ash Wednesday on 18th February,
this is the last Sunday before Lent. We should be settling our hearts and minds
on the days to follow, as we move towards Easter. The word Lent comes from an
Anglo-Saxon word: 'lencten', meaning 'spring'. In England we are in that time
of year when in Saxon times people started to appreciate the lengthening
daylight.
This period has traditionally led up to baptism, a period of
repentance and instruction, a time when those who had formerly worshipped pagan
gods could make a very definite break with the past. Just as Jesus went into
the wilderness for 40 days, so Christians have used this time to embark on a
period of spiritual exploration and hopefully growth. In the Benefice, we have
extra events in Lent designed to help us grow closer to God in our hearts.
Commentary on the Gospel Reading
While the supernatural event witnessed by Peter, James and
John was both wonderful and awe-inspiring, the event gathers real meaning from
its position in the last few days before Jesus began His fateful journey to
Jerusalem and the Cross.
Jesus’ status as the both human and divine is difficult for
us to understand. It must have been hard for his friends to understand too. In
the Transfiguration they were privileged to see Jesus in His Heavenly setting
and to catch a glimpse of his destiny outside their time. The presence of great
prophets of the past, Moses and Elijah, shows us that in God’s space, Heaven,
the barriers of time do not exist. The limitations of this world and its
physical laws and logic do not matter either. In Heaven there is only love and
one-ness with God. This glorious revelation was granted to these three men, as
they watched their friend on the mountain top. They didn’t know what to make of
it. But the Transfiguration, which linked Jesus to His Heavenly destination
must have sustained Jesus in His last painful, humiliating hours as a man, and
it must have given his loving friends hope in the darkness of their disillusion
and despair. This glimpse of the Reality beyond ours should also give us hope
and sustain us through the dark times.
Glorious God, give me grace to amend my life and to have an
eye to mine end without grudge of death, which to them that die in thee, good
Lord, is the fate of a wealthy life. Give me, good Lord, a full faith, a firm
hope and a fervent charity, a love to thee incomparable above the love to myself.
Give me, good Lord, a longing to be with thee, not for the avoiding of the
calamities of this world, nor so much for the attaining of the joys of heaven,
as for the very love of thee. (Sir Thomas More 1478 – 1535
