A Reflection by Fr. Gareth Ingham
About thirty years ago I spent a week by myself walking in the Lake District. It was late March, and the weather wasn’t great for hill walking. Each day started with rain, it seemed to rain all day, and then the day ended with rain. I had been walking in the mountains before but navigating by myself in poor weather wasn’t easy. At one point I arrived at the summit of a small mountain surrounded by hill fog. For about half an hour I was completely lost, and trying desperately not to panic, somehow found the correct route down.
Mountains can be unpredictable places.
The disciples in Sunday’s Gospel reading follow Jesus up the high mountain apart, by themselves. The text doesn’t mention hill fog, but their vision is still impaired. They are following Jesus; they know he is someone special, but they still don’t quite get it.
Suddenly he is transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one[a] on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
For a moment Peter thinks he understands. Here is a holy trinity standing before him, the prophets Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. He offers to build a shelter for each of them hoping to stay in this moment of divine revelation. But then, like all good mountain top stories, the cloud descends. This time it’s not hill fog but the presence of the Father. The figures of Elijah and Moses fade away and Jesus is left standing by himself.
… and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!
As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
As a Church it feels that we have been on the mountain top of Christmas and Epiphany for several weeks. Perhaps it’s now time to find the correct route down to the plains, and journey together in the wilderness of Lent.
On Wednesday the Lenten season begins. There will be 7.30pm Ash Wednesday services at both Welsh Frankton and Cockshutt. I invite you to join us as we respond to the voice from the cloud.
‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’
Fr. Gareth
Fr. Gareth Ingham – Priest in Charge
The Benefice of CRIFTINS with DUDLESTON and WELSH FRANKTON
and The Benefice of PETTON with COCKSHUTT, WELSHAMPTON, and LYNEAL with COLEMERE.
Feature Image: transfiguration-bloch-849aa7, Wikicommons, P.D.