In the gospel we heard of Jesus
leading Peter, James and John up a high mountain.
I want to start by thinking about high mountains.
Nearly forty years ago
I went on a walking holiday in Scotland with a friend.
We walked up a mountain called Liathach, in Glen Torridon:
considered by some hillwalkers to be Scotland’s finest mountain.
It is a ridge walk:
you go up at one end, walk along and then walk down.
According to the web site Walkhighlands:
"the path round …the pinnacles is very exposed,
requiring a good head for heights,
and the descent includes steep scree. If unsure, hire a guide."
We didn’t meet a soul,
we were definitely the only people on the mountain that day.
The day started well, views were breathtaking,
and the path round the pinnacles was indeed airy.
Towards the end of the ridge walk the top became covered in cloud
and so, on a mountain where many ways down were not safe,
we had to use our judgement
about where the scree slope was to come down: bit scary.
I tell this story to emphasise that the high mountain in today’s gospel is not just a geographical description.
It is intended to carry all these associations of delight,
of being uplifted by beauty,
and of consciousness of being small, of being vulnerable and sometimes of being afraid.
Biblically,
‘the enveloping cloud’ is sign of the presence of God,
and high mountains are associated with overwhelming encounters with God.
Think of Moses at mount Sinai and Elijah at mount Horeb.
So, Jesus leads Peter, James and John up a high mountain;
skipping forward,
they are engulfed in cloud, the presence of God, and
from the cloud there came a voice which said,
‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.’
The first words here, declaring Jesus’ identity,
‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour.
Are the ones we heard earlier in the year, back in January,
when we heard the account of Jesus’ baptism.
The new ingredient, unsaid at the Baptism, is:
Listen to him.
Listen to him.
On the second Sunday of Lent the focus is:
Listen to him.
If you were to ask someone in the street what Lent was about
and they could answer sensibly
they would probably say that it is about giving things up.
Indeed, from my children,
I occasionally hear about young people
with no Christian affiliation at all
who nonetheless give something up for Lent.
Lent can seem like is a good time to tackle cravings for caffeine or chocolate.
It can seem like a good time to give the liver a chance to recuperate by cutting out alcohol, or fatty foods.
It might even seem like a good time to try the fad 5:2 diet
which involves fasting from food for 24 hours twice a week.
The second Sunday of Lent,
which always has the transfiguration as its gospel,
is a vigorous reminder from the Church that ‘giving up things’ is not the point of Lent: it is just meant to be a help, a means to the end.
The point of Lent is to turn towards Jesus,
to be ready to listen to him.
Listening is more than hearing.
I can hear traffic noise outside, but I am not listening to it.
Listening implies engagement
I cannot listen to someone I don’t spend time with.
I cannot listen to someone if I do all the talking.
I cannot listen properly to someone if I am busy doing something else
How each of us responds to the words Listen to him is individual:
but it must involve paying attention to scripture
I offer a few suggestions….
Read Matthew’s gospel, a chapter a day, for the rest of Lent:
even with a few lapses you would get right through it.
Come and spend half an hour at exposition which happens in the Garden room each Friday from 2.00 until 7.30pm
Use the time to read the gospel for the coming Sunday
and spend time listening for what it means for you.
I will make sure some copies of the gospel are available.
Come along for half an hour to exposition a week on Sunday in church, 12.30 to 3.00.
Reading a whole gospel, or spending half an hour at exposition may seem daunting: but climbing a mountain is.
These really are ways to allow Jesus to lead us, to guide us,
so that we can delight in who he is,
and know who we are before him.
To finish, here are some words of Pope Francis,
from ‘The Joy of the Gospel’
which express well what this Sunday of Lent about:
I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment,
to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ,
or at least an openness to letting him encounter them;
I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day.
No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her,…