Sunday next before Lent
Collect
2 Kings 2: 1-12
2 Corinthians 4: 3-6
Marks 9: 2-9
‘He ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen’
… and perhaps Peter then said ‘Why not? Of course I should tell people what I’ve seen and heard!’
‘You will’ said Jesus. ‘But not yet. You’ll have to be patient. If you tell people now, at best, they’ll ask for evidence – some will dismiss you as deluded – and at worst, they will arrest you for lies and Blasphemy.’
Peter is to be the rock on which the Church is built – but he needs the full story before he is going to be capable of so doing. He has seen miracles. He has heard Jesus explain about the Kingdom of Heaven. He has experienced teaching about the coming Messiah. And now, he is present at the fulfilling of the prophecy of Elijah’s return before the day of the Lord arrives. All of these are things of wonder – but tempered by Jesus’ continuing to talk of His death. If Jesus is to die, how would Peter maintain his belief in the one who he proclaimed to be the Christ? It would erode just as the memory of Jesus would erode, and He would simply become understood as another in the long line of Jewish prophets.
The story has to be complete for Peter’s faith become integral to his very being – if Jesus dies and that is the end of it, so what? But resurrected, that’s what. It’s not the end. It’s the beginning of new covenant for all God’s created people. In the knowledge of Jesus alive and the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, Peter does now have the whole story and is equipped to be that rock.
It’s the same for us – we cannot build our faith on just one or two aspects of Jesus’ story. The fundamental truth we need to accept that He is risen from the dead and He is Lord, alive. Unless we believe that with our whole heart and mind, our faith is fragile. If we do believe – there is nothing we cannot do in His name.
Previous Posts
Praying Together 20th April 2025
So together, morning, noon and night, we shout Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Praying Together 13th April 2025
He is sinless, we were not – but He takes our sin unto Himself, allowing us the freedom to choose to serve His purpose rather than our own
Praying Together 6th April 2025
Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, ‘Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.
Praying Together 30th March 2025
As Julian of Norwich wrote, ‘the example of a mother’s service is closest, most willing, and most sure because it is most true’, and thus we use that example as part of our Lenten journey.
Praying Together 23rd March 2025
God gives us the freedom to make that choice, and will always offer us another chance when we fail, as He did to the barren fig tree.
Praying Together 16 March 2025
Unlike the other tragic heroes, Jesus has no flaw or blemish other than those inflicted by others: the scars on His back, the thorn-blood on His forehead, the betrayal by His friend.
Praying Together March 9th 2025
God’s demand for perfection need not discourage you in the least in your present attempts to be good, or even in your present failures.
Praying Together 2nd March 2025
God of the nations, whose sovereign rule brings justice and peace, have mercy on our broken and divided world.
Praying Together 23 February 2025
Meditation for the Second Sunday before Lent CollectAlmighty God,you have created the heavens and the earthand made us in your own image:Teach us to discern your hand in all your worksand your likeness in all your children;through Jesus Christ our Lord,who with you...
Praying Together 16th February 2025
And if you accept Him as Lord, allow Him to lead you as you walk into the future without looking back, and do what He has equipped you to do as His body on earth
Praying Together 9th February 2025
We are all asked to have the faith to put out into deep water, but we must remember that we will never be on our own. Peter’s ministry was made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit, as will ours.
Praying Together 2nd February 2025
We are all called to be the Body of Christ in His entirety – and we are to take the example of all ‘Saints’ who have gone before, both male and female, as models of our required behaviour.