Tag: vision

Fifth Sunday in Lent

22nd March 2026

Reflection with readings below 

We often talk about ‘breathing life’ back into a building or a community. It is as if we can sense that it is not just the physical structures – the bricks and mortar – that makes something real, but that essential ‘something else” that makes them alive. There needs to be a presence of spirit: the spirit of the place, the community spirit. 

Ezekiel realises this is what is needed by the exiled community of God’s people. To be who they are, they need to be filled with God’s spirit – perhaps most importantly they need to be open to receiving that spirit. Openness to God’s spirit comes through prayer and worship, through maintaining a daily pattern of life that is focused on God and the community of God’s people. 

Refugees – and foreigners – in a new land have to find a balance between maintaining customs and practices that maintain their identity, and between adapting to, and living, within the customs and practices of their new home. 

That balance of maintaining traditions and adapting to the new, also applies to each generation. We can’t just stick with the old, traditional ways, just replicating the way things have always been done – refusing to embrace new ideas, new methods, new science. But nor should we disregard traditional practices just because they’re not modern, nor discard old wisdom just because it’s old. We have to consider the needs of the next generation and the generations to com. We need to find the balance that that keeps our communities alive, ensuring that they are lively spaces – not just bare bones.

In John’s Gospel Jesus is trying to present to the people a vision – an understanding – of a new way of living, one that shines through and through with God’s glory. This is a way of living – a kingdom – where it is the best wine that is enjoyed, where all water is life giving, where the blind (physically and spiritually) see, where the hungry (physically and spirituality) are fed and there’s food to spare, where the dead (physically and spirituality) are rejuvenated by God’s spirit.

It is in this aliveness that God’s glory is revealed. 

Jesus’s vision – his gospel – is something that still needs to be shared and spread. It needs to declared in our streets and churches, in our places of government and of business, in our farms and in places of commerce. For a different way of life is possible and to be desired. At the moment for too many people life is unjust and unkind, cruel and fearful. At the moment too many of the things we do sap the life out of the natural world, creating places of desertion and hopelessness and death. 

The disastrous war in the Middle East is wreaking havoc on a global scale. Is this conflict the result of our global failure to address issues of food and water poverty? Issues of energy monopolies that disadvantage the poor and pollute the environment? Issues of distrust and prejudice towards people who are different? A lack of information and learning that informs us of the truth rather than sowing disinformation and lies? A lack of a desire to seek the common good, to agree and stick to rules and policies that would ensure social and environmental wellbeing across the world? 

So many institutions and governments and way of thinking have become stale and introverted. We need to be open to receiving a fresh breath of life, a new inspiration of God’s Spirit, to resurrect life on earth – to establish God’s kingdom here on earth as in heaven.

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord. 

Psalm 130

1 Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice; *
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

2 If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss, *
O Lord, who could stand?

3 For there is forgiveness with you; *
therefore you shall be feared.

4 I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; *
in his word is my hope.

5 My soul waits for the Lord,
more than watchmen for the morning, *
more than watchmen for the morning.

6 O Israel, wait for the Lord, *
for with the Lord there is mercy;

7 With him there is plenteous redemption, *
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

Romans 8:6-11

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law– indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. 

John 11:1-45

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” 

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 

Feast of St Peter and St Paul

29th June 2025

Reflection with readings below

Peter was a fisherman who gave up his job, not once but twice, in response to God’s call. He gave up security and income and the guarantee of a bed to follow Jesus. He listen to and struggled with what Jesus was teaching, sometimes giving the correct answer to Jesus’s questions and sometimes the wrong. He took risks – like walking on water – and accepted that sometimes he ended up (so as to speak) flat on his face. His risk taking and his passion for Jesus gave the gift of oratory when it came to addressing a potentially hostile crowd. He was willing to have his deepest beliefs challenged by God and understood the need for the church to include not just Jews but Gentiles too – and still he could make mistakes and still he accepted justifiable reproof (from Paul).

Paul began as Saul, an ardent deeply faithful Pharisee skilled both with his hands (a tent maker) and intellectually. He was adept both at learning and in teaching, and deeply committed to his religious cause. After his conversion through a visionary experience, the ardour with which he pursued his

Pharisaic ideals, he transferred and more so to the development of the Christian faith. Initially happy to be apprenticed to more experienced missioners, he quickly became a master missioner establishing church communities and developing the skills of others. And yet he never forgot the place and the people from whence the church had first grown, bringing back financial aid and gathering for worship with the community in Jerusalem. Paul’s vision for the church went beyond even what Peter imagined, setting aside many of the traditions which had seemed such important parts of Judaism, to allow the church to grow in new  – God inspired – directions.

Both Peter and Paul were people willing to take radical action, to go against the norm. They were both willing to acknowledge that they made mistakes and to accept forgiveness for their mistakes. They were both willing to grow in knowledge and understanding in response to God’s wisdom.

The combination of all these attributes was probably essential in establishing and developing the early church taking it from being a group of passionate pupils into becoming a resilient, international community. One of the biggest changes to which both  Peter and Paul contributed was the expansion of that community to include non Jews – outsiders, foreigners, people of different backgrounds! And to hold women and men, slaves and freeborn as equals – so becoming a truly inclusive church. To achieve this it was important that both Peter and Paul were leaders who were willing to be imaginative and to think outside the box, willing to discuss difficult issues – and to listen and to share their thoughts with others in the community. 

In contrast the reading from Acts presents a different sort of leader – Herod. Here is someone who likes to use violence to assert their authority, but who also likes to ‘toady up’ to others if that will gain their support. 

Good leaders that are able to listen to their community, that are able to keep their community together  (with unity), that are concerned for the needs of their community especially the marginalised, are of great value – both then and now. And equally leaders who use violence and favouritism, leaders who are ‘me’ focused and who disregard the needs of others were – and are – a great danger to everyone. 

The passage from the Gospel of St Matthew shows what a very heavy responsibility was being laid upon Peter – and other leaders following after.  The church is both to present Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God to the world, and to shape the ways people and communities live such that here on earth we may live in accordance with rules or the reign of  heaven. 

It seems to me that the church – whether that is the overarching Church or the local church – has a huge responsibility to both witness to the truth of Jesus Christ, and to walk and talk in the way of the kingdom of God.  The church – whether Church or church, and actually both – should be calling out the unacceptable bloodshed and oppression being afflicted on the people of Gaza; should be providing financial aid and support to the victims and not facilitating the supply of more armaments; should be praying and using diplomatic skills to ensure peace and justice for all in the region. 

The church – both church and Church – should be calling for tax justice and for a fair distribution of wealth and opportunity; should be praying for and offering skills and financial support for those marginalised by poverty, ill health, disability and prejudice, should be offering a clear vision of an alternative economic system.

The church – both church and Church – should be calling for action to protect the earth from climate change and biodiversity loss; should be encouraging each and everyone of us to live more simply, to ensure that our lifestyles choices do not take more than the planet can give, nor more a fair share bearing in mind the needs of all our brother and sisters.

The church – both church and Church – should be encouraging and enabling discussion as to how we can all live and work together for the common good: for the kingdom of God. 

As we remember the gifts that Peter and Paul brought the church, let us pray for and encourage good leadership in our communities and churches today. 

Acts 1:1-11

About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.

The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, ‘Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.’ He did so. Then he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ Peter went out and followed him; he did not realise that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’

2 Timothy 12:19-26

But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his’, and, ‘Let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness.’

In a large house there are utensils not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for special use, some for ordinary. All who cleanse themselves of the things I have mentioned[b] will become special utensils, dedicated and useful to the owner of the house, ready for every good work. Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

Matthew 16:13-19

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’

Pentecost

18th May 2024

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17

Sovereign God, 

set your people free from the aggression of war; 

set your people free from the pains of hunger; 

set your people free from the addiction of greed; 

set your people free from the entrapment of consumerism; 

set your people free from their blinkered incomprehension of the climate crisis. 

Grant us instead the freedom 

of understanding that comes from your Holy, life-giving, Spirit.

Amen. 

A reading from Isaiah 32:14 -17  (The Message)

The royal palace is deserted,
    the bustling city quiet as a morgue,
The emptied parks and playgrounds
    taken over by wild animals,
    delighted with their new home.

Yes, weep and grieve until the Spirit is poured
    down on us from above
And the badlands desert grows crops
    and the fertile fields become forests.
Justice will move into the badlands desert.
    Right will build a home in the fertile field.
And where there’s Right, there’ll be Peace
    and the progeny of Right: quiet lives and endless trust.
My people will live in a peaceful neighbourhood—
    in safe houses, in quiet gardens.
The forest of your pride will be clear-cut,
    the city showing off your power levelled.
But you will enjoy a fortunate life,
    planting well-watered fields and gardens,
    with your farm animals grazing freely.

.

Pentecost Spirit, 

taking  breath over creation, 

drawing life out of chaos. 

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could  be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

Pentecost Spirit, 

riding on the storm clouds of anger, 

turning the world upside down. 

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could  be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

Pentecost Spirit, 

dividing the waters, 

cutting through the bonds of slavery.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could  be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

Pentecost Spirit, 

raising up whirl winds 

yet drawing us into the still centre of calm.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could  be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

Pentecost Spirit, 

that comes from we know not where, 

yet reveals to us all truth.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could  be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

Pentecost Spirit, 

a sudden gale that rocks the boat, 

yet challenges us to hang onto our faith.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could  be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

 Pentecost Spirit, 

a gentle evening breeze,

that refreshes the soul when the day’s work is done.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could  be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

The Grace.

Lent – seeking God’s wisdom

Friday 18th March

“Hey there! All who are thirsty, come to the water! Are you penniless? Come anyway—buy and eat!
Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk. Buy without money—everything’s free! Isaiah 55:1

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

A Reading: Isaiah 55: 6-13 (The Message translation)

Seek God while he’s here to be found,
    pray to him while he’s close at hand.
Let the wicked abandon their way of life
    and the evil their way of thinking.
Let them come back to God, who is merciful,
    come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.

“I don’t think the way you think.
    The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
        God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
    so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
    and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
    and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
    producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
    not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
    they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

“So you’ll go out in joy,
    you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.
The mountains and hills will lead the parade,
    bursting with song.
All the trees of the forest will join the procession,
    exuberant with applause.
No more thistles, but giant sequoias,
    no more thornbushes, but stately pines—
Monuments to me, to God,
    living and lasting evidence of God.”

A response: 

God’s vision of the world is one of beauty and harmony –

Yet we do not listen,

We will not hear, 

Our eyes are blinkered. 

Lord, in your mercy awaken us to your wisdom.

God’s vision of the world is one of generosity and abundance –

Yet we hoard what decays,

We squabble over wealth, 

Our hearts are greedy.

Lord, in your mercy awaken us to your wisdom.

God’s vision of the world is one of promise and covenant –

Yet we don’t trust God, 

We don’t  trust our brethren, 

Our ways are deceitful.

Lord, in your mercy awaken us to your wisdom.

God’s vision of the world is one of peace and restoration – 

Yet we fight rather than listen, 

We provoke revenge not love,

Our judgements are corrupt.

Lord, in your mercy awaken us to your wisdom.

Feed us with love

Cleanse us of hate

Gift us with compassion 

Restore our trust in humanity

Renew our understanding of nature 

Fill us with joy

Make us again the people of God.

Amen.

Last Sunday before Lent

11th February 2024

Reflection ( readings follow on below)

I love the idea that there was a company of prophets – ‘prophets R us’? Was there an apprenticeship course? Were there entrance exams? Or CPD (continuing professional development) courses? 

As I have mentioned before, I see climate activists as some of today’s prophets. And yes we do have, if not companies, then certainly groups. These groups are important for mutual support, for sharing ideas, as a testing ground where we can explore our thinking, for pooling and sharing skills, and the capacity to reach out to a wider audience.

What keeps prophets going? What – or who – inspires them? Where does their power come from? From God, from the power of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes this can feel overwhelming as one is aware of the enormity of the task that lies ahead. Sometimes this can feel as if a glorious window has opened showing all the wonder that is possible.

In today’s readings God’s power is experience through the physical world: the waters of the River Jordan that part, the bright light that illumines Jesus – and through the visionary world: the chariot of fire that carries Elijah away, and the voice of God echoing from the cloud. Whilst in today’s Psalm,  God calls to the heavens and the earth to witness the judgment to be passed on humankind. How will we measure up to God’s expectations? 

Much of the Bible is concerned with the way people live with and alongside each other, and with and alongside the land – nature. The Bible begins with stories describing the beginning of life on earth and  the interrelationship between the different  parts – the land and the water,  the earth and plants, the air and the water and things that fly and swim, the land and its creatures – and the role that God delegates to humans. The Bible ends in the Book of Revelation with a new creation – a garden city of healing and harmony, where God’s will is always done. God’s presence is described as being a shining brightness that negates the need for sunlight. This garden city, new Jerusalem, is a place of enlightenment. 

Paul in his letter to the Christian community at Corinth reminds them that there are two ways of seeing the world: the blinkered way of ‘the world’ and the enlightened way of the gospel. The first sees only a shadow of reality, whilst the second sees the whole of creation illumined by the glory of God. We who believe the gospel can look to see that radiance in the world around us; we can see the glory of God shining through creation; and we can see the vision of how God desires this world to be. That vision became a reality in Jesus and is the vision that will accompany us through Lent to Easter. Let us stride forth into Lent as a company of God’s prophets.

2 Kings 2:1-12

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”

Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”

Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Psalm 50:1-6

1 The Lord, the God of gods, has spoken; *
he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

2 Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, *
God reveals himself in glory.

3 Our God will come and will not keep silence; *
before him there is a consuming flame,
and round about him a raging storm.

4 He calls the heavens and the earth from above *
to witness the judgment of his people.

5 “Gather before me my loyal followers, *
those who have made a covenant with me
and sealed it with sacrifice.”

6 Let the heavens declare the rightness of his cause; *
for God himself is judge.

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

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.

Mark 9:2-9

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.

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.