Readings:
2 Kings 2: 1-12;
Psalm 50: 1-6;
2 Cor 4: 3-6;
Mark 9: 2-9

Collect:
Holy God,
you know the disorder of our sinful lives:
Set straight our crooked hearts,
and bend our wills to love your goodness and your glory
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Reflection 

I wonder when the last time you went WOW was?  It may have been when you were watching something on TV or when you were out for a walk.  It may have been something someone created for you or they did something nice for you.  Whenever and whatever it was I am sure that it would have been a highlight of your day or even your week.  For me, many of my WOW moments are in the natural world, whether that’s a stunning sunset, the mountains of Snowdonia or the glimmering spiders webs dripping with dew.

Now I wonder when you had a WOW moment with God?  I wonder when you came so close to God and God came so close to you that you knew what God wanted you to do? These encounters with God transform us and are often called mountaintop experiences. However, many of us may not be able to easily point to specific encounters with God it can often be only when we look back that we can recognise when we were close to God.  There’s a great exercise which you can do where you draw a timeline of your life and along it mark significant points on your journey so far and as you mark those points think where God was in those moments, was God close at hand supporting/encouraging you or at these points did you feel abandoned and alone.  If it’s not something you’ve done before then I would certainly recommend you have a go.  You may be surprised 

This weeks reading from Mark’s gospel certainly gives Peter, James and John a WOW moment when they saw Jesus transfigured with Moses and Elijah.  Then as the cloud descended they heard the voice of God confirm that Jesus was his son and that they should listen to him.  They would have been transformed themselves by this experience and would have wanted to share it with the rest of the team when they got down.  However, we hear Jesus telling them not to share what happened with anyone.  

Many of us long for an experience of God that is spectacular and beyond any doubting, but not even all the disciples got to experience the transfiguration and those that did were told not to dwell on it or stay on the mountaintop in tents as Peter suggested.  Instead, they were encouraged to live with the rest of the disciples in the mundane and ordinary and messy world in the knowledge that they were part of something transformative.  

We may or may not have had that mountaintop experience, we may or may not have had a Damascus Road moment, like Paul, but I am sure we do have our WOW moments.  Moments when we are confronted with something that is wonderful.  It is these moments that help us to see that we are part of something bigger and transformative.  It’s in these moments that God can come close to us.  It’s these moments that can sustain and encourage us in our journey through life.  

This week, as we begin our walk through Lent, at a time when life is challenging and messy, may we take some time to reflect on the WOW moments in our lives.  Allowing space to think about those times when we have felt close to God and those times when God has felt far away.  You may find that it is helpful to talk to someone about your experiences to a trusted friend, mentor, prayer companion or one of the ministry team. 

So let us continue to enjoy those WOW moments, the times when we can come close to God and God can come close to us.   May they encourage us through the mundane, through the ordinary and through the messy knowing that we are part of something greater, something that is truly life transforming.

Mike Morris