Welland Fosse Group of Churches

Address: Ann Robinson

There is something very special about mountains, isn’t there? In my younger days I walked up quite a few and was always in awe at the view spread out before me at the summit. My most lasting memory of mountains is when we were in the French Alps. One foggy, damp morning in summer we set off to take the cable car up Mont Blanc. In spite of setting off early the cable car was full of people from all over the world and there was a cacophony of voices. We had travelled up the mountain in the mist seeing nothing. Suddenly we broke through the cloud into sunlight and the sight brought a gasp from everyone there. The view was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen with the sun glinting off the snow. Robson Green said that although he wasn’t religious he found being at the top of the mountain a spiritual experience.

Jesus took Peter, James and John possibly up to the snow line of probably Mount Hermon. There is some discussion about which mountain it was but it is not really important. It would not have been an easy journey and the disciples must have wondered what they were doing. Perhaps there was a bit of muttering between them as they scrambled behind Jesus but they followed nevertheless. The week before Peter had answered Jesus’ question “Who do you think I am?” with the reply “You are the Messiah”. It was after that when Jesus spoke about his journey to Jerusalem and his suffering and death so perhaps the disciples wanted to stay with him and protect him.

What happened on that mountain top would stay with the three for ever. As they panted regaining their breath after the arduous climb, there was an amazing sight. Jesus was surrounded by light and changed in appearance. The word that is used to describe the light means the glistening gleam of burnished bronze or gold caught in the sunlight, human words to describe a divine moment. They saw Moses and Elijah with Jesus; Moses represented the Law and Elijah the greatest of the prophets. Peter of course couldn’t keep quiet and wanted to hold this moment. He was afraid and as ever jumped in with both feet. He realised that this was something very special.

Moses and Elijah disappeared and a cloud came down. Cloud was often present when God appeared. There was cloud when Moses met with God and cloud filled the Temple when it was dedicated because it was thought that God’s glory was too bright for people to see. God spoke out of the cloud saying, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him”.

Then everything returned to normal. Or did it? How would the disciples feel on their journey back to real life? Going back down a mountain is not easy. They had been warned about the suffering which Jesus would undergo and his ultimate death but he also told them that he would rise again. They were bewildered and heart-broken but this experience on the mountain top gave them something so vivid to hold to.

Epiphany has now ended and Lent hasn’t quite started. Like the disciples we are now turning towards the Cross and the journey that leads there; the suffering, the betrayal and the denial by these same men. But don’t let us be complacent. Where would we be when Jesus was arrested and tried? I’m sure that Peter, James and John in the dark times ahead would remember the light on the mountain and give them some encouragement.

Sometimes we catch glimpses of God’s glory but there are many times when we are confused and don’t understand. It is then that we step out in faith. Three words stood out for me in this reading. “Listen to him!” How often do we really listen to God or do we spend most of our time bombarding him with words? Do we try to enter the spiritual realm?

Lent begins this week and perhaps we could use the enforced isolation of lockdown to get closer to our Lord. Instead of rushing through prayers just take time to listen, to enter into spirituality and experience God’s presence in a calm, special way. For some to rediscover the glory of God, for others to experience it in a deeper way than before.

. Martin Luther King told a crowd the day before he was killed, “We’ve got difficult days ahead. But it does not matter to me now. Because I have been to the mountain top, I won’t mind. I just want to do God’s will.” If we are to survive dark days we need to hold onto the vision of God’s glory and do his will. Peter wanted to remain on the mountain but that is not the object. There is always something which we are called to do. That involves not only coming down the mountain but also listening and following.

Some words from Stephen Cottrell in his book “Come and See”.

We are made in the image of God and we are very precious to him. That is why he has come to us in Jesus. These words (This is my Beloved Son, listen to him)  and this knowledge of God’s unwavering love were the driving energy of Jesus’ life and ministry. “Listen to him!” God says on the mountain. Listen to his words of love for you…whether you have mighty religious experiences or not.”

So, let us listen to him and after the mountain experience, he will help us to do his will. The words of an old hymn which is printed at the end of the service leave us with the message.

Our home, our life, our duties lie below.
While here we kneel upon the mount of prayer,
The plough lies waiting in the furrow there!
Here we sought God that we might know His will;
There we must do it, serve Him, seek Him still. Amen.

The Nation at Prayer

At the start of the week, the redtops were in full cry, cajoling the nation into praying for Capt. Tom who had just been admitted to hospital with COVID.

Now it has been some time since the media or the government had called the nation to pray.  In the 10th century, King Ethelred called the nation to pray against the Danish Invasion. Churchill supported national prayers for victory during the 2^nd World War. In my own church at Scarborough  the recovery of the Prince of Wales from typhoid in 1871 was commemorated in a stained-glass window after Gladstone and the Archbishop of Canterbury commanded the nation to pray for his recovery.

However, such national calls to prayer are rare today. Even the current call to prayer by our archbishops’ is not getting much publicity and we have to ask why.

There is no doubt that, as a nation, we are coy about prayer. How often have we heard Prime Minsters say that the hearts of the nation go out to victims or, ‘’our thoughts and hopes are with you”. Prayer seems to be an embarrassment to people both outside and inside our churches and I think this is because prayers are not answered.  On Tuesday Captain Tom died.

Is Prayer Valid?

As a Christian, this neglect of prayer worries me. There is a story about the late Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Archbishop George Carey becoming firm friends as a result of them both supporting Arsenal Football Club.  At one critical match, they were both present when their favourite team was thrashed. A keen journalist from ‘The Sun’, observing these two religious leaders humiliated, wrote in the paper the next day that ‘here was ample proof that God is dead’. ‘Not at all’, shot back Rabbi Sacks in the letter column next day. ‘It shows that God is very much alive and supports Manchester United’!

There are things to be said about this. ‘The Sun’ journalist had a concept of God that was too small.  He – like many of us – was working with a ‘slot-machine’ God. We push in a request and out comes our desired result. Now this approach is not wrong.  We are told in The Lord’s Prayer to ask for daily bread but God is not a machine and doesn’t always deliver. There are different types of prayer but here my concern – and the concern of the nation – is intercessory prayer.

Perhaps the problem is to be found in regarding both God and the creation as mechanistic. Put the money in and out comes the answer. However, our understanding of creation has changed. Our ideas of both God and creation have been conditioned by old science.  For three hundred years scientific thought has been heavily influenced by Newtonian physical laws: of gravity, of motion and so much more. Creation was seen as predictable; there was no room for God.  He may have blown the whistle to set it off but was incapable of later intervention. Appeals for foul play went unheeded.

Since the 1920’s however, a greater openness in science and natural law has been recognized with mind-blowing theories such as quantum theory, cloud theory and chaos theory about which I know very little. But scientists tell us that although the laws of nature still obtain – night follows day, water freezes when cold – there is real flexibility at the micro level of life. Both exist together which will allow for surprise, intervention and reversal. The biblical record has plenty of examples of prayer being answered (such as Elijah’s contest on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18) but there are also examples of unanswered prayer, the most stark being that Jesus’ cup of suffering might be removed at the crucifixion (Mt.26.39). Among scientists today there is wide recognition of this open system of creation, allowing flexibility and intervention.  I have witnessed myself the humility and astonishment of doctors who readily admit that this patient has recovered against all the odds.

Prayer Answered.

So, it is time to recover our confidence in the power of prayer. But with it we need to learn some more about the contours of God’s kingdom where justice, mercy, sacrifice and generosity are some of the key ingredients.  God will not act against himself, however hard we might pray. The analogy of parent and child is often helpful here. A child will get very confused if the parents keep changing their minds as they nurture their child. Bedtime is at 9pm…. but if the child has a special soccer match to watch, then an exception can occasionally be made.

God expects us to pray for all manner of things. Our prayers will influence our own behaviour certainly but if God’s nature is to see all things in the end united in him then he will continue to intervene as we have seen in the biblical record. Answers will come: they might be delayed or appear in the most surprising form. They may even take us by surprise in their response even before the prayer is uttered.

So we prayed for Captain Tom.  His life was not prolonged in answer to our prayers on Monday but his family were already gathering round him and he died content in the knowledge that his NHS was appreciated and that he had been in the right place at the right time: a tonic for his country. Amen.