Transfiguration (NL)

Gathering

There is mystery at the heart of things
and it is alive
and sings its song
into all that is moribund and plain

It is born of a wonder that only increases:

for in exploring
the wonder grows;
in understanding
a greater puzzle is revealed;
the more we we dive into the riddle
we find a yet greater enigma

Here
let us gather round the greatest of all mysteries
where faith can only offer belief
and wonder
and daring adventure
enough
to transfigure
and behold
the whole universe
in resurrection truth

Come
let us wander into the mystery
of God

Transfiguration Farewell

Farewell my friend
the one who broke bread
and poured wine
and laughed with us
as you drew pictures in the sand

Farewell my friend
the one familiar
in the conversations we had
and the stories you told
of seeds and sanctuary
of prodigals, coins and sheep

Farewell my friend
who gathered us
on beaches at dawn
and broke the news to us
that you weren’t who we thought you were
but that you thought
you were Messiah
doorway of love

Here on this mountain
my love will never end
but you are no longer
the friend on the beach
or the companion on the way
or the one at table
tears rolling down your face
with laughter and hope

up close like this
close enough to see the glory
I do not recognise you
as you were

Now I have to look back down the valleys
we have been through together
in this transfigured light
It is all so different now
the day starts again
with memories reshaping in this moment
and this new knowledge

Farewell my friend
my love will never end
may it hold us yet
for everything changes now
the valley is deep
and dark

Can we not stay here?
Farewell my friend
Know I will go with you
through the darkness
of Lent
now you are
Messiah

Transfiguration

Luke 9:28-45

Prayer

Loving God
how shall we describe you
when mystery is at the heart of things

Dare we live towards you
not with a ready answer and neat explanation
but a ready invitation to join the adventure

May we live towards you
less to look for handy solutions
and more to believe in the impossible

May we live towards you
not from the position of our certainties
but from the place of wonder

and find our faith
alive in these places
where heaven and earth muster
and truth and wonder hustle
and matter and spirit fuss
with the everyday

Creator
may we have eyes
that see beyond the skin of things
and have a feeling for what is
behind
beyond
and beside us
not reduced down to its simplest parts
but brings on the wonder
and transfigures
our relationship with the world

With such eyes
and believing hearts
may we trust
a forgiveness that transforms our living
and transfigures our relationship
with each other
and with you

in the love
that is the mystery
and the gift
for all

So be it
Amen

God in every mystery
holding us in the between places
thin enough for heaven and earth
to get tangled

God in every silence
deep enough
to cause that vacuum
that draws together the edges of ghost and matter

God in every light
darkness and glory
and crosses the lines of our theology
with a story

May we meet here
in the border lines
where all that is rational
gets mixed up in all that is imaginative
and where systems get redrawn with new colours

and let you grow a little more
beyond what is familiar
and into that which is still an adventure
when
up close
we discover the quantum of love
and the solace of grace
that made a bond
between worlds
and imagination is set free
and story unfolds
and faith revels in this new space
of transfiguration
seeing things from a different point of view

Hear us
from within the mystery
and awe
and wonder
that is God