Nick Chambers sings, ‘It Is Good To Be Here With You’, words we will hear in our scripture passage today. As you enter into prayer, slow down into this time and recognise the kind gaze of the Lord over you now.

When you bring me up the mount,

Into the brightness of the cloud

Even when I cannot stay,

when I don’t know what to say.

It is good to be here with you, with you.

When I hear the voice above

“This is my Beloved Son”

When I’m shaken by the sound

With my face pressed to the ground

It is good to be here

It is good to be here with you, with you.

With your touch, I hear you say,

“Rise and do not be afraid”

When I look it’s only you

The face that I thought that I knew

It is good to be here

It is good to be here with you, with you.

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, ‘Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’

This is a good passage to let your imagination loose upon. What would it have been like to join Jesus and his closest disciples on that mountain?

What does this passage add to the picture of Jesus that you might have built up from the rest of the description of his public ministry in the gospels?

Peter’s response to what’s happening, his offer to “make three dwellings”, might well strike you as rather odd. What might you have said, or wish you had said, if you’d been with them?

Listening again, notice the words of God the Father, spoken from the cloud. Hear them addressed to you directly. How do you respond?

Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, ‘Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’

Talk, finally, to Jesus about what you’ve experienced and felt in this time of prayer. Notice if there’s anything more that he wants to say to you about it.

You have given all to me

To You, Lord, I return it.

Everything is Yours, do with it what you will.

Give me only Your love and Your grace,

That is enough for me.

Amen.