Our mission – wherever we are, is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and show God’s love through worship, witness, and service.
If you’re part of our Crowland community, you’ll recognise reflections here from a sermon I delivered right before Lent—a message that’s stayed with me, I have not been able to shake it off. But the context for today is different. It is wonderful to see people here from across the circuit. As we all know, we are navigating through some tough times, actively seeking where God wants us to go next. Accepting that change needs to happen, and talking about change, and making decisions for the future, is difficult. Today I feel led to stress how important it is that we are open to the Holy Spirit. As for the transfiguration, I have been led to think about the parallels between where we are now, and the questioning and chaos that is going on half-way down the mountain, where Jesus steps in and brings healing and peace. We need to listen to Jesus.
Elijah and Elisha – 2 Kings 2:1-12
Elijah and Elisha are two of the most significant prophets in the OT. Elijah is the older one – his name means my God is Yahweh. Elisha’s name means God is Salvation – God has the power to save and sustain life. They belong to a community of prophets. They are celebrated for leading God’s people through a time of crisis and change. They called people back to worshipping the one true God, rather than false god’s, and to honouring God’s law. But now there is another change. Elijah’s ministry will close, he will be taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot, and Elisha will take over. It is easy to be distracted by this vision, but the real story is of the intimate relationship between Elijah and Elisha, and how Elisha struggles with change. He does not want to be separated from Elijah. When he turns up for worship and sees the other prophets, they say to him. ‘You know that this is the day don’t you’ – I paraphrase – and Elisha says – and this is exact – Yes I know, so be quiet’. In other words. I know. I don’t want to talk about it.
2 Kings 2: 3,5
How revealing that is! Elisha, faced with the prospect of change, and an uncertain future, says what all of us say directly to others. “Don’t say anything”. “I don’t want to talk about it”. And the same is true for us as we are in this moment where we are questioning what is sustainable for us as a circuit of churches with staff – not just financially, but in terms of energy – and seeking God’s will. According to the human playbook our first response is predicted to be, ‘We don’t want to talk about it’. But we have no option. No matter how painful it might be, and how insecure we might feel. I am always moved by leading the covenant service. I am moved not just by the prayer, but by the preamble. To receive from God, we need to give from God, we need to make ourselves vulnerable. If we honour God, God will honour us.
The other important thing about this story is having accepted that change is going to happen, Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit – the Holy Spirit. Elisha has seen the divine spark at work in Elijah, and reasons that this is what has made him robust in times of great challenge – there was one moment – after he had defeated the false prophets of Baal – when Elijah ran away. He thought he would be better off dead but he is visited by an angel and hears God in the still small voice if you remember. And he recovers. But Elisha can see that it is the divine spark – the Holy Spirit that sees Elijah through that. We understand that the Holy Spirit is our comforter, counsellor, helper, friend, the one who convicts us, and the one who empowers us. We can face all things if we ask God’s spirit within us. Without the spirit we are nothing but dust in the wind.
Elijah and Elisha cross over the Jordan. It is symbolic as a place of transition. Are you at a life-changing moment?
Sandra – who is involved in our livestream worship community said this – it is hard to choose from so many life changing moments when God has moved mightily and amazingly in my life – sometimes at times of real difficulty – each strengthening and deepening my faith. I remember one time when I was searching for work and felt drawn to work for a mental health charity. I encountered many battles for others. Many lives were changed including mine. I often see God’s hand at work in bringing volunteers alongside me. The work kept me sane and helped my family. It is difficult to be brief on how God has been with me over the past 15 years.
Elijah and Elisha’s journey across the Jordan reminds us that we all face moments that can change our lives. But change is not all bad. Change can be exciting. Rewarding. Sometimes small changes have big consequences. And how might God be calling your church to embrace change. One thing covid did, peculiarly, is to accept that we had to do things differently, but I think we are at risk of backsliding and taking comfort now things are more settled.
Let us move on to the Transfiguration and exorcism
(Mark 9:2-29)
It is easy to be distracted by Jesus, whiter than white, transfigured on the mountaintop.
It is easy to be distracted by His conversation with Moses, the greatest high-priest known to Israel, and Elijah, one of the greatest prophets known to Israel.
It is easy to be distracted by Peter’s clumsy offer to set up tents. There was Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, talking about how Jesus’ mission would unfold (Luke tells us that), and Peter may as well be asking if anyone wants tea, biscuits, and cake. Peter, you might be missing the point here! There might be something more important going on!
Jesus is trying to give Peter, James, and John – three of his key leaders – confidence by allowing them to see this. The point of it all is the voice from heaven that says to them ‘This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him’.
Another of my church leaders – who has experienced the death of her teenage son some years ago, said this; ‘Listening to Jesus has made a big difference in my life, especially at the hardest points when I felt so alone. Knowing the Holy Spirit is in and around me and my family and friends, gives me hope for the future’.
And so there we have it. In our own lives, within our Churches – as well as being open to the Spirit, we need to listen to Jesus. One of the most heartening pieces of feedback I have had from one of our church leaders is that whilst we need to look at what our finances say, and be honest about the people and energy we have, we also need to have faith. Let us be sure that we are not too earthly in our thinking to be of any heavenly use. Neither should we have our head in the clouds. God has great things for us. If the attitudes of James and John are to go by though, we cannot comprehend what that will be because our God is too small, and we only think in certain ways.
Down the mountain
For me it is impossible to remember the transfiguration without being honest about the chaos that is going on down below – that Jesus steps in and sorts out. For today we will forgo a detailed look at the difference between exorcism and healing. The point is that Jesus steps into a chaotic situation, where I am sure that everyone has their ideas, and everyone has an opinion, as a family is in crisis and a young boy is desperate for release.
You can either view this as how we can have spiritual highs in one place, and spiritual lows in the next. I remember visiting one of the members of our churches, who has since passed away. Although it was sad, it was deeply important, and it left me feeling that I had done some good. She knew she had little time left. She recognised me. She said my name – and there was such appreciation in her voice. We prayed. We prayed against her fears. We prayed for her peace. Then I left the ward, to find a message pinged on my phone, and chaos unfolding at Westgate New Church on the day that we were expecting people for BoB, our lunchtime fellowship.
The problem half-way down the mountain was that the toilet floors were being replaced, the contractors were in, but somewhere along the line there had been ‘a communication issue’! To make things even more challenging, the contractors thought that we could work around them – but they struggled to understand our context. I mean, when we looked at the access we had, it would have meant asking those who come, and who use walking sticks and strollers to shimmy down the main corridor with their backs to the wall! And as for the kitchen floor that had been repurposed as a cutting station – we will say no more – there was nowhere for Suzanne to cook. What started out with good intentions descended into chaos – and then organised chaos as we had to cancel BoB.
There was a period of frantic activity as we tried to call round everyone before they boarded their local bus to reach us. And then we had to work out what had gone wrong. I should say that the story ends well. We have new toilet floors and a new kitchen floor. I think that is enough of an example of chaos down the mountain. I won’t even mention the tarmac lorry that arrived ahead of schedule the other day because another contractor was so pleased with the progress that they were making that they delivered early!
I should say thanks to Bernie for his work at Westgate New Church, and all those other property secretaries who help across our churches, and to our trustees. But here is the important point – when we survey the scene halfway down the mountain – whilst we can be frustrated, annoyed, trying to work out who arranged what, frantic in our efforts to sort everything, ultimately we will find a way through the chaos so long as we remember that we are routed in Jesus, that we treat each other with grace, and that we keep the main thing the main thing. Whilst BoB did not happen, every person knew that they were cared for. And those new toilet and kitchen floors are lovely! Remember that God is with you when you encounter chaos halfway down the mountain. Remember that how you behave when you are halfway down the mountain is crucial because it is a witness to others.
Another way of looking at this link is how the mountaintop is where the leaders gather – the mountaintop for us might be our Circuit Leadership Team, our Circuit Meeting, our Treasurers meeting, our Gathering, our Circuit Services – the places where the core gathers, and then down the mountain is where the rest of our churches are at. And communicating to the crowd is a nightmare because it is about the challenge, it is about the process, it is about the people, and it is about what we can, and cannot do, and it is about trying to involve as many as people as possible as we strive to discern how God is leading us to work together in the future. Some people are early on in that conversation. For others it is new.
And there are the insecurities. Shortly, the Circuit will be publishing the findings from our first gathering. These are really encouraging. To give you a teaser; we celebrate these Circuit Services and our involvement in Social Action are things we celebrate, we mourn Numbers at Worship, and our decline in membership but nonetheless celebrate new members that have joined us and become involved. People see music as being of deep significance to our Methodist identity, followed by Pastoral Groups, Social Action, and our link with Connexion and District in equal measure. But there were three written points that betray our fears – amongst the positives there was one written comment that I need to address – there were three but the other two – we need to act now, and we need to think through the scenarios, are in play, even though yes, I would prefer the future to be sorted in one nice, easy move.
The point – just one worrying comment, among many positives, is that we, as a circuit, already know what buildings are going to close. And by buildings what I think the person really meant was churches. (The feedback is anonymised to encourage people to be honest, open and transparent). That’s the fear that is getting in the way – the fear that someone somewhere will close your church. Well, allow me to assure you. Nothing is decided. More than that, there is not a boardroom where a group of directors make decisions that you are not involved in. There is no them and us. There is no church and circuit. We are all the circuit. The circuit meeting is filled with representatives from your churches; stewards, treasurers, and more.
There are exceptions, and they are not set by us – if your numbers fall or you cannot function, there is no option but to close or merge, but beyond that, you have the power. And think about it – none of us would want to force things – that would be counterproductive – we are One Body and we are rightly reluctant to cut off one bit because we say it is not needed. But we do need you to be honest and help us find a way forward that is sustainable. And I am hoping that because you have the security, you are better placed to ask yourselves the challenging questions. How might God have a better future for you? For your church?
We do need to act now. To which I respond, we are acting now, yes there is an urgency, we do have a plan – but informing and mobilising people takes time. We need your help. We need to help people understand and take people with us. Personally, I have a mix of vulnerability, and excitement about the future. I am mindful that we have people’s lives in our hands. I am mindful that we are dependent on people’s generosity. I can see where the future leads if things do not change. But God is a God of change.
Let’s revisit what Jesus says when he is confronted by the chaos.
Jesus comes down the mountain, he sees chaos, and at the heart of this chaos is the struggle that the disciples are having to bring healing to a young boy. He is clearly frustrated. I close with three lessons. First, he looks on the scene and declares:
You unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?
Now, I think that is a word to those of us who have caught the vision that God is doing a new thing but are frustrated in how difficult it is to communicate this to the crowd. The good news is that Jesus felt it. Take comfort in that. Take comfort in how the story ends, with a healing, but remember that you are not Jesus, and criticising people for their lack of faith, when you think you have it, is probably not a good idea! We need to take people with us. Note that Jesus’ focus is on a generation, a group of people, not just one or two. Mark 9:19
Second, Jesus affirms the importance of belief. Do you believe that Jesus can make a difference to your life, your church, your community. The father of the boy says he believes, but there is an element of unbelief there – ‘I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief’. Is that not true of us all? Mk 9:24
Third, Jesus talks about the importance of prayer. Leaving aside a complex look at healing and deliverance, it is prayer that focuses and changes the mood of the scene here. Prayer puts the focus on God rather than our wisdom. As I stand in the middle of lent, I am minded that our focus needs to be on prayer – and repentance, to allow God to work in us, see things God’s way, and to be open to change.
There is one final point. If you notice, Jesus tells Peter, James and John not to speak of the transfiguration until his death. He also tells people not to disclose that he is the Messiah. This is known as the Messianic Secret. My first thought was this was a strategy from Jesus to ensure that He is gossiped about – since when you ask some people to keep a secret, they think it so precious that they share it everywhere. But no, Jesus tells people to hold back – people will not understand his role, he is managing the timing of his death, he is wanting time to prepare the disciples and for their faith to grow, he does not want unwanted attention from the authorities.
You however can gossip as much as you like….
Tell people newcomers are finding a home with us.
Tell people how faith has guided and been precious to the faithful who have died.
Tell people how by working together we are helping people who face, illness, poverty, sickness, and injustice.
Tell people our churches are actively changing lives.
Tell people, despite the challenges, God’s support never wavers.
Tell people God will provide, but we will need to give something ourselves.
Tell people every prayer, every service, brings us closer to God’s vision.
Tell people every act of faithfulness truly counts.
Tell people with God, we risk nothing and stand to gain everything.
Tell people that God has a promising future for us.
Tell people we’re seeking God’s direction in every step we take.
Tell people that we have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
Tell people that just as Jesus died and rose again, we are being raised.
Amen