Worship for 28th February 2021

“Vision for the way of life with Jesus’’

“You are the Messiah!”, Peter boldly announced… and Jesus began to tell them that he would suffer many terrible things.

It doesn’t say it, but you can all but hear Peter: “Sorry, what Lord?!  Maybe you misunderstood.  I said you are the Messiah.  That’s not what is supposed to happen at all!”

This was not what they understood the plan for Messiah was, or the One they thought they needed.  Surely Messiah was supposed to come in great victory and become king, not end up being tortured and killed.  But God had a very different plan that nobody had ever imagined.  Understandably, Peter and the disciples were shocked, confused, maybe scared again and worried about Jesus.

And it went on as Jesus talked about anyone following him needing to give up their selfish ambitions, their whole life to follow him – Complete self-sacrifice to live for Jesus.

Another “Jesus rollercoaster”!  Elation and excitement, then back to earth with a challenge and a bump.

I don’t know about you, but life following Jesus often seems like that for me too.  Just when I think I’ve understood what God is calling to next and I’m starting to “get my head round it”, I find I’ve misread the situation and He reveals another way altogether.  Often it also involves sacrifice – giving up of loved, comfortable and familiar things that feel safe, occasionally people too.  Moving on with God means letting go of earthly (other) things and I’m not always sure I want to do that.

Even so, God is faithful to encourage and equip and, despite the challenges, there is much good along the way and Jesus never gives us up.  He is our “treasure” worth giving everything for (Matt 13:44).

I added the story of the transfiguration to the end of today’s set reading because it follows immediately on.  Having given them a few days to mull over his version of Messiah and following, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up the mountain where God reveals more of who Jesus really is – “the Son, whom I love”.

Whoosh!  There goes that rollercoaster again!  Back up to the heights of glory and wonder.

For the rest of his life Peter drew such great encouragement from their experience of being in God’s presence with Jesus on the mountain.  His faith and relationship with Jesus served to steady his sense of life, particularly when later he wrote to the early church in time of struggle and suffering… “Remember who Jesus really is!”  (2 Peter 1:16-19)

Our Lent course, A Methodist Way of Life, offers some practical values to help us keep a well-balanced personal Christian discipleship, moving forward, following Jesus in all aspects of daily life.  The booklet we’ve sent out, “Finding the Way” is about this Methodist Way of Life.  It’s not too late to join in with our Lent 4-week introduction course or to catch up following the booklet for yourself.  It’s a good means of reflecting on and renewing our discipleship… following Jesus.

In these uncertain and disorientating days, it is all the more important to remember who Jesus really is, the Son of the almighty living God who is ‘able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine’  AND… whether we end up leaving everything behind, or simply adjusting our priorities over that one thing that is getting in the way of our growing closer to God, as Wesley used to say: “The best of all, God is with us”.