It is good for us to be here

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The Transfiguration of the Lord


At the bottom of the mount of Transfiguration there are a number of taxis waiting to take pilgrims up the mountain. They drivers drive very fast and the roads are very narrow and on the side I was sitting all you can see is the sheer drop to a valley which I later found out to be the valley of Armageddon. Very ironic I thought later. So the words of St Peter in todays Gospel meant a lot to me when we arrived on the top “ Lord it is good for us to be here” and I added under my breath “Alive.” 

But those words by St Peter are something that I have been thinking about over the last few weeks. When friends ask me what it is like in Brighton I say it is good to be here it is a wonderful and diverse place. But  for St Peter the phrase I realise that what he actually meant was it is good to be with the Lord to be in his presence and see his glory. Peter was over come with emotion I am sure and struggled to find the words of what he had just seen and witnessed. For they had seen and heard something really quite amazing. They had been walking up the mountain for some days and I am sure that they were tired by the time they arrived and there on the mountain they were able to see the glory of God not just in the beauty of the place but also the world around them. It was here that the Peter, James and John really understood who Jesus was he was the fulfilment between the Prophet and the Law represented by Moses and Elijah

For us also “ It is wonderful for us to be here” We see the Lord . In a most remarkable way in the Eucharist in the Mass we not only see him in the miracle of the altar but we taste and see as well he enters into us in a remarkable way. We hear the Lord speak to us in the word of God the word proclaimed every Sunday. This sustains us and keeps us going for another week. It is wonderful therefore for us to be here in the presence of the one who loves us so very much.  And when we have found his presence we want to spend as much time as possible in that presence.

But we cannot be in the Church 24 hours of the day to gaze and be in his presence therefore I think that we can be in his presence and feel his loving gaze around us at other times of our lives. When I take a walk on the sea front of when I See people laughing and enjoying each others company when I see a baby or when comforting people in grief Jesus presence is there. We just need the eyes sometimes to see it. So it is possible to always be reminded of his presence being always with us and around us. Let us therefore this week look ever harder for the presence of Jesus in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

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