Sunday, March 1, 2026

Matthew 17:1-9 The Transfiguration

As soon as I looked through the readings I was given for this reflection, I knew I would have to include the beautiful note my dad wrote to my mom in the front of the New Testament he gave to her on their wedding day in 1981. He quoted the verses I have chosen to reflect on today from the Gospel of Matthew: “Jesus then came up to them, touched them, and said, ‘Stand up, do not be afraid.’ And when they raised their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.” My dad included a note saying, “The last two words are the ones which will bring you peace.” 

I don’t know if our world is actually any worse than it has ever been, or if it just seems that way because most of us live in relative comfort and have time to worry and dwell on the thousands of tragedies we are bombarded with through the 24 hour news cycle and social media. But things certainly do feel heavy a lot of the time.

Even if we eliminate the news and the outside world, we will continue to encounter difficulties in our everyday lives as well. The recent loss of three hockey players in the community where I work was a reminder that tragedy can strike at any time. We all deal with health issues, loss of relationships or loved ones, and a multitude of other struggles regularly.

I have written reflections about my dad before and anyone who knows me well will not be surprised by that. My dad was an Anglican priest, and the most pivotal model of a life of faith I have yet encountered. He has been gone for a long time, but sermons and bedtime conversations I had with him still resonate. I am grateful to have learned the love of Jesus through him. 

What better words could my dad, or the Bible, offer me today, in this crazy, fallen world, than ones that bring peace? What better words to reflect and meditate on during the season of Lent? What better words can I possibly offer you in this season of prayer and fasting? What change would we see in our lives and the world if we truly and deeply believed in this one thing? Jesus only. Jesus only. Jesus only.
 
Ceri Penner 
 
 No Not One   Paul Zach  

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Friday, February 27, 2026

Image
  Ezekiel 18:21-24, 30-32   But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live; they shall not die. . . .  Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live? But when the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity and do the same abominable things that the wicked do, shall they live? None of the righteous deeds that they have done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which they are guilty and the sin they have committed, they shall die.   . . .   . . Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, all of you according to your ways, says the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spi...
Read more

Ash Wednesday

Image
  The Conversion of St. Augustine by Fra Angelico   Daily Lectionary for Ash Wednesday The Lord remembers that we are dust . Psalm 103   “I didn’t know you were supposed to be mean for Lent.” So said one of my children around the age of ten after an Ash Wednesday service. They found my going around telling people that they were going to die, and quite literally rubbing it in, a little cruel. And to an age with childlike delusions of its own morality and immortality, the unvarnished, universal and personal conviction of sin and sentence of death in the marking of this day must seem mean. We would rather pretend otherwise.    “You are dust.” It reminds me of the contemporary idiom, “You’re toast.” But this dreadfully honest diagnosis is the first step in our healing. And I would commend healing to you as a new and ancient way of thinking about Lent. A 6th Century Office Hymn for Lent is titled Now is the Healing Time Decreed .   Ash Wednesday, Penitence, Len...
Read more