Talks, Sermons and Reflections

BATTLE OF BRITAIN It is a real privilege to be able to celebrate this service with you today. We come to give thanks to God for those who fought in the Battle of Britain, for the outcome of that battle, and also to give thanks for those - who, in that same spirit - have continued to serve in the Royal Air Force. And we have here men and women who have served with the RAF regiment and with the USAF in Iraq and Afghanistan. We give thanks to God for you and for your families. And we also remember before God those who have given their lives, and their families. And on behalf of this town and church I wish to say that we are immensely proud to be associated with you. I am not sure that the role of this particular service is to honour victory. Please do not get me wrong. Of course we give real thanks to God for the victory in 1940. It was the first major defeat of the war for Hitler, and it meant the invasion of this island was put off indefinitely. Certainly, the consequences for

THE TRANSFIGURATION Mark 9:2-13 There are moments, often extremely rare, when the scales fall away and we see reality as it is. It is a bit like looking through a microscope or telescope. What we thought was a blob suddenly appears transformed into something wonderful. Well, in a sort of way, that is what happens here. Peter, James and John are given a glimpse of reality, of ultimate reality. Most commentators agree that Jesus, in Mark's gospel, is trying to get over two key points about himself: 1. He is the messiah, the Son of God. 2. He is not a wonder working messiah, but a messiah who has come to save people, and that he will save people through his death on the cross Mark 8:31, and this may have been pointed out last week, is a turning point in Mark's gospel. Peter has suddenly realised it: his eyes have been opened. He is able to confess that Jesus is the Messiah (v29). But Jesus commands the disciples not to tell people because they've still only got half of the me