Sunday 15th February 2026

TRANSFIGURATION SUNDAY A 15th February 2026

A short act of worship and daily devotions

Opening Prayers

Sit down, close your eyes and breathe three deep, slow breaths.

Keeping your eyes closed – pay attention to your breath for a minute or more and in doing so, when you breathe in, imagine you are breathing in the love of God.

When you open your eyes look around you, what do you notice in your room that reminds you of the love of God?

If this is something you can hold, hold it, if it is to be looked at, look at it. As you do so, remember that you are in the presence of God.

When you are ready, offer this time of worship to God:

“Around me and within me, Spirit of God I thank you for your presence here. I offer each breath in worship to you. Amen.”

You may now wish to say the Lord’s Prayer in a version or translation with which you are familiar

Reading: Matthew 17:1-9 – Click for reading

Responding to the reading

The mountaintop moments in Scripture often hold a kind of sacred drama: burning bushes, commandments carved in stone, divine whispers in the silence. But the Transfiguration is something else entirely.

Here, on the mountain, Jesus is suddenly radiant, his face shining like the sun, his clothes dazzling white. And standing beside him are Moses and Elijah: the lawgiver and the prophet, symbols of a deep and ancient faith.

For a moment, the disciples (Peter, James, and John) see with new eyes. They see Jesus not just as a teacher or healer, but as something more: as the meeting point between heaven and earth. As the one who holds the wisdom of the past and the hope of the future in his very being.

Peter, overwhelmed, wants to build something to contain the moment. He wants to stay in the glory. But then a voice from the cloud interrupts:

“This is my Son, the Beloved… listen to him.”

Not look at him, not worship the moment, but listen to him.

It’s a command that pulls the disciples, and us, back to the heart of discipleship.

This passage is a reminder that faith isn’t about clinging to spiritual highs or spiritual certainty, but about learning to listen, carefully, prayerfully, continually, to the voice of Christ. And that voice often leads us back down the mountain. Into the messy, hurting, beautiful world we’re called to love.

Jesus doesn’t stay on the mountaintop. He returns to the crowds, the questions, the conflict, and the cross. The dazzling moment fades, but the journey continues. And that’s where transformation takes root: not in the extraordinary, but in how we live the ordinary with compassion, courage, and grace.

So today, ask yourself:

• Where are the mountaintop moments in your own life, those times of clarity, wonder, or insight?

• How might you be tempted to stay there, instead of bringing what you’ve seen back down into your relationships, your work, your community?

• What might it look like to truly listen to Jesus in this season, not just with your ears, but with your life?

  
  

The voice from the cloud didn’t say “understand him” or “agree with him in every detail.” It said listen. That kind of listening is active. It’s relational. It’s transformative.

May we climb when we need to, descend when we must, and follow Christ with open hearts and attentive spirits, trusting that the light we glimpse on the mountain is meant to guide us in the valleys, too.

Hymn/Song 20 STF – Be still, for the presence of the Lord – YouTube

Blessing

Go out, transformed,

Go out, because you have seen the light,

Go out and let the light shine from you, from your words, your actions, your thoughts, That all might be blessed by the Christ-light in you. Amen.

____________________________________________________________________Prayers and Prayer Pointers For This Week

Monday 16th February

• The USA marks today as ‘National Religious Freedom Day’, and there is much to celebrate here about our own and many other people’s ability to worship and gather in safety and peace.

• However, we know that is not the case for everyone, including in some of our own communities – people feel judged, excluded or even endangered because of their own religious identify.

• May we pray and work for safety, freedom and inclusion, wherever we find ourselves this week.

  
  

Tuesday 17th February

• The Church of England marks today as the feast day of Charles Gore, who was Bishop of Oxford in the early part of the twentieth century. He is a preeminent Anglican thinker and theologian, who helped to develop a tradition of social action and justice seeking, including founding the Christian Social Union.

• You might like to give thanks for the heritage on which we stand, and use today’s prayer time to say prayers of gratitude for those who have helped to shape and inspire your journey of faith.

  
  

Wednesday 18th February

• Pour a glass of water. Think about the things you do that get in the way of your relationship with God. You might think it muddies the water of your life, but God forgives us for all these things, and offers us living water. Drink some of the water and give thanks for the way God reaches out to you with love and forgiveness.

  
  

Thursday 19th February

• Write a note or a message to a friend with a Bible verse in it that you think might be relevant to your life. Tell them you’re thinking of them, and pray about them as they receive it.

  
  

Friday 20th February

• This is the date of most recent US Presidential inaugurations (Kennedy, Obama, Biden, Trump and others were all inaugurated on 20th February).

• Use this as an opportunity to pray for global leaders, and those who advise and guide them. May they see their role as enabling our common life together and striving for peace and fullness of life for all people.

  
  

Saturday 21st February

• Think about the fruits of the spirit. Pick one of them that you don’t feel you are very good at, or that needs some intentional work. Spend some time praying about this, and then practice it for a whole day in all you do.