The passage for this week sees Jesus having a dramatic encounter with God while praying at the top of a mountain (Mt 17:1-9). It is the story known as the Transfiguration. One reason why we do not have transformative experiences of this type is that we rarely break our routine and do our equivalent of Jesus-going-up-the-mountain. We tend to follow a regular pattern of behaviour, meet with a set group of people and spend our time in the same places. We can most easily vary our routine if we change what we feel about the physical spaces in which we live. It is easy to do, does not need anything so dramatic as a mountaintop to happen and can open up new ways of learning and understanding God. I create my own sacred space sitting quietly on my own in the bedroom while others are downstairs watching TV; sometimes I even light a candle. I go to my mountaintop without even leaving the house.

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