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Mountaintop Experiences
Luke 9:28-36
Jesus’ transfiguration is electric with mystery and anticipation.
On this last Sunday before Lent, we
appreciate that the Gospels place Jesus’ transfiguration a week after His first prediction of His suffering, rejection,
execution and resurrection in v. 22.
And shortly after this event, Jesus told His disciples, “The Son of Man is going
to be betrayed into human hands” (v.
44).
In verse 51, Jesus “set His face to go to Jerusalem” where these things
would become apparent.
So we are in a period of transition.
The word for transfiguration is similar to the word
“metamorphosis.”
Here it simply means to change visibly into another form.
This form was to give the disciples a
glimmer; literally, of the divine nature of Jesus as Peter had just witnessed to - that Jesus was the Messiah.
When we
see iconic images, faces we admire, we usually associate them with ideas.
For example:
- Rosa Parks is the face of Civil Disobedience
- Martin Luther King is the face of Civil Rights
- Lady Gaga ... Pop Culture
- Abraham Lincoln ... Freedom
- Einstein is the face of Science
- Shakespeare ... Literature
- Sigmund Freud ... Psychology
- Beethoven ... Music
- Elvis ... Rock 'n' Roll
When we see Jesus, what ideas do you associate with Him? Forgiveness, grace, wisdom, miracles,
suffering, death, resurrection…?
Can you think of others besides Jesus?
Actually, yes.
Moses.
Moses is the face
of "the law."
Elijah - is the face of "the prophets."
If we saw Moses chatting with Elijah, we could say, "The law
and the prophets compare notes."
If both of them were talking to Jesus, we might say, "The law and the prophets
listen to the Gospel."
And this brings us to a mountaintop where Peter, James and John are witnesses to a sort of
divine convergence, an historical union, a friendly agreement among friends.
Mountains were always mystical places in the Bible, a place where people got away, went up high, to get
closer to their Maker, to meet with God.
They were known as a retreat, a place to worship, some were called
monasteries.
On a vacation to Greece our group visited the Monastery of Great Me’-te-o-ron.
It is an Eastern
Orthodox monastery in central Greece.
It is situated on top of a rock called Meteora, which is over 1,360 feet above
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the valley floor.
In olden days the monks would have to raise themselves sitting in a basket from the floor of the
plain to the top of this mountain by use of a pulley system.
Can you imagine that, lifting yourself up with a pulley
system over 1000 feet in the air?
Everything had to get to the monastery by use of this basket; supplies and people
alike.
The day we were there it was not operational so we made it to the top, in a bus, on a goat trail.
I think that
was almost as frightening.
But it was a wonderful experience.
Mountaintop experiences are good for the soul.
We need a place to get away, to reflect, to be with God, to compose ourselves before we descend the mountaintop to
meet the world again, below.
In the Bible, we have a number of mountaintop experiences.
On Mount Moriah, Abraham assured his son,
Isaac, "The Lord will provide Himself a lamb."
On Mount Sinai, the Ten Commandments were given and the Law
of God was set in stone.
On Mount Carmel God and Baal had a contest, orchestrated by Elijah, and God won, hands
down; because Baal was probably asleep or in the bathroom - so the Bible tells us; and on Mount Zion, the place
where Yahweh, the God of Israel, dwells, Jesus is supposed to appear one day.
We have Mount Olivet, where the
Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday started, and finally, Mount Calvary, where Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins.
Mountains definitely have a place in our biblical history.
I would love to introduce and invite you to an Emmaus Walk I have led many times which many pilgrims
consider a mountaintop experience that we have at Sky Lake.
There were many more mountaintop experiences we
might all have had that could be mentioned today, but needless to say, these experiences give us a foundation that
such times and places are important in our spiritual journey.
On the mountain today, we have what the Church has called for generations, The Transfiguration.
Jesus
went to the mountaintop to pray.
This was a moment of retreat for Christ.
Peter, James, and John were invited to be
with Him.
Something special happens when you go to the mountaintop.
Moses went upon the mountaintop to pray
and when he returned, in Exodus 34:29-35, the Bible tells us that His face shone.
As Jesus prays, the appearance of
His face changes as well, and His clothes become dazzling white.
Now, Moses and Elijah, representatives from the Old Testament for the law and the prophets, appear "in
glory" with the now dazzling Jesus.
Luke tells us what the three are discussing - namely, the suffering and death that
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is to happen in Jerusalem, followed by a glorious resurrection.
Jesus' passion, His suffering, is validated by two of
the most powerful figures in Jewish history.
At this encounter of the greats, Peter makes quite a common remark, as
he offers the two guests food and drink.
This was their custom, especially with such luminaries as these guys.
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