Mountains and Valleys

Intro

Robert Frost

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

I. Purpose of the Mountain

Mountains play a large part in the history of Israel. It was on a mountain that Abraham proved his faith in God in preparing to offer his son Isaac to God as a sacrifice. It was on a mountain top that God showed Abraham all the land of Canaan and promised him all he could see in every direction. It was on a mountain that Moses encountered God for the first time and then later received the 10 commandments; and on the same mountain God later revealed himself to Moses. It was on a mountain that Elijah overcame the prophets of Baal and on a different mountain again that he encountered God himself. And of course Jerusalem was established on Mt Zion. So it’s not by chance that Jesus takes his inner circle up a mountain to witness what will be a most significant moment in their apprenticeship.

He takes them up a high mountain by themselves. This is not for the crowds to witness – not even for the other 9 disciples. This is an event that’s mainly for him but that needs to be witnessed by these three so they can tell people about it after his resurrection.

While they’re there, - Mark tells us that it’s while Jesus is praying, - he’s transfigured before them. That is, his face begins to shine and his clothes become dazzling white.

The implication is that this is a manifestation of the glory of God in Jesus. The shining face is like the change that came over Moses when he’d been speaking to God on Mt Sinai.

What’s happening is that the three disciples are given a brief glimpse of a reality beyond their human experience, a hint of the true nature of this Jesus that they’ve only recently proclaimed to be the Messiah.

II. Problem of Perception

Have you ever been in a group of people where someone told a joke and everyone else laughed except you?

You're thinking: "I don't get it. I missed the point."

Or perhaps you are in a group of people where someone makes a point and everyone else nods their head in agreement--except you?

"I don't get it. I missed the point."

That’s where Peter is on the Mountain he’s there but he’s missing the point he has a problem of perception.

Peter perceives this to be the culmination of Jesus’ work. But as we read the account we realize just how inadequate such a gesture would have been.

Just as God had forbidden the use of idols because no idol could possibly represent his power and glory, so no memorial could possibly capture the significance and wonder of what was happening here?

And that’s a problem of the human condition, our mountainy mountain top experience causes us to have a perception that does not line up with our reality.

Moses had a mountain top experience with God where God allowed Moses to see his back… an experience where he was in the powerful presence of God.

And Moses could have perceived that moment as the culmination of his life’s work but his perception of that moment would have given him a false sense of reality. In reality his people were rebelling and building idols.

God will at times allow us to have mountain top experiences showing us what could be. But if we are not careful our perception of the momentary experience can distort our sense of reality and we will find ourselves living in a fantasy while denying our reality.

Oh that was a lot so let me see if I can make it a little more real for us.

Over that past few days we’ve seen all kinds of protest across this country and even around the world. In every major city in this country black and white people have join together chanting black lives matter.

The other day Facebook posted an alert that every user had to respond to… black lives matter

I’m a Harley Davidson rider the other day Harley Davidson posted their support of blacks and the need for justice.

Those who play Call of Duty noticed that the game designer posted an alert to all users… black lives matter.

The Mayur of DC made a symbolic gesture changing the name a portion of 16th Street to Black Lives Plaza.

Roger Goodel the NFL commissioner publicly announced that the NFL was wrong not the listen to the players protest for justice.

Cities all over this country began pulling down confederate memorials.

Just yesterday we saw one of the largest demonstrations in our country’s history.

But if we are not careful this momentary mountain top experience will suffer from the problem of human perception.

III. Power In the Valley

If we want to see the momentary power of the mountain top become reality we must be comfortable leaving the excitement of the moment on the mountain top and descent into the valley where the power lies.

You need to understand that Peter’s desire to build tents on the mountain would have kept Jesus in that moment.

But I’m so glad that Jesus showed Peter that there was power in the valley.

Jesus showed Peter that it’s in the valley the blinded eyes are open.

Jesus showed Peter that it’s in the valley that the sick get healed.

Jesus showed Peter that it’s in the valley that lame begin to walk.

Jesus showed Peter that it’s in the valley that the oppressed get liberated.