Mountain Top Experiences
Just to ‘fess up, this was originally my sermon for Transfiguration Sunday, February 14. The Gospel lesson for that day was Luke 9:28-43.
Jesus went up to the mountain and was transformed. That is an experience that I understand. No, I did not have a revelation or epiphany during the weeks when I have been snowed in at the Garden.
I’m actually referring to the last weekend of January when I went to Eagle Eyrie camp for the Virginia Synod’s Winter Celebration event. Now as someone from Michigan, who is actually used to getting this much snow, we celebrated winter that weekend, twelve to sixteen inches of winter. Winter Celebration is one of several youth events put on by the Virginia Synod as faith building, sustaining, nurturing events for youth. I strongly encourage the youth to go to these events, and I encourage adults to go as chaperones or as small group leaders. There is something about getting away from your everyday life, going up a mountain, (the camp where most of the events are held, Eagle Eyrie Virginia Baptist Conference Center is on a mountain just outside of Lynchburg) and spending a few days talking about God. It gives you a chance to unwind, distress and change your focus from what you think is important to what is important to God, which is you.
Now on our travels there, we manage to get there before and leave after the first of our recent gifts of snow. But we got to trek up and down the camp in the foot plus of powder they received. We got to hear powerful stories of how God has been there in the ‘unlikely events’ of the lives of the high school seniors who planned the details of this event. We were able to discuss how their stories and the Scriptural lessons they referred to spoke to us, how they reminded us of something in our lives, or in the lives of friends and families. We realized that our faith is a journey, sometimes it is strong and steadfast and sometimes it is a struggle and a tussle. We accepted that our faith is summed up in the first words of each petition of the Apostles or Nicene Creeds, “I believe” or “We believe.” Our faith is both intensely private and personal, but also public, communal and global; it is both internal reflection and an outward direction.
That weekend served to give me a “booster shot.” It helped to remind me that my plans for my future are simply my hopes and how they may relate to God’s plans may be only a coincidence. It reassured me of some things I needed reassuring with.
But one of the things I had to deal with after this wonderful weekend was coming back to the real world. That’s when my fun started. As we were getting ready to leave after Steven’s dad had picked him up, my battery died. They gave my car a jump, and I started the drive up to the Garden. While the road up the mountain was a little slick, I was driving carefully and the roads were pretty clear. Then I began the trek up my driveway. Now, the house I’m using is at the top of a hill in the middle of the Garden and has a gravel driveway. It is almost ½ a mile long, and is almost all up hill. And that Sunday night, it was covered with 7 inches of fine, undisturbed snow. Even in four-wheel drive, my Blazer got stuck right at the base of the driveway. And so with that, I was brought down from my mountain top experience and back into the real world.
Today’s Gospel lesson reminded me of that. Just days after the feeding of the 5,000, just days after Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah, just days after Jesus tells his disciples that the Son of Man will be killed and be raised from the dead on the third day, Jesus takes Peter, John and James with him to a mountain top to pray. While on that mountaintop, they are met by others. Elijah and Moses appear, and Jesus appearance is changed. His face changes and his clothes become a brilliant white. While the three disciples are in awe, the three men talk of Jesus’ exodus. Imagine the impact of hearing that word if you were among the original hearers of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus, the man you have been hearing so much about, the man who you have been told is the promised Messiah, the Christ, is visited by Moses and Elijah. They talk about his exodus, his departure, and his journey to the Promised Land, his leaving of this world. Right here, with this story, you realize that the arrest, trial, torture, crucifixion and death of Jesus was not something planned by men. Jesus death was planned by God. Jesus came to Earth to die, to die for the Sin of the world, for my sins, your sins, for the sins of all. But he also came to Earth, became a man so that he could be raised three days later, to show that God, not Death, has the final word. Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man, the Messiah, the Christ was born to die and to be raised.
Now if you think that by what the original listeners heard with the verses earlier in chapter 9, the events of the days preceding the trip up the mountain, and what realizations were starting to sink into them about the nature of Jesus and his life and ministry, think about what must be going around in the minds of the disciples. Our teacher, who has called us to follow him, who has sent us out, whom we have seen do wondrous, miraculous things, is talking to Moses and Elijah. They are talking about ‘his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.’ [Luke 9.31] Jesus had told them he was going to be killed, and then be raised. Peter came to understand that Jesus is the promised Messiah. All of this is going through their minds. What does it all mean? How can this be, that our Messiah is going to go to Jerusalem and be killed by the leaders of our religion, of our faith? Then there is this ‘be raised on the third day.’ [Luke 9.22] What does that mean? So I fully understand Peter’s reaction, “Hey, let’s just stay here. We can build some houses, It’s good that we stay here.”
I understand Peter’s reaction. Because, I didn’t want the Winter Celebration weekend to end. I wanted to keep going. All of the kids in my group were sharing of themselves (which is a major accomplishment – not because of anything I did – but because the topic and stories spoke to them) and our faith was being fed. We were growing, growing in our faith, growing together; why would we want to leave. ‘It is good for us to be here.’
But they had to come down off the mountain, and we had to come home from the event. Then real life comes back in our face. I had to walk almost ½ a mile uphill in all of that snow. Jesus came down from the mountain and has a great crowd rush to him and surround him. Immediately, a man is begging for his help, wanting him to save his son from a demon. Then Jesus, who has explained to his disciples what is happening and what is to happen, only to find that they don’t get it; then, Jesus, who has performed miracle after miracle, healing after healing, and finds that there are still more begging for help; then, Jesus vents. ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?’ [Luke 9.41]
Have you had that type of day? Things are going good, things are going well. You’ve had a great morning at work or at home. You are getting things done, and you are doing them well. You are sailing through the day. You are unstoppable. You are en fuego. Then at lunch, you spill spaghetti sauce on your white shirt, your ink pen leaks, the customer from heck walks in. And your wonderful day, your mountain top experience re-enters the real world.
The glory of God changes a person. The glory of God changes you. Being in the actual presence of God physically changes you. Moses’ face shone so brightly that he wore a veil so as to not frighten the Israelites. When we experience God, whether it is here in worship, or whether it is in private prayer and meditation, whether it is through the actions of another, or even through our own actions, guided by the Holy Spirit, when we experience God, we are transformed and transfigured. We may not be changed visibly, but we are changes spiritually. When we encounter the glory of God, we are forever changed. We are not pliable enough to snap back to our original state. When we are pulled or moved or torn, we remain that way. A mind that is exposed to new and different things, that grows in knowledge can not return to its prior dimensions. A heart that expands to love and show love never returns to its previous size. A soul opened to receive the eternal and infinite grace of God can never go back to the way it was before.
Whenever we have that mountaintop experience, when the goodness, the grace and the glory of God is put right in our face, when we realize what an awesome God we serve, when we begin to glimpse the kingdom and reign of God, when we come to understand what the Creeds say that we believe, when what it means for God's only Son, to be conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell. On the third day he rose again; and he ascended into heaven. Whenever that happens, we think ‘It is good for us to be here,’ and we want to stay. But we must come down from the mountaintop, we must come out from behind the veil as Paul writes, we must return to the real world.
But we re-enter the world transformed. We re-enter the world forever changed. And our work is to transform and be forever changing. We have been transformed so we can transform others. We have been changed so that we can change others. We have been blessed so we can be a blessing to others. As Paul writes, ‘And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. ... Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness.’ [2 Corinthians 3:18-4:1, 3:12]
Jesus went up to the mountain and was transformed. That is an experience that I understand. No, I did not have a revelation or epiphany during the weeks when I have been snowed in at the Garden.
I’m actually referring to the last weekend of January when I went to Eagle Eyrie camp for the Virginia Synod’s Winter Celebration event. Now as someone from Michigan, who is actually used to getting this much snow, we celebrated winter that weekend, twelve to sixteen inches of winter. Winter Celebration is one of several youth events put on by the Virginia Synod as faith building, sustaining, nurturing events for youth. I strongly encourage the youth to go to these events, and I encourage adults to go as chaperones or as small group leaders. There is something about getting away from your everyday life, going up a mountain, (the camp where most of the events are held, Eagle Eyrie Virginia Baptist Conference Center is on a mountain just outside of Lynchburg) and spending a few days talking about God. It gives you a chance to unwind, distress and change your focus from what you think is important to what is important to God, which is you.
Now on our travels there, we manage to get there before and leave after the first of our recent gifts of snow. But we got to trek up and down the camp in the foot plus of powder they received. We got to hear powerful stories of how God has been there in the ‘unlikely events’ of the lives of the high school seniors who planned the details of this event. We were able to discuss how their stories and the Scriptural lessons they referred to spoke to us, how they reminded us of something in our lives, or in the lives of friends and families. We realized that our faith is a journey, sometimes it is strong and steadfast and sometimes it is a struggle and a tussle. We accepted that our faith is summed up in the first words of each petition of the Apostles or Nicene Creeds, “I believe” or “We believe.” Our faith is both intensely private and personal, but also public, communal and global; it is both internal reflection and an outward direction.
That weekend served to give me a “booster shot.” It helped to remind me that my plans for my future are simply my hopes and how they may relate to God’s plans may be only a coincidence. It reassured me of some things I needed reassuring with.
But one of the things I had to deal with after this wonderful weekend was coming back to the real world. That’s when my fun started. As we were getting ready to leave after Steven’s dad had picked him up, my battery died. They gave my car a jump, and I started the drive up to the Garden. While the road up the mountain was a little slick, I was driving carefully and the roads were pretty clear. Then I began the trek up my driveway. Now, the house I’m using is at the top of a hill in the middle of the Garden and has a gravel driveway. It is almost ½ a mile long, and is almost all up hill. And that Sunday night, it was covered with 7 inches of fine, undisturbed snow. Even in four-wheel drive, my Blazer got stuck right at the base of the driveway. And so with that, I was brought down from my mountain top experience and back into the real world.
Today’s Gospel lesson reminded me of that. Just days after the feeding of the 5,000, just days after Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah, just days after Jesus tells his disciples that the Son of Man will be killed and be raised from the dead on the third day, Jesus takes Peter, John and James with him to a mountain top to pray. While on that mountaintop, they are met by others. Elijah and Moses appear, and Jesus appearance is changed. His face changes and his clothes become a brilliant white. While the three disciples are in awe, the three men talk of Jesus’ exodus. Imagine the impact of hearing that word if you were among the original hearers of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus, the man you have been hearing so much about, the man who you have been told is the promised Messiah, the Christ, is visited by Moses and Elijah. They talk about his exodus, his departure, and his journey to the Promised Land, his leaving of this world. Right here, with this story, you realize that the arrest, trial, torture, crucifixion and death of Jesus was not something planned by men. Jesus death was planned by God. Jesus came to Earth to die, to die for the Sin of the world, for my sins, your sins, for the sins of all. But he also came to Earth, became a man so that he could be raised three days later, to show that God, not Death, has the final word. Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man, the Messiah, the Christ was born to die and to be raised.
Now if you think that by what the original listeners heard with the verses earlier in chapter 9, the events of the days preceding the trip up the mountain, and what realizations were starting to sink into them about the nature of Jesus and his life and ministry, think about what must be going around in the minds of the disciples. Our teacher, who has called us to follow him, who has sent us out, whom we have seen do wondrous, miraculous things, is talking to Moses and Elijah. They are talking about ‘his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.’ [Luke 9.31] Jesus had told them he was going to be killed, and then be raised. Peter came to understand that Jesus is the promised Messiah. All of this is going through their minds. What does it all mean? How can this be, that our Messiah is going to go to Jerusalem and be killed by the leaders of our religion, of our faith? Then there is this ‘be raised on the third day.’ [Luke 9.22] What does that mean? So I fully understand Peter’s reaction, “Hey, let’s just stay here. We can build some houses, It’s good that we stay here.”
I understand Peter’s reaction. Because, I didn’t want the Winter Celebration weekend to end. I wanted to keep going. All of the kids in my group were sharing of themselves (which is a major accomplishment – not because of anything I did – but because the topic and stories spoke to them) and our faith was being fed. We were growing, growing in our faith, growing together; why would we want to leave. ‘It is good for us to be here.’
But they had to come down off the mountain, and we had to come home from the event. Then real life comes back in our face. I had to walk almost ½ a mile uphill in all of that snow. Jesus came down from the mountain and has a great crowd rush to him and surround him. Immediately, a man is begging for his help, wanting him to save his son from a demon. Then Jesus, who has explained to his disciples what is happening and what is to happen, only to find that they don’t get it; then, Jesus, who has performed miracle after miracle, healing after healing, and finds that there are still more begging for help; then, Jesus vents. ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?’ [Luke 9.41]
Have you had that type of day? Things are going good, things are going well. You’ve had a great morning at work or at home. You are getting things done, and you are doing them well. You are sailing through the day. You are unstoppable. You are en fuego. Then at lunch, you spill spaghetti sauce on your white shirt, your ink pen leaks, the customer from heck walks in. And your wonderful day, your mountain top experience re-enters the real world.
The glory of God changes a person. The glory of God changes you. Being in the actual presence of God physically changes you. Moses’ face shone so brightly that he wore a veil so as to not frighten the Israelites. When we experience God, whether it is here in worship, or whether it is in private prayer and meditation, whether it is through the actions of another, or even through our own actions, guided by the Holy Spirit, when we experience God, we are transformed and transfigured. We may not be changed visibly, but we are changes spiritually. When we encounter the glory of God, we are forever changed. We are not pliable enough to snap back to our original state. When we are pulled or moved or torn, we remain that way. A mind that is exposed to new and different things, that grows in knowledge can not return to its prior dimensions. A heart that expands to love and show love never returns to its previous size. A soul opened to receive the eternal and infinite grace of God can never go back to the way it was before.
Whenever we have that mountaintop experience, when the goodness, the grace and the glory of God is put right in our face, when we realize what an awesome God we serve, when we begin to glimpse the kingdom and reign of God, when we come to understand what the Creeds say that we believe, when what it means for God's only Son, to be conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell. On the third day he rose again; and he ascended into heaven. Whenever that happens, we think ‘It is good for us to be here,’ and we want to stay. But we must come down from the mountaintop, we must come out from behind the veil as Paul writes, we must return to the real world.
But we re-enter the world transformed. We re-enter the world forever changed. And our work is to transform and be forever changing. We have been transformed so we can transform others. We have been changed so that we can change others. We have been blessed so we can be a blessing to others. As Paul writes, ‘And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. ... Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness.’ [2 Corinthians 3:18-4:1, 3:12]
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