Transfiguration Sunday
Mark 9:2-9
"Mountain Faith"
2* And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them,
3* and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus.
5* And Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
6* For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid.
7* And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
8 And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead.
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
We come to the time in the church year when we talk about mountain top experiences. Jesus takes three disciples to a high mountain top and Jesus become transfigured. He is changed. And then two figures appear with Him, Moses and Elijah. They speak to one another.
It is a grand experience. Peter wants to keep the experience alive by building three booths, or places of worship, so they could worship Jesus, Moses and Elijah. It was so grand of an experience.
Then a voice comes out of a cloud and says: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” God spoke to these disciples telling them once again that Jesus was His beloved Son. These words were similar to the words spoken at Jesus’ Baptism, remember what they said, Mark 1:11 "and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.” Notice that in the words on the mountain, God adds one request he says for the disciples to listen to Jesus. I don’t know if God said these words like a mother telling a child, "listen to me" being angry or commanding, or was it a gentile reminder, Disciples just listen to Him. What ever the case, God wanted the disciples to listen to Jesus.
Then it was all over. Jesus told them not to tell anyone and they were to go back down the mountain. There was no time to stay there and worship as Peter wanted. There was no time to stay isolated from the cares of the world below. No, they had to go back down the mountain.
The disciples wanted the experience to last, they wanted this special religious experience to last. They wanted to stay on top of the mountain away from the cares of the world.
I remember when Wanda and I took a vacation out west and we traveled to Pike’s Peak. It was a steep and winding road that led up to the top of that mountain. There we parked the car, got out and went to the observation platform and looked out in all directions. It was truly a wondrous sight.
Then all of a sudden a storm blew in. The wind started to blow, the rain came and the lightening started to flash in the sky. The guide yelled for everyone to come inside, but I was so enthralled by the beauty of the storm, that I lingered. I did not want to leave that great majesty that was all around me. Then, in an instant, lightning flashed again, just a few feet from where I stood, and I hurried into the shelter, still drawn by the beauty outside, but weary of the storm and its ill effects.
That mountain top experience was glorious. I wanted to stay.
The disciple wanted to stay. They wanted to stay isolated in their own religious experience like the campers in the following:
The Rev. Bob Stump tells about camping with his family: "One of our favorite parts of camping is sitting by the camp fire late into the evening. Its circle of light provides a wonderful setting for quiet conversation and warm fellowship."
Most of the other campers have their fires, too. They sit and have quiet conversation and warm fellowship in their own private circles of light. Rarely do the campers leave their circles of light and venture out into the darkness. And almost never do they venture from their own circles of light to invade another circle. Each camping group is content in its own circle of light, safe from the darkness and secluded from outsiders in its own exclusive fellowship."
The disciples wanted to be in their own ring of fire, in their own light . They did not want to venture out into the darkness. They wanted to remain safe on top of the mountain. I imagine that this experience did give the disciples some confidence in their decision to follow Jesus. They saw the religious people from the past talking with Jesus, they heard the voice of God talking to them about Jesus.
And many times we as Christians want that mountain top experience in our faith life. We want that glorious feeling of being with Christ. Some even demand it. Some even make those who do not feel that way feel guilty! We like the highs, we shun the lows.
Some Christians feel that if their life glorious, something is wrong with their faith. This theology of glory says that if you are not healthy, wealthy, feeling good because of Jesus then something is wrong, either with you or your faith. If you are with Jesus everything is good, great, glorious.
Jesus did not want to stay on top of the mountain. He said no to the mountain top experience. He is saying that it is good while it lasted, but we must not stay.
Jesus said no. We must go back down. We must go back down and continue my ministry. We must go back down and encounter all the brokenness of this world and bring a measure of grace to it. We must go, now!
The disciple were told by God to listen to Jesus. So they had no choice but to go back down.
They had to go back down the mountain to the people who were demanding to see Jesus. They had to go to the people who were experiencing the brokenness of this world. They went down so that Jesus could give a measure of His grace to those who were hurting.
Jesus wanted the disciples to have a faith that was not just a mountain faith, but a faith that endured the mountains.
A writer says;
But sometimes, the greatest faith is not the mountain moving kind of faith at all. Sometimes the greatest test of faith comes when you speak to the mountain and it doesn’t move. That is when God may speak to you and say, "I’m not going to move this mountain, but I will give you the strength to climb it." 1
A closing story speaks of mountain experiences and valley reality:
He was eighty-nine. She was eighty-six. They had lived as man and wife for sixty-five years. Every day he would get up, have breakfast, and hobble down to the bus stop, a book in his hand. He was headed for the nursing home, where his wife had been for four years. He hadn’t wanted to put her there, but when he had had a heart attack, he was forced into having her placed in a care facility. She was suffering from Alzheimer’s and was deteriorating very quickly.
He stepped off the bus, and walked the two blocks to the nursing home where his wife was. "I wonder how she is today," were his thoughts as he pushed the security buttons to get in. "I wonder if she’ll know me. She didn’t yesterday." A lump welled up in his throat as he recalled the many happy times he had shared with his beloved wife. Now she rarely recognized him. She sat limp in her chair, her eyes dull and distant. When he approached her to give her the usual kiss she recoiled, trying to push him away.
"Come on, my little Turtle Dove," he would say, taking her hand and squeezing in beside her on the love seat. "I’ve brought you your favorite book. What story should I read you today?" He watched as her eyes flickered. She moved her hand to touch the Children’ Bible Story Book he had brought with him. He turned the pages until she placed her hand on a picture. He smiled, taking her hand again. He had read her this story for four days in a row, but he didn’t mind. He started reading. "I am ’the Good Shepherd," the story began. It was the story of the little lost lamb that the Good Shepherd left the flock for, in order to rescue the wandering lamb.
He finished the story: "and the Good Shepherd carried the lamb back to the flock, wrapped its injured leg with a piece cloth, torn from his clothes, and laid it beside him, as he continued the night watching the flock. He saw her wipe a tear from her eyes. That was enough for him. He kissed her wrinkled face, which to him was still beautiful, and led her to her bed. She fussed a little, but he lay down beside her. Soon they were both asleep? Two hours later he sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and kissed his wife goodbye, promising, "I’ll see you again tomorrow, my wee Turtle Dove." 2
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale February 20, 2006
1 from [devotion] Inspiration On-Line
2 My Wee Turtle Dove © Helen Dowd
