The Transfiguration: On the Mountain BUT Living in the Valley

This morning, we have been presented with two mountaintop experience stories. The first being the revelation of the law to Moses in the 10 Commandments and how his face shown as he brought those tablets before the Israelites in the desert. The second experience that we have is when Jesus, standing before his beloved disciples, is transfigured and revealed to be God’s Son one more time .

I want to reflect a bit on these experiences but I don’t want us to get caught up so much in the joy and excitement that those who have experienced these mountaintop experiences might have felt and here is why…would you agree with me if I said that we have all had at least one time in our own lives when something went really well, where there was no turmoil or anxiety, and we were truly and totally relaxed, at peace, and utterly happy? Just to frame this question a bit, here are a few examples of what I mean...It could be the day you graduated from high school, college, or graduate school; it could be the day you got married or asked your significant other to marry you, it could be the day your first or last child was born or any of your children for that matter; it could the day you started your first job…it was a moment when everything seemed right in your life…can anyone say that you have experienced this at least once in your life? And for those of us who have had these types of experiences, would you also say that in that moment, you wanted it to last forever…it was just one of those moments that you did not want to end...

Now, let me ask you this question…did any of these experiences last forever? No, probably not. Our lives moved forward and we, just to keep up with time some days, needed to come down off that mountain…Jesus understood that we need to be living somewhere other than on the top of the mountain so that others could also be lead to their own mountain top experience. Before I get too far ahead of myself, in the next few moments, let’s look at the story a little bit so that we can digest what it is that is really happening here...

The Story

Before we start with the story, I need to make a really quick note…the story that Luke tells us this morning is one of those rare moments we were just talking about, one of those mountaintop experiences of life, which somehow defy adequate description and challenge us to stretch our concept of reality to the point that we usually wind up asking the question, "Did this really happen?" However, it is events such as the Transfiguration that connect us with the mystery of creation and eternity. For Jesus it was a time of confirmation and affirmation of his ministry. For Peter, James, and John it was a brief glimpse of an awe-inspiring moment, a peek at the reality that lies just beyond everyday life.

With that being said, here’s a really brief recap of what we heard Luke tell us...Jesus has taken his three closest disciples up on top of this mountain in the the Galilean countryside to pray. He knew he needed a moment to get away and to have a conversation with God and he wanted these three disciples to experience what it would be like to be in God’s presence. All of the details of what happened on that mountain are not as important for us to understand. But, it is important for us to understand that for Peter, James, and John it was extremely important for them to experience this because they still had doubts about Jesus and what it was that they were to be ultimately called to do. Some of what they do on that mountain tells us that they did not fully get it. Even though they were with Jesus 24/7 for many months now, they still did not fully accept Jesus as God’s son…I think some of us can relate to this in our own lives.

But I am getting away from what we need for this morning…here’s what I want us to hear and take hold of for today...while they are on that mountain, something incredible happens…Jesus’ appearance changes and he becomes brilliantly en-robed in white. Jesus not only becomes as bright as a flash of lightning, all four of them are encased in a cloud. They are having this moment of pure joy and pleasure. Much like I am sure many of us would feel, they don’t want this feeling to end. They want to stay there forever. In fact, that is what Peter suggests. He says...

Luke 9:33 NIV

As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

Peter wanted that feeling to last forever and he wanted the ability to be able to come back to this mountain, to see Moses and Elijah, and to have a place for them to stay while they are there. I mean think about it, when we have had experiences of pure joy and pleasure, don’t we want to set up a place where we can come back and experience that moment over and over again? We want to hang on to that moment for as long as we can. "Let’s just stay right here and let the rest of the world go by for a while," we say. But to freeze that one moment in time shuts off the possibility of the next moment, which could ultimately lead us to our next mountaintop experience. However, we must come down. There are things that we must do...

Because, We Live in the Valley...

Here’s what I want us to understand and what Jesus understood very clearly, we must remember to live in the valley…to explain what I mean a little better, theologian and professor, Fred Craddock tells a wonderful story about a young minister, newly graduated from seminary, serving his very first church. This pastor gets a call telling him that a church member, an elderly woman who has given her whole life to the church, is in the hospital. She’s so weak she can’t even get up out of bed, and the doctors don’t hold much hope for her recovery. And he was asked if he would go up and visit the woman in the hospital? Like all good pastors, he went to visit.

All the way to the hospital he’s thought about what he would say to this lady, what words of comfort he would give her to prepare her for her eminent death. After visiting with her for a bit, just chatting about things, nothing earth shattering at all, he gets ready to leave. So, he asks if she would like him to have prayer with her. She answers, "Yes, of course. That’s why I wanted you to come."

He then asks politely, "And what exactly would you like me to pray for?"

"Why, I want you to pray that God will heal me," she answers in a surprised tone of voice.

Haltingly, fumbling over the words, he prays just as she wanted, that God will heal her, even though he’s not really sure that can happen. When he says the "Amen" at the end of the prayer, the woman says, "You know, I think it worked! I think I’m healed!" And she gets out of the bed and begins to run up and down the hallway of the hospital, shouting, "Praise God! I’m healed! Praise God! I’m healed!"

Meanwhile, the young minister, in a stupor, stumbles to the stairwell, walks down five flights of stairs, makes his way to the parking lot and somehow manages to find his car. As he fumbles to get his keys out of his pocket, he looks heavenward and says, "Don’t you ever do that to me again!" He had a mountaintop moment, but he didn’t know what to do with it!

God had lead him to that place and he was able to experience that emotional and spiritual high, however, the minute he stepped outside that hospital, that moment had come to an end...

What Does It Mean to Live in the Valley?

For many people of Jesus’ time and ours today, living on that mountain is not an option. You see, the same Jesus who leads us to those spiritual high places also leads us to care for the hurting, for broken-hearted children, to minister to the homeless; to bind up the wounds of a broken world, or simply to tend to the needs of a brother or sister. When you experience the mountaintop, don't forget the valley below. Jesus is there in the valley in that foul-smelling nursing home; Jesus is there in the valley of fears and the tears of everyday life; Jesus is there in the valley of the joy of the birth of a child; Jesus is there in the valley of the aching loneliness of the shut-in. Jesus is there at the repeated failures of his followers. Jesus was there when Peter, James, and John experienced the presence of God on that mountain, just as much as he was with them as he lead them down that mountain side to do the things that we are all called to do…to live out our lives in service to others, loving them as God first loved us, providing for them in the midst of their pain, not turning away from them to let them fend for themselves...

The point is this, we ought not stay on the mountaintop so long that we forget what it is like to be in the crowd. Just as Peter needed to be on that mountain, we too need to be a part of that experience. But those experiences are there for us to learn that we need to listen listen to Jesus. God himself helped Peter understand this. We all have had those moments or we wouldn’t be here, moments when we learned we needed to listen to Jesus. But let me tell you a wonderful little secret. Peter did not go up the mountain to find God. God brought Peter up that mountain. God revealed himself to Peter. We don’t find God up on mountains. God finds us.

God Finds Us...

On the mountain of Transfiguration God reveals himself to us. He finds us. Reveals to us his plan. It’s found in Jesus. We are to listen to him. Have you come to a place in your life where you have listened? Listened to his parables, learned from his teachings, watched his miracles, felt his sacrificial love? If you haven’t you need to go up. Experience the mountaintop.

If you have already listened to his parables, learned from his teachings, watched his miracles, felt his sacrificial love...don’t forget the valley below because that is where we need to live in order for others to be able to climb the mountain too.

Let us pray…God, when we forget that need to come down off our own mountains, that we cannot hide from the reality of the valley below, help us to see where we can do and be to help others. Lead us to decisions that create a space for others to see you as we see you. And God, as we enter into this season of Lent, open our hearts and our minds to your voice and only your voice in this world so that we can reach out our hands to others. Amen.

Adapted from: Blair, Brett. Experience the Mountaintop But Don't Forget the Valley Below. 3 March 2019. Document. 28 February 2019. <https://www.sermons.com/sermon/experience-the-mountaintop-but-don-t-forget-the-valley-below/1346168>.

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