When we’ve had an incredible experience, we tend to use the phrase it was a “mountaintop experience.” I grew up by the mountains in Seattle. I always wanted to climb Mt. Rainier until Ryan, a friend from college, almost died falling into a crevasse. He survived, and he and his wife ended up climbing mountains all over the world. After his near-death experience, Ryan and his wife decided to climb Mt. Ranier again, and they asked me to join them. I replied, “No thanks.”
But I still love hiking. Here’s a hike (show photo) I did with my friend Kelli in the Olympic National Forest in Washington State. When I lived in Colorado, I learned about “fourteeners.” Fourteeners are mountains with peaks rising fourteen thousand feet above sea level. There are about 60 of them, and avid hikers seek to summit all of them. I thought I’d be one of those hikers until I climbed what was supposed to be the “easiest” of the 14ers, Grays and Torreys peaks. What’s great about this hike is you can summit two mountains in one hike. I was in my 20s and in a lot better shape. As I hiked up to the top of Grays and Torries, I felt like dying. Don’t be fooled by how happy I look in that picture. I grew up at sea level and Colorado is not at sea level. Once at the top, the view was worth it. (Picture of the mountain top).
Both of our passages today take place on a mountain top, and both stories involve a full experience of God or at least as full of an experience as humanly possible.
In our passage from Exodus, a cloud forms at the top of Mt. Sinai, and the presence of God was like “a devouring fire” when Moses climbs to the top to be with God. When Jesus heads up the mountain with Peter, James, and John, Jesus himself began to shine as bright as the sun. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah, long dead, show up to speak with Jesus on the mountain top, but Elijah and Moses are not illuminated are not divine like Jesus. More on that later.
Moses went to the top of Mt Sinai to receive a revelation from God in the form of the Ten Commandments and instructions in how to build the ark and the tabernacle. For Jesus, instead of receiving a revelation from God, Jesus is the revelation of God. We see this in how his appearance changes and God’s voice booms in saying, “This is my son…listen to him!”
Jesus is God.
If Jesus’ divinity was doubted in any way by Peter, James, and John, the transfiguration got rid of any doubts.
Jesus disclosed to Peter, John, and James his divine glory, which had not been fully on display until that moment on the mountain top. He had always been divine, but this was the first time his divinity was fully revealed. This is why we say Jesus was transfigured: his face shone like the sun, and his clothes shone brightly.
Transfiguration showed that Jesus is not just a prophet or a great teacher.
Notice that when Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain top, they are not illuminated in the same way Jesus was. This sets Jesus apart from these two great prophets.
Then there’s Peter. Poor Peter. He tries to set up tents for them because he’s just trying to be helpful. But in doing so, it shows that Peter doesn’t quite get what’s happening. Peter is still operating on human terms, guided by what he knows as a good Jew.
When Moses went up to meet God on Mt. Sinai, God gave Moses instructions for Israel to build the tabernacle and the ark that would contain the presence of God. This way God could always be present with the Israelites. Up until the birth of Jesus, the presence of God was always found in a specific place. But now the presence of God is found in a person. The presence of God is no longer confined, but is now in a living and breathing human who lives and moves like the rest of us.
This is confirmed by booming voice of God that says: “This is my Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
Peter, James, and John fall on their faces in fear because they can’t handle the glory of God. But Jesus gently touches them, reassures them they have nothing to fear, and tells them to stand up. They look up to find that Moses and Elijah are nowhere to be found and Jesus looks “normal” again. But because of the transfiguration, they can never look at Jesus the same again. They then head down the mountain together.
After being at the top of a mountain, it’s a bummer when you have to leave.
After that trek to the top of Grays and Torreys peaks, we had to get back down.
Going down the mountain proved as hard as climbing to the top. I remember at one point I fell and tumbled a few feet. Other hikers showed their concern, but even though I was slightly bruised, I happily said, “I’m fine -because I’m a few feet closer to my car and off of this mountain!” Not only was my car at the bottom of this mountain, and in the valley, but so was the rest of my life.
This is true for all of us. Life is lived more in the valleys than on the mountain tops. This is why we describe memorable or even life-changing events in our lives as mountain-top experiences. They are far above the valley of our everyday lives.
Jesus, John, James, and Peter did not stay on the mountain top. They came back down into the valley. Back to real life.
As they descended back into the valley, Jesus’s journey to the cross began.
Lent is a season when we prepare ourselves for Easter by walking with Jesus to the cross. It’s a journey filled with more darkness than light. People don’t listen to or believe in Jesus. He is betrayed, arrested, abandoned, and finally executed.
Thankfully, we know that the story doesn’t end there. Jesus is, of course, resurrected and defeats death. But a lot of hard things happen in the valley between the transfiguration on the mountain top and Jesus walking out of the tomb.
What we can find comfort in, however, is that because God came to us as Jesus, a human, we know that God is just as present with us in the valley as he is on the mountaintops. Sure, it’s easier to see God on the mountain top, but we weren’t meant to stay there.
I love mission trips and retreats. I love going to Belize with our youth and going on day-long retreats with our staff. Those are times when I’m not distracted by the things of everyday life and can more easily see God at work. They are mountain-top experiences. Eventually, however, it’s time to go back to the valley.
The valley of life looks different for every one of us. For some, the valley is a new chapter of life, such as becoming empty nesters or adjusting to retirement. Some are in the busy valley of raising young children. Still others are navigating the valley of health issues and getting older. Add to this the valley of what is happening in our country and the world that encroaches upon our daily lives. It can be stressful and overwhelming, and we are tempted to leave the valley and escape to the mountains.
We can’t control what happens to us in the valley of life. But we can do something. Trust that God is with us. What we can take from the transfiguration is that God made sure that, in Jesus Christ, we would know that God is always with us. God isn’t confined to an ark, a tabernacle, a tent, or to any one space, including this sanctuary. We come to worship to be recentered on God’s presence with us, but then God sends us back into the world. God goes with us as we leave this sanctuary and back to our every day lives.
I thought of other passages in the Bible about valleys. The 23rd Psalm came to mind. “Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me.” Notice it doesn’t say the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…because he keeps me from walking in the valley. Especially the darkest valleys.” Nowhere in Scripture does God promise us life free of heartache, hardship, or disappointment. Nowhere in Scripture does God promise us that life will only be lived on the mountaintops.
What Scripture does tell us is that no matter where life takes us, God will be with us. In Jesus Christ, we see that we don’t have to go to any specific location to experience God’s presence. The transfiguration shows us that God became human so God could be with us anywhere at any time.
Whatever valley we may find ourselves in, I hope we are obeying God’s command to “listen” to Jesus. To listen to what Jesus says to us through words that may look static on the page, but are actually words God uses to say something new to us every time we read the Bible. Through Scripture, we are reminded that Jesus is more than just a prophet or a phenomenal teacher. Jesus is God, a human who continues to comfort us and lead us through every valley life takes us.