“On the Mountaintop”

(Exodus 24:12-18)

The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there; I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.”  So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.  To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us, until we come back to you.  Look, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.”

The Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.  The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called Moses out of the cloud.  Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the Israelites.  Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain.  Moses was on the Mountain for forty days and forty nights.  (Exodus 24:12-18)

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light.  Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.  Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Eliijah.”  While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”  When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.  But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.”  And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.  As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”        (Matthew 17:1-9)

When you hear of Biblical heroes going up the mountain, you can be sure you’re gonna hear a story about an experience with God.  On the mountain is a place where mere mortals meet up with God. 

               For example: in the Exodus passage that was just read, the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction….”  Well, you know that Moses came down the mountain a couple of times with those tablets of stone. 

Another example that comes from the 2^nd chapter of Isaiah: “In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.  Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths….”

And then, in today’s Matthew reading: “Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves….”

               A place where they met God, where they were instructed, where God revealed Godself in new and surprising ways—that’s what we’re talking about today on this observance of the Transfiguration.  It’s called that because we hear about the metamorphosis of Jesus into the Christ that takes place before the disciples’ very eyes, the way his face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white.  He was transfigured.  This all happened after they arrived at the mountain top.  Then, from the bright cloud came the voice from heaven saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!”

               Now, you astute Bible readers may recall these very words at the time of Jesus’ baptism when he came up out of the water, but there was one thing God didn’t say at Jesus’ baptism.  On the mountaintop, God added, “Listen to him!”  Because when you are on the mountain, you will be meeting God in sometimes new and surprising ways, and you better pay attention.  The transfiguration (the metamorphosis) of Jesus into the Christ had the disciples standing in the presence of the Divine.  So, perhaps they began to understand that they needed to listen to God, to Christ, in a new way.

               Now, of course, this scene is a preview of what is to come.  We know what that will be: Jesus’ coming death and resurrection are just around the corner.  And that event, his death and resurrection, will become for us God’s vision of the dying of the old creation and the birth of the new.

               This vision is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is Jesus coming out and saying, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”  Let God turn your lives around so that you can start brand new.  Be transformed.  This is the new creation.  Christ has done a new thing for us.  Listen to him!  Pay attention to this new thing that God is doing.  The new thing that God did and is doing in Christ sets us up for the new things that God is doing all the time.  Listen!  Pay attention!

               The thing is we get so buried under our own garbage, our own have-to’s, our own ways of being, the way we focus on our own navels, as we used to say.  We get so set in our little worlds with our own tunnel vision, that we can’t even see the way that God is reaching out to us, the way that Christ is calling us to the mountain to experience God’s love in him.

               So, you might say, “Oh, I’m all open to new things.  I have the latest technology.  I am in contact with the people in my life all the time.”  …That’s not what this is about.  It is about staying connected to God and to Jesus and making them the center of your existence.  It’s about making time to go to the metaphorical mountain and experience the way that God is reaching out to you in these new and marvelous ways.  It is listening for Jesus’ voice as he calls us to love God and each other.  It is noticing God’s hand in our everyday life.

               All this has kind of reminded me of the movie, “The Bucket List”.  Now, I know that it wasn’t great cinema.  It’s pretty predictable, but the basic message is what we’re talking about here.  For those who haven’t seen it or who have forgotten, you’ve got the two main characters played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson thrown together in the hospital.  They both have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses so, once they get over hating each other because of their many differences, they begin to compile what they call their Bucket List.  These are things they want to do before they kick the bucket.  Freeman’s character is a stable family man who has become bored with his life and isolated from his wife and family.  Nicholson is a millionaire who is estranged from any family that he ever had because he is such an arrogant, obnoxious pain in the patootie. 

               Well, they hatch their plan which includes such things as sky-diving, race car driving, jetting to exotic places, kissing the most beautiful women in the world, helping a perfect stranger.  At one point they were in a primitive shelter in the Himalayas in a snow storm.  Their plan was to view the summit of a nearby mountain, but it was socked in by clouds and they wouldn’t be able to see it for several months.  Not being willing to stay there for that long, they moved on, but there was a sense that seeing it was the spiritual experience they, especially Morgan Freeman’s character, were looking for.  When Freeman finally decided it was time to go home after such an amazing ride, he realized that he had been changed, that his way of being with his wife and family had been transformed.  It was as though his love for them had died and been resurrected.

               Though he didn’t make it to the mountain top, he had had a mountain top experience.  And his death caused that very sort of mountain top experience for the Nicholson character.  He, too, was changed because it was as if he had heard God’s voice in his experience with his friend.  That reminded me of the song from the movie, “Wicked for Good.”  The lyrics are “Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”  It’s a great song.

               Well, the movie “Bucket List” is a small illustration of the Transfiguration story.  It is the lively anticipation of the new and life-changing experiences that God has in store for us if we pay attention.  Remember, Christians, God’s words on the mountain top: “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well-pleased.  Listen to him….”  You may be just amazed at how paying attention and listening to Jesus will change and transform your life, taking your head out of the sand, out of your own problems and situation and opening you up to a new way of living.

               So, I have a challenge for you who like this sort of thing.  List all the movies and/or literature that you can think of that have this sort of transforming theme.  Write them down and hand them to me during this week or next Sunday or email them to me (leamahan@gmail.com).  Next week I’ll share with you what I’ve received (if you have given me any ideas) which will be the first Sunday in Lent—a time when we are encouraged to go inside and listen so we can open ourselves to change as we walk in the wilderness with Jesus.  Amen.