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LOOKING FOR A MOUNTAIN
A sermon preached February 3, 2008 at University United Methodist Church,
East Lansing, by John Ross Thompson
Matthew 17:1-9
17:1 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John
and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.
17:2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun,
and his clothes became dazzling white.
17:3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
17:4 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you
wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah."
17:5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them,
and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am
well pleased; listen to him!"
17:6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome
by fear.
17:7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid."
17:8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
17:9 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."
Exodus 24:12-18
24:12 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."
24:13 So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the
mountain of God.
24:14 To the elders he had said, "Wait here for us, until we come to you
again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them."
24:15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
24:16 The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it
for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud.
24:17 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 people of Israel.
24:18 Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the
mountain for forty days and forty nights.
Today, let’s think about mountains. Coming from Pennsylvania, I admit that
I have trouble thinking about Michigan mountains. Let’s see, there’s Mt.
Pleasant. Not a mountain! Or there’s Mt. Clemens. Not a mountain.
One day when I was still new to Michigan, Ellen said we would go to see Boyne
Mountain. It was a nice trip, but it’s a hill, not a mountain. Finally, a few
years ago we took a trip to the Porcupine Mountains in the western Upper
Peninsula. They truly are beautiful, and they are mountains.
I recognize that those of us who know the Appalachian Mountains have to bow
to those of you from Colorado and other Rocky Mountain areas, and those from
there have to bow to those from the Himalayas. What makes a mountain is a
matter of perspective.
Why are we talking about mountains? In today’s scriptures, Moses went on
the mountain to hear God’s word, and Jesus on the mountain was transfigured so
that his disciples clearly knew that God was with him.
The transfiguration was such a spiritual high that Peter wanted to establish
three shrines there to commemorate what had happened. The story of the
transfiguration doesn't end with the mountaintop experience of Peter, James, and
John. They, and we, are left looking forward to a time when the whole world
will experience that vision.
What we have here is an eschatological vision—a glimpse of God's glory like
the one Moses catches on Mount Sinai and which is being fulfilled in Jesus. Like
the visions in Daniel and Enoch, Jesus, the seer, is transported temporarily
into the heavenly realm. This breakthrough moment means the barrier between the
heavenly and earthly realms, which always co-exist and yet remain mutually
exclusive, has been rent
When I mention mountaintop experiences, what comes to mind for you? Where
did you have one? Perhaps at a church camp. My memory goes to Jumonville, a
United Methodist summer camp in southwestern Pennsylvania on a mountaintop.
From that camp, on a clear day you can see three states. A 50-foot cross at the
top dominates the landscape and was built by pennies from Sunday School children
after World War 2. I spent many Fourth of July weeks there, and remember
vividly the 8 to 10 towns one could see from that mountaintop, with their
fireworks celebrations far below us.
When you think about it, a mountaintop experience may have nothing at all to
do with a physical mountain. Perhaps it happened to you in a church worship
service, or on a lake, in another country, or in the quiet of your home.
It is an experience in which you feel lifted up, in which you see things from
a different perspective, in which you become more than you were because God has
awakened in you some new truth. It is a time after which you chart a new
course. It’s an “ah-hah” moment in which for a time the veil between heaven and
earth is lifted and you know for a moment a new understanding of truth and life.
Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968 in Memphis
“I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the
mountaintop, and I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the promised land. I may not
get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will
get to the promised land.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. on August 28, 1963 in Washington DC
“I have a dream that one day this national will rise up, live out the true
meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people
are created equal.”
For me, Lent, which begins in three days, is a time when we are looking for a
mountain.
Lent begins with solemn repentance and resolve to do better. Our two worship
services on Ash Wednesday will help us to start that journey.
Lent continues with a journey focused on drawing closer to Christ. We will
be reading together a book titled Road to Emmaus. The book has readings
for each day, with weekly group sharing for those who can.
Can this lead to a mountaintop experience? Perhaps it will.
An important part of being on a mountain is coming back to the valley.
Valleys are all to common to us, valleys such as the current Michigan recession,
winter depression, setbacks in health or finances, relationship stress or
break-ups
A valley is also the place where we go to take the mountaintop experience
into our daily life. None of us live on a mountaintop, but all of us need to
know that what takes place there can make a real difference in every day life.
It is rare that we experience the overwhelming presence of God, in glorious
fire and cloud, but Christ's incarnation tells us that, rather than be
discouraged by the mundane nature of our lives, we should see God in our
everyday experiences. If the mountaintop experience is real, it’s real in the
valley as well as on the mountain.
“Offer up your bodies as a living sacrifice ... and stop being conformed to
this age, but be transfigured by the renewing of the mind" (Romans 12:1-2).
"The word here translated 'transfigured' is ‘metamorphoo’ in Greek, the
origin of our 'metamorphosis,' meaning to change form or shape. It is used of
Jesus' transfiguration in Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2…. As the ugly larva is
transfigured into a butterfly, as Jesus was transfigured into his glory, so the
Christian is to be transfigured into a citizen of the age to come."
Come to Holy Communion today. Whether you are in a valley or on a mountain,
Christ will meet you here. Ask God’s Holy Spirit to come upon you, to come
within you, and to go before you to show you the way. Look for a mountain, and
don’t be surprised when you find it! Then walk through Lent, knowing that the
God of the mountaintop is the God of the valley as well.
Come and see what God will do!
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