Mountain Top Experiences

Sunday 6 March 2001 – Next before Lent at St Giles

First Reading Exodus 24.12-18

¹²The 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.’ ¹³So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. ¹⁴To 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.’

¹⁵Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶The 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. ¹⁷Now 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. ¹⁸Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Gospel Matthew 17.1-9

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

¹Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. ²And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴Then 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.’ ⁵While 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!’ ⁶When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. ⁷But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ ⁸And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

⁹As 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.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Ordination training – Revd. Michael Fuller. Enjoyed his name in readings. E.g.
But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers’ soap: Malachi 3

Every year – same joke on Transfiguration Day:
And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. Mark 3

Church Mice – song “My God is so Big” – songs sung to Jesus can make our God seem too small, too intimate, too close. Theophanies – manifestations of God in majesty, splendour, fear – hard to understand but essential in reminding us of the stature and awe of God.

Don’t use word ‘transfiguration’ in everyday language. Do refer to ‘mountain-top experiences.’ Beauty in these descriptions of mountains covered in cloud. Mount Fuji – never book in advance – only visible 80 days.

This cloud covered, shrouded, encircles, and hid presence of God. Nowhere in Scripture does anyone see God face to face. Theophanies come closest.

Our pilgrimage across Sinai. Lots of rocks to climb. Heat. Lack of water. Contrast with Mount Katherine and Sinai. Cold. Height. Hypothermia risk over night.

Ancient peoples associated height as closer to God. Babel. Mountain sites places of worship (high places) and divine revelation. Japan. Greece. Tibet. We don’t have same feeling – rolling hills – but church towers still reach upwards to God.

Sinai particularly associated with God for people of Israel – 40 years wandering in desert wilderness.

As a child – I used to think of volcano. If so, must have been elsewhere. No evidence of volcanic activity in Sinai peninsula. Anyway, why try and explain away manifestation of God’s glory?

This glory not revealed to all. Only chosen ones. Moses (who covered face). Peter, James, John at Transfiguration. In Exodus, people warned not to come near to holiness of God on peril of death. They trembled and were afraid at thunder, lightning and noise. Not comfortable experience.

Purpose of encounter on Sinai was different. Covenant making. 2 sides to any contract. Fulfil the law – 10 Commandments, conduct of worship – chosen people, favoured by God – God promises to be with them if obedient.

Covenant establishes relationship between God and Israel. Laws handed down. Holiness of people to be paramount, emulating holiness of God. Instructions about tabernacle sacrifices and means of worship. But God is remote. There is an ‘otherness’ to God. Cannot be approached. Must be feared. Exhibits wrath against sin and wrongdoing.

NT – God still invites us into relationship. Now his presence more manifest. This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased. These words are then followed by Listen to him. Not Listen to Me but listen to him.

In OT God’s promise exhilarating. Accept his promise. Be his chosen people. Be with him, and receive his favour. NT – Transfiguration is about light illuminating our fallen world; about revelation. More exhilarating, as the relationship into which we are invited not a people but as individuals. This is my Son. Listen to him.

This Sunday – next before Lent. Christmas and Epiphany are behind us. Two more days until Ash Wednesday. Mood changes. Penitential. Watching and waiting.

It’s as if we received tightly wrapped present at Christmas. Taken us until now to unwrap all its layers. First layer was Baptism of Christ. In Matthew 3 we read:
¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Last layer of present is Transfiguration. Notice how similar are the words used by God. All that is added: Listen to Him. What does he say?

He touches Peter, James and John. Does not just speak to them. He raises them up (Gk word). Tells them not to reveal what they have witnessed to anyone until after resurrection. Why? Because Transfiguration cannot be understood until after events of Easter itself.

In Transfiguration, God’s glory is revealed through Jesus Christ. But God’s glory cannot be fulfilled in its completeness until the victory of the resurrection of Jesus over sin and death. So, this gift. Given at Christmas. Unwrapped each successive week. Revealed on Transfiguration Sunday. Leads us through Lent to Easter. Sits waiting its full meaning until Easter Day.

And Jesus, having climbed a mountain with his closest friends, and experienced the dazzling light of God’s presence and affirmation, has to descend into darkness once again. Darkness of sin that takes us through Lent until the completion of Easter itself.

Here’s a quotation from one theologian I read when preparing what I was going to say today. I think it forms an appropriate ending:

Jesus, the one whose clothes and face shone like the sun, the one equal to Moses and Elijah, the one whom the very heavens proclaim as God's own beloved Son, will not leave them.
When all else fades -- and indeed, soon enough all will become dark indeed -- yet Jesus remains, reaching out in help and healing. At the very close of Matthew's account, he will gather with these and all of his disciples on another mountain, and promise that he will be with them even to the close of the age.
Most of us have had mountain top experiences and can testify to their importance to our lives. But all of us have also had to return to the valley. At both places, and all those in between, Jesus is there, reaching out to raise us to life again. Amen