Mark 9:2-9

Georgetown Presbyterian Church

Rev. Stephen H. Wilkins

February 26, 2006

I really haven’t watched much of the Olympics this year. I did, however, watch the women’s figure skating long program the other night. And while she wasn’t in contention for a medal, it was fun to watch Sarah Hughes compete. She’s the one who replaced Michelle Kwan on the team, when Kwan withdrew because of an injury. Hughes was all smiles and excitement; she was exuberant just to be at the Olympics. She didn’t need the gold medal in order to have a special experience. For many of the athletes at the games, just being there is the experience of their lives, and so they appreciate it all the more.

We call them mountaintop experiences. Most of you have had one of those experiences at some point in your life. You know what I mean--those times when you feel like you’re on top of the world, and everything seems to be going your way. I’m talking about those times when you get filled with excitement at something that has happened in your life. Maybe it’s a graduation, or the first day on a new job. Maybe it was your wedding day, or the birth of a child. Maybe it was when you caught your first fish. Or maybe it was when you watched the joy on your son’s or daughter’s face when they caught their first fish.

You can have spiritual mountaintop experiences, as well. Times when you sense the presence of God in a special way. Times when you feel closer to God than you normally feel. Sometimes those spiritual mountaintop experiences happen when we go away on retreat--away from the distractions of our everyday life, to some place where we are more open to noticing God. Sometimes they happen in the midst of the ordinary, when all of a sudden the ordinary is transformed into something extraordinary. Sometimes those spiritual mountaintop experiences happen when we are overwhelmed by the sheer beauty and majesty of God’s creation--like watching the sun come up over the ocean. My family has a place in Estes Park, Colorado, and it’s so beautiful to look out at the snow-capped mountains on a sunny summer morning that I find myself having mountaintop experiences, literally, on the mountaintop!

The spiritual mountaintop experiences are times when you feel closer to God in a way that you can’t really describe, but it’s real nonetheless. Times when, in the midst of the ordinary, God’s glory is somehow revealed to you. Those kinds of moments don’t come very often. I know that God is always present everywhere. But there are some times when God’s presence is more real, more overpowering. You can’t create those moments, but when they happen you know it.

Certainly Mark’s description of what has become known as the Transfiguration would qualify as a spiritual mountaintop experience. There was an undeniable experience of the presence of God in dazzling glory. It came at an important time in the ministry of Jesus. In the verses that precede the Transfiguration, Peter has uttered his famous confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. And as soon as those words have left Peter’s lips, Jesus begins to describe how the Messiah must be handed over, persecuted, and killed. It’s at this point that Jesus begins to head toward Jerusalem, where those predictions will come to pass.

And so it is that this mountaintop experience has come at an important time. At a time when the gravity of what lay ahead was beginning to weigh on them, they have this mountaintop experience.

I’m convinced that any mountaintop experience is meant to provide more than just a momentary diversion along the way. Mountaintop experiences are meant to be defining moments for the disciple, and strengthen our faith. As I was pondering this text this week, I thought of three things that mountaintop experiences ought to do for the believer.

The first is that the mountaintop experience reveals the glory of God. In a powerful way, God gets our attention. Mountaintop experiences make us stop in our tracks because suddenly we find ourselves in the presence of God. Peter, James, and John were casually walking up the mountain with Jesus when all of a sudden they were surrounded by an indescribable brilliance. God was getting their attention.

When we have those mountaintop experiences, God is trying to tell us something. Maybe God is trying to give us an assurance of his presence in the midst of a trying time in our lives. Maybe God is trying to shake us out of the routine and redirect our lives. Maybe God is trying to clear out the fog in our minds and get us to notice something we otherwise wouldn’t have noticed. Who knows, except that these mountaintop experiences are God’s way of getting our attention?

The second thing that the spiritual mountaintop experience ought to do for the believer is to point us to Jesus as the Christ. There really can be no mistaking of this in the story of the Transfiguration. As Peter, James, and John watch what’s going on, they notice the figures of Moses and Elijah speaking to Jesus. All good Jews knew that the Law and the Prophets all pointed to the Messiah. And so when Moses, who was the one who delivered the Law to the Israelites, and Elijah, who was the ultimate prophet—when these two appeared before Jesus, then Peter, James, and John would have no question but that they were pointing to Jesus as the Messiah. And if that weren’t enough, then they heard the voice from heaven declare, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."

Not, "Listen to Moses." Not, "Listen to Elijah." It was, "Listen to him"—Jesus.

And when the cloud lifted, only Jesus remained.

You can’t read the story of the transfiguration and come away with any doubt about the uniqueness of Jesus, that Jesus is the one to whom we are to direct our attention, that Jesus is the one to whom we commit ourselves by faith. A mountaintop experience ought to reinforce that truth in your heart.

Jesus is not on a par with other religious figures—Jesus stands apart from the others. We get into trouble when we allow Jesus to be but one voice among many that we listen to. God points us to Jesus and says, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."

Listen to Jesus. Listen to Jesus when he says, "Follow me."

Listen to Jesus when he says that following him means traveling down the road to Jerusalem, and to the cross.

Listen to Jesus when he says, "Come unto me all you who are weary and overburdened, and I will give you rest."

Listen to Jesus when he says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you."

Listen to Jesus when he says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through me."

Listen to Jesus when he says, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…"

Listen to Jesus. A mountaintop experience will point us to Jesus, and will call us to listen to Jesus. And if we heed that call to listen to Jesus, then maybe we’ll spend more time in our lives seeking Jesus.

If you’ve ever been on a Walk to Emmaus retreat, or on a Cursillo weekend, you’ll know something about the mountaintop experience of those renewal weekends. And you’ll also know that participants are encouraged to meet regularly and check in with one another. One of the questions asked in those check-in meetings is, "When, in the past week, did you feel closest to Christ?" The question assumes that one is trying to discern the presence of Christ throughout the week. It assumes that one is trying to seek Jesus in the midst of everyday life; it assumes that one is trying to listen to Jesus.

Finally, the mountaintop experience is meant to carry us down the mountain back into everyday life. Any time you have a mountaintop experience, it’s always a temptation to want to stay where you are and not let go of the experience. But that’s not the purpose of the mountaintop experience. The purpose is not the experience itself, as much as it is that the experience carries into and informs your everyday life.

It’s meant to help us face whatever lies ahead, whether it be a normal, everyday life, or a time of crisis and despair. Certainly for Peter, James, John, and Jesus, the mountaintop experience was meant to help provide affirmation and encouragement as they began their journey toward Jerusalem and the cross.

The mountaintop experience is meant to give you strength for the journey, whatever the journey may be. It’s not a once-and-done deal; even once it’s over, the experience is meant to stay with you and encourage and direct your life and your discipleship.

Years after the experience on the mountain with Jesus, Peter still remembered it as a defining moment in his life. In 2 Peter 1, Peter recalls the transfiguration in a way that indicates that the experience continued to inform his faith years later. Peter said,

"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain."

Even years after this mountaintop experience, Peter’s faith in Jesus was being strengthened.

I look back on some of the mountaintop experiences I have had in my life, and the memory of those experiences continues to strengthen me for my journey of faith today. Those times in my life when God told me he was real, and that he was with me, and that he loves me with an everlasting love – those experiences continue to inform my discipleship and strengthen my faith today.

Mountaintop experiences are meant to continue well beyond the mountaintop. They are meant to take us back down and equip us for life in the valleys.

On April 3, 1968, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered a sermon at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. He concluded his remarks that night by saying this:

"I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountain top. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life… But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. 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. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

The next day, King was assassinated. But his experience at the top of the mountain had had a mighty impact on his faith and on his convictions. Many would say that his mountaintop experience continues to have its effects on our nation today.

Every once in a while you might find yourself on top of a mountain. When you do, pay attention to what God is telling you. Let the experience draw you closer to Jesus. And by all means, come down from the mountain, and let the experience inform your faith and life. Amen.