First Reading: Exodus 24:8-18
8And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” 9Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. 12The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” 13So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.” 15Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst 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. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Psalm 2:6-12
6”I myself have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.” 7Let me announce the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my Son; this day have I begotten you. 8Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. 9You shall crush them with an iron rod and shatter them like a piece of pottery.” 10And now, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11Submit to the Lord with fear, and with trembling bow before him; 12Lest he be angry and you perish; for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Second Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-21
16For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9
1And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, 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 white as light. 3And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
The Transfiguration
Throughout life, each of us will experience significant events that one could call mountaintop experiences. We call these events mountaintop experiences because these are occasions of significance, and can, at times, be difficult to explain. Some are emotional, some awe inspiring, while others remind us of the beauty and grandeur of God’s handiwork. Many of these events are so powerful and unique that to fully appreciate the impact, one would need to be there, to witness the event to get the full emotional and possibly spiritual impact of the experience. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to have some of these experiences and one that comes to mind was one spring when I was hunting in Alaska.
One of the phrases used in colder climates is breakup. This is a time in the Spring when the ice on the lakes is melting and breaking apart. It’s an event that can’t be adequately described; it needs to be experienced to get the full impact of what’s occurring. The first time I witnessed breakup it was figuratively and literally a mountaintop experience.
It was early spring and Al and I decided to go hunting in an area an hour or so south of Palmer, Alaska. Because some thawing had occurred, we took the four-wheelers and headed into the mountains that paralleled the King River. About 3 hours off the main highway was a high lake in a valley that offered a good view of the hills that we wanted to hunt in. We selected a campsite close to the lake that offered good shelter and a nice view. The second day of our trip was warm and sunny, and perfect for scouting and glassing the hills. That evening a storm blew in, and by 9 o’clock we were confined to the tent listening to a steady downpour. With little else to do but sleep, both of us turned in hoping the storm would pass and we could get an early start the next day. However, about two AM, both of us were awakened by the strangest sound.
Since neither one of us had ever experienced “breakup”, we couldn’t figure out what was going on. We knew it wasn’t an animal since it sounded like trees breaking apart. Puzzled, we both sat there a few minutes trying to figure out what could be making the noise. Unable to discern the source of the sound, Al opened up the tent flap and looked out over the lake. Funny thing was all you could see was a big pile of ice. About two hours later the clouds cleared and the full moon illuminated the area and enabled us to see the lake. It was then that we realized that the ice on the lake was literally breaking up. Propelled by a strong wind, large sheets of ice, some the size of a small boat, were being driven by the wind onto shore. As the ice was pushed along, it would ride up over the last chunk and break into pieces. This action caused huge piles of ice to be deposited on the shore. Al and I just stood there, astonished at the amazing event caused by the wind, the ice, and the water.
The wind and the water were moving large sheets of ice that was so thick, that two weeks earlier, people had been riding snow machines on it, and almost effortlessly breaking it into little pieces and depositing it on shore in front of our tent. It was awe-inspiring, and it seemed like we just stood there for hours. Finally, we went back to bed listening to the sound of the wind blowing and ice breaking.
Amazingly, by the next morning, the entire lake was ice free, and the shore was ringed with a long line of ice mounds created by the ice coming in off the lake. The experience was one of amazement and wonder, at the sheer power of wind, rain, and water. Over the years I’ve tried to tell people about this mountaintop experience, only to realize that this was an event that had to be experienced, in order to fully appreciate the magnitude of what had happened. The same could be said about the Old Testament reading for today.
While we appreciate the results of God giving us the 10 Commandments, I’m not sure we can fully appreciate the awe, fear, and wonder the Israelites experienced at the foot of Mt. Sinai. I imagine if one of those there that day was to share the event, they too would say, that you really needed to be there.
In Exodus we read that God invites Moses to meet Him on Mt Sinai to give him the stone tablets on which the law and commandments were recorded. The setting of this story is spectacular. The sight of a mountain whose highest point is covered by a cloud must have been beautiful; it’s a view that has inspired numerous paintings and photographs. And while it’s impossible to say exactly what so many people find moving about a cloud-cropped mountain, it’s likely that many people would describe such a vista as majestic or awe-inspiring. The majesty of Mount Sinai in this narrative is further intensified by the fact that the cloud that settled upon the mountain, was no ordinary cloud, but one that enshrouded the very presence of God, whose appearance, the text reads, “was like a devouring fire.”
The significance of all this grandeur would not have been lost on the ancient Near Eastern audience. Mountains are the site of divine revelation throughout the ancient world, even in cultures as far-flung as Greece and Japan; a mountain is a common location for a theophany. In the case of our Old Testament lesson, not only is the divine made visible on the mountain, but the story that precedes this one details a covenant meal, shared by the leaders of the people and their God.
Within the story of that sacred meal, we also find another vivid description of God’s glory: starting in verse 9 we read, “Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.” Interestingly, in spite of the fact that the story notes that the people saw God, it does not describe God’s physical presence, but the brightness of the ground on which God was revealed to them, and even the description of the “pavement” is a little vague, using words, such as “something like” and the simile, “like the very heaven” to describe it.
God’s glory is of course beyond our capacity to describe, much less comprehend, and there’s something absolutely reassuring about that power being revealed in the context of a covenant-making ceremonial meal. God’s power is on the side of the people of Israel, supporting their leaders, and establishing them as His people.
The heart of next six chapters contains detailed descriptions of the sacrifices that are to be offered along with the divine assertion: “I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them: I am the LORD their God” (29:45). The key word in these passages is the word “dwell.”
Interestingly, the Hebrew word for “dwell” is also the same root that we find in the Hebrew name for the tabernacle. While “tabernacle” in another context might simply refer to one’s dwelling place, in Exodus, this simple term takes on new meaning, because of the identity of the One who will dwell there. It’s no small matter for a god as terrifying and powerful as Yahweh to decide to dwell among a people and to enter into a covenant with them. All the signs of God’s power in chapter 24 make this point abundantly clear.
And yet there’s something altogether reassuring about God’s promise and provisions to dwell with His people. While a covenant with God is not something to be entered into lightly, it is the case that God invites and welcomes the people into a relationship. This is indeed an awe-inspiring view of the presence of God, and Moses’ bold willingness to walk into that cloud of devouring fire, suggests that a relationship with God, while not exactly comfortable, is exhilarating. As the narrative of Exodus continues through the next three books of the Old Testament, one sees just how tenacious and faithful God is to this promise. And of course, this isn’t the last time the glory of God will be revealed on a mountaintop, today marks the celebration of another event that occurred some 1500 years later. In our gospel lesson we read about another pivotal and mysterious event that occurred on a mountain.
Jesus is on the mountain with His inner circle, Peter, James, and John. It was on this mountain that these three disciples saw their Master transfigured. Matthew records that His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. This too must have been an awe-inspiring sight because Peter, in his usual, say the first thing that pops into my head sort of way, said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
And while this scene was enough to wow them, the next thing that happened must have blown their minds. Matthew tells us that, “While [Peter] was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” This is the second time that the Father has testified to Jesus’ identity. And when the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came to them and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. This was such a significant event that Peter would later again testify to this startling experience.
In today’s epistle lesson St. Peter writes, “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.” It was indeed a significant emotional occurrence that filled them with awe and fear and an event they didn’t fully understand at the time.
In a figurative sense, I’d like for us to stand with those three disciples on that mountain to see who Jesus is. Author and pastor Leslie Weatherhead said this about this event: The disciples saw Christ transfigured that day. They couldn’t know that a transfiguration was also taking place within them. To be sure, that transfiguration would not be apparent until Pentecost. But it was happening. You cannot come into the presence of Jesus without becoming conscious of what, by His grace, you might one day be. For the disciples, they stayed in the company of greatness and thus they became great as well. They became important in God’s kingdom not simply because of the event that day, but also because they placed their faith in the One transfigured. It was this undiscourageable faith that the disciples discovered that helped transform their lives.” There’s something about a mountaintop experience that can help us be more than we’ve ever been before. John Redhead, Jr. tells of a father and son who have a really good relationship.
Among their many good times together, one stands out above all the rest: It was a hike up a particular mountain where they seemed to reach the height of a beautiful friendship. After they returned home, there came a day when things didn’t seem to run as smoothly. The father rebuked the son, and the son spoke sharply in return. An hour later the air had cleared. “Dad,” said the son, “whenever it starts to get like that again, let’s one of us say ‘The Mountain.’” So it was agreed.
A few weeks later another misunderstanding occurred. The boy was sent to his room in tears. After a while, the father decided to go up and see his son. He was still angry, until he saw a piece of paper pinned to the door. The boy had penciled two words in large letters, “The Mountain.” That symbol was powerful enough to restore the relationship between a father and son. It’s in a mountaintop experience that relationships can be made right. It’s in these experiences that we see who Jesus is. We see what, by His grace, you and I can yet become. And perhaps on that mountain, we will gain new confidence in God’s presence in our lives. All of us believe in an intellectual way that God is with us. But sometimes we need a mountain-top experience to make that intellectual belief a divine reality in our lives.
The season of Epiphany is about light, about illumination, about revelation. These past few Sundays we’ve discovered the significance of the Jesus whose birthday we just celebrated. We learned how the babe born at Bethlehem is also the light of the world as well as about how we, as His followers, are also called to be light. We are drawn more deeply into an understanding of who and what the infant, greeted by shepherds and magi, is for us and for all the world and of our role to share what we’ve learned. Transfiguration Sunday draws the season of Epiphany to a close, and Matthew’s account provides the nearly perfect bookend to the story of Jesus’ Baptism that we read on the first Sunday of Epiphany.
At the same time, Transfiguration leans unmistakably into Lent, as Jesus comes down from the mountain to head to the death, He speaks of during that very descent. The injunction to “listen to Him” will become poignant, even painful in the weeks ahead, as the disciples regularly fail to do just that, or at least fail to understand what they are listening to. And those same words, when taken as addressed to us as Jesus’ latest disciples, orient us to listen and watch the Lord of Glory approach His destiny in Jerusalem so that we might more fully comprehend God’s purposes and work in His only Son.
As if all this weren’t enough, Transfiguration also foreshadows Easter. When the disciples fall to the ground in holy awe, the glorified and glowing Jesus comes to them, touches them and commands them not just to stand up, but literally to “be raised!” There’s something about this day, this event, that can’t be fully understood until after the resurrection.
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. However, the hope we enjoy as children of God, is that at both places, mountain-top and valley, and all those in between, Jesus is there, reaching out to raise us to life again.
Amen