Reflection -- Those Mountain Tops

Every now and then you may hear a person of faith say that they have had "a mountain top experience" and wonder what they mean, for each one of the experiences they describe is different.  It may have been something they experienced in prayer, or in worship, or while reading a book, or even just savoring the beauty of nature.  They may describe a special feeling of exhilaration or a feeling of deep peace they find hard to express. 

The commonality of these experiences is that the whole was greater than the sum of the parts.  There was an extraordinary extra ingredient, a special awareness of the ephemeral presence of the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus is quoted, at John 3:8, as saying “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." 

These "mountain top experiences" are times when we are honored with the Sprit’s presence; not because of our own ability or efforts or special goodness, but because of the incredible grace of God.  God pulls the curtain back just a little and lets us catch a glimpse of the awesome wonder of the universe beyond the one that we know in our day-to-day lives.  Perhaps God’s purpose at such times is to confirm for us that, yes, this is real.  This business of faith is a greater reality than the things that we touch and taste and feel everyday. 

Often these special moments come just as things seem the bleakest; those times when we begin to loose hope; when we wonder where God is in our lives.  At other times, it is to energize us for difficulties to come; to give us the wonder of God’s presence to draw on as we “walk through the valley of the shadow.”  At other times it is just for the shear joy of it.

Perhaps it was all of those things in the experience described in Mark’s gospel.  There had been some bad moments for the disciples.  Just before this story takes place, Jesus had told them about his coming persecution, death, are resurrection.  Peter had rebuked him for even thinking such things, but Jesus knew what was coming. 

And of course there were bad days to come.  They were on the road on their final trip together to Jerusalem.  Here in the middle God pulled the curtain back and let them see that there was much more to their teacher and traveling companion than they could imagine; that this Son of God business was real.  “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

Mountain top experiences are great treasures to store up in our souls, but unlike Peter, I would not want to live there.  Each of us experiences being on the mountain top in different ways.  With me, it’s often manifested by tears.  It’s not that I am sad, it is just that I am completely overwhelmed by the power of The Presence.  After it is over, I feel completely exhausted; as though someone had pulled the plug and every ounce of energy had drained away.  I am not sure I could live on one of those mountain tops for long and survive.

But the experience is not about moving onto the mountain and settling down.  It’s about coming down and getting on to whatever comes next.  Melinda Reagor Flannery, a writer for a Liturgical Conference publication, says this:

 Real leaders come down.  Real followers of Christ come down.  No matter how good it is for us to be here, watching a private show, it is not enough.  We are shown Jesus transfigured so that we know he’s the real thing, but the point is to listen to him.  We are brought together here for fellowship and strength, but our place is in the world.  There is truth to tell, and good to dare, and misunderstanding to suffer.  There is a winding path God calls us to follow.  Jerusalem awaits, and its events are inexorable.  Things won’t seem as clear down there as they do up here, but we are not alone.  Walk.

Yes, walk.  Keep on keeping on.  We are not alone and our faith is real.  One way or another, the things that happen in our own Jerusalem will pass and we will come out on the other side with the Risen One.

revclay

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Mark 9:2-9

    Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 

And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 

Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!"  Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

[NRSV]