“Coming Down From the Mountain” Transfiguration Sunday February 7, 2016

Exodus 34:29-35 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two Tablets of the Testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that God had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out.  When he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see that the skin of Moses' face was shining.  Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in again to speak with God.

Luke 9: 28-36  About eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” - not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.  Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

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This isn’t the first time Moses has talked to God – remember he had an encounter with a burning bush and had to remove his sandals. But it is the first time he has looked at God – or so we are told. This time Moses has gone up the mountain, and spoken directly to God.  If we read more in Genesis we get a complete description of how God descends in a cloud at the entrance to Moses’ tent, So, in this text, Moses has been up there forty days and forty nights, as God gives the commandments for the people to follow. When he comes down, he has the tablets – but he doesn’t know that his face is glowing. The people see it right away and are terrified, and aren’t quite sure about Moses – but he is able to call them back, reassure them, and speak to them. After that, he covers his face, and the only time he removes the veil is when he goes back to talk with God.

Jesus and three disciples wend their way up the mountainside. Being alone with Jesus in a quiet place is a welcome change for them. Jesus had been talking a lot about his own death, and they had been getting exasperated. Maybe up here they would get some straight answers from Jesus, and clear their heads.  As they climb higher, the villages appear tiny;  they can see all the way to the coast, and for miles around. They reach the top and sit down in the shade of inviting trees for a rest. Jesus lifts his prayer shawl to cover his head, and says the familiar words: “Sh’ma Yisrael, adonai eloheinu, adonai echad. Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One.” How many times had they said these words themselves, and yet every times Jesus says them, they are new. They listen and try to imitate him in prayer, but after a long hike up the mountain they are soon asleep.

As he prays, clouds come in over the mountain, but the sun is still shining. Jesus feels that surge of energy, the sense of being fully alive and glowing from every pore, but something is different this time. He sees a reflection of himself, and with him Moses and Elijah. They talk, about the things which weigh on his heart, the things he believes he is called to do, and how difficult the end will be. They sit, together, shining in the cloud in the centre of a rainbow.

And the three stooges suddenly awaken. Today we get Luke’s version, in which they are ‘heavy with sleep’, but not yet gone. I suspect maybe Luke was being a bit kind. Mark painted them as a couple of sandwiches shy of a picnic, and took a jab at how they went through life – sleepwalking. Here was Jesus’ experience, opened  to the universe, Jesus seeing himself and his role in it. Yet he tells them not to say anything about it until after “the Human One had been resurrected.” The appearance of Moses and Elijah is meant to validate Jesus as the culmination of the Hebrew prophetic tradition – and the disciples completely missed the point.

All the disciples see is the immediate - Jesus with Elijah and Moses, and  Peter right away wants to freeze-frame the whole moment, build shelters so that they can stay there with the prophets and never come down. A voice from the cloud says “Listen to him…” and then it’s over. The sky is blue again, and Jesus is alone on the mountaintop.

At the top of Haleakala Crater in Maui, you can see all the way to the coast, and often beyond. Depending on where the cloud layer is, you are on top of the peak in the bright sunshine but the island below is hidden from your sight. It’s windy up there, but the cold wind is exhilarating, and your body feels a surge of energy and life – literally you tingle.

When the clouds come in through the crater at exactly the right angle  -  and have the right amount of moisture in them, and the angle of the sun is about 82 degrees, you can experience what is called a “glory” - see your own reflection looking back at you, from inside a rainbow circle. It is a glowing, shining reflection of who you are.

Now, this phenomenon can be seen anywhere the weather conditions are right – but the mountaintop experience of the glory speaks to those rare moments in our lives when we step outside ourselves and into something transformational and transfiguring.

People who meditate regularly often speak of a ‘mountaintop experience’ – that exhilarating surge of energy and insight, the whole of the universe in its infinite depth and height opens up – you can see far out into space, you can see individual molecules, you can see how everything is connected to everything else. It is a wondrous experience. After such an experience, the hardest thing to do is to come back to the everyday world.

Spiritual experiences – we know they happen, and in our human history there are countless stories of mystics who had deep spiritual experiences.  A friend described an experience he had during meditation, suddenly finding himself sitting on a mountaintop, seeing the whole of creation spread out in front of him, and suddenly having a moment of complete understanding, yet coming out of meditation terrified, and afraid to speak about his experience. About fifteen years ago I had such a strong experience that I was literally terrified, and began researching mental illness. The only person I could think of to talk to who would not laugh was a friend who is a Buddhist priest – because Buddhists are, in my experience, more open to such things. My priest friend who is part aboriginal, told me about his experience in the vision quest.Other people speak about sudden insights, sudden feelings of foreboding, or feelings of something imminent happening. Yet I can also identify with the terror the disciples felt . The interesting thing was, that many years later when I finally decided to talk about it, I discovered others also had experiences of many kinds, that they were afraid to speak about. For the disciples, far from getting straight answers and their heads clear, they are now more than ever confused.

The disciples, in that one moment, saw a “glory” – they had a glimpse of Jesus caught up in his experience; but they weren’t changed at all. With their own eyes they saw this ‘glory’, and totally missed the point. Their reaction to this incredible experience is to want to stay there, stay in it, hold on to the moment, freeze-frame everything.

Let’s hop back into the Hebrew Scriptures for a moment, and consider the story of Elisha. The people of Israel thought there could never be another Moses.  So we hear other stories -  about Joshua parting the Jordan, as Moses parted the Sea of Reeds. We hear of Elijah parting the Jordan with his cloak; he and Elisha cross on dry land; then Elisha repeats the parting of the Jordan to go back, using Elijah’s cloak. Elisha doesn’t really want to hang on to the experience – but he asks for a double share of Elijah’s spirit in order to be an effective prophet.  He does try, sort of, to hold on to Elijah, to deny that Elijah will die. He is also afraid, because he’s been to the mountaintop with Elijah, and now he has to come down and carry on.  Moses, too – I’d wager – was terrified especially when he learned he glowed – but I’d also wager he was exhilarated by his. He had been to the mountaintop and seen – and that kind of energy transforms a person, momentarily. But then Moses had to come down the mountain again and deal with the people – who hadn’t had his experience, who were afraid, who wanted to go their own way.

What the disciples missed in that experience they had with Jesus, is that they had inherited the mantle of Elisha through Jesus, that was what he was trying to tell them. – the mantle of faith and leadership was being handed on. They would have to come down from the mountain top, from the exhilaration and excitement of a mountaintop experience,  and go on to living with the regular folks again.

One of our former moderators, Peter Short, has a special gift for helping people see in new ways. Many people have been given strength and vision to carry on in ministry because of their association with, and learning from, Peter. He has been a prophet – someone who speaks wisdom to us in our time.  He has brought skills for pastoral care which are deep, sensitive, and always insightful. When Peter’s term as moderator was almost over, there was a sense among many to try to persuade him to stand for a second term.  It seemed to many of us that through Peter we had a glimpse of what ministry God might have for the church in the next forty years. The other part of me recognizes that, like the disciples and Elisha, we wanted to hang on to the moment, to lean on Peter for our strength and inspiration, to continue to learn more and more,  rather than pick up the mantle we’ve been given, and carry on. We see Jesus in the ‘glory’, the radiant rainbow cloud – so let’s build a temple, a church, something, where we can enshrine the moment, and keep coming back to look at it fondly – but without getting involved in the living of faith ourselves. Get the right minister who will be beloved by everyone, the right boss, the right leader – and go along for the ride.

But here’s the point of transfiguration. What if the ‘glory’ is God’s way of showing us what and how WE are intended to be.  If you went to a mountain top and saw yourself, shining inside the symbol of God’s covenant promise, what would that mean for you? Would it change how you live back here? Would it change how you treat the people around you? Would it make you face your demons, and set them aside, because you, we, all of us – are transfigured and transformed to be in ministry TO each other, and WITH each other, every day of our lives.  Isn’t that what the Jesus experience is???What if?