February 3, 2008
From the
Mountain to the Valley
Exodus 24: 12-18; Matthew 17:
1-9
FPC;
In Tolkien’s book,
The Hobbit, Bilbo and his companions are traveling through a dark
and dangerous forest infested with giant poisonous spiders and all kinds
of dark critters and creepy crawly things.
All of the travelers want to get out of that forest, but have no
reason to think that they will escape any time soon.
One of the leaders orders Bilbo to climb the forest’s tallest
tree to see if he can tell where the dark forest ends.
Bilbo climbs the tree, pushing his way through the dense forest
canopy. As he reaches the
treetop, he is nearly blinded by the sudden and intense sunlight.
After being in the damp darkness below, he enjoys the sunshine
and is able to soak it into his weary, tired and aching bones.
The fresh air blows softly in his face and invigorates his lungs
and clears his mind. It is
the most wonderful place to be.[1]
For Peter, the mountain of transfiguration was the
most wonderful to place to be. The intense light that shines from Jesus’
face and the cloud that appears overhead are both indications of an
epiphany, a manifestation of God.
As the divine merges with the human, it is both literally and
figuratively a shining moment in Peter’s life.
He wants the experience to continue. “Lord, let’s build three
booths-one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah”.
Peter’s human words are interrupted by Divine words,
life-changing, identity-giving words.
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.
Listen to him!”
The words spoken at the
Jesus reenters the world with his mission reaffirmed.
He sets his feet on the road to
On the mountain, Peter-the fumbling, befuddled one-already is
experiencing that Divine love.
With the hearts of Peter, James and John quaking in fear, Jesus
walks over and touches them.
It is the same touch experienced previously by a leper, by Peter’s
mother-in-law and by two blind men.
It is the touch of healing.
It is the touch of grace.
It is the touch upon us when elements of fear or distress
threaten to erode the bedrock of our spiritual lives.
“Get up and don’t be afraid!” the voice says.
“Listen to him!”
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to
save their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake
will find it.”
Is it any wonder that Peter and the rest would delay their descent off the mountain? Who, in their human mind, would willingly set his feet upon a road that leads to sacrifice and suffering?
Yet, the voice cannot be denied.
“If any want to become my followers…”
To follow Jesus, one must come down from the mountain and reenter
the valley where we are to offer reflections of God’s glory to one
another and to the world. We
are to reenter the world where our own lives are to shine with the
majestic glory of God.
Presbyterian minister Jim Lowry tells about a scene he witnessed
while on an airline flight.
He begins his account by saying:
“I wonder now if the woman’s name is Grace.
She wasn’t like the others on the plane.
Surely her name is Grace.
She sat in seat 18E.
At least she finally sat in seat 18E.
I was in 19E. I was
flying from
From the corner
of his eye he saw a little girl go down the aisle and then heard,
“Jessica, come back here, right now.
I’ve had it with you!” Then Lowry heard that mother say to the
woman in 16E: “Lady, you’re in my seat!” “Oh, is this not 16E?” said
Grace. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s 16E all right.
But 16E is my seat,” screamed Jessica’s Mom.
“Let me see your ticket, Lady,” Jessica’s Mom demanded.
“This says 18E. Are
you blind?” Oh, I’m so
sorry,” said Grace. “It must
be my bifocals.” According to Lowry, there was stunned silence over that
part of the cabin as Grace resettled herself and her carry-on in 18E and
Jessica’s Mom settled in 16E and strapped Jessica in the seat beside
her, saying “I don’t want a peep out of you, you hear.”
After the plane
became airborne and the seat belt light went off, Jessica’s head
appeared just over the back of her seat.
She was looking back toward Grace.
Jessica was clutching a teddy to her cheek with one hand. Pretty
soon, says Lowry, Grace waved at Jessica with just one of her fingers.
Jessica took her thumb out of her mouth and waved back.
Grace made a sign of drying her own tears; Jessica dried her
tears. Grace made the signs
of patty cake, patty cake...no words, just the signs.
Jessica put down her Teddy and made the signs back.
Jessica’s Mom observed all of this from the corner of her eye.
So it went all the way to
After the plane
touched down, something happened that seemed to clear the air all around
seat 18E. The people around
that seat were nice to each other, retrieving each other’s luggage,
standing back to let others into the aisle, talking to each other in
friendly tones. In the
terminal Lowry saw Grace and Jessica’s Mom talking to each other.
They were smiling. Lowry concludes his account: “See why I think
her name was Grace? It just
had to be Grace.”[2]
Could our name
be Grace, too? I wonder.
When we pass
these communion elements to one another, the elements of grace are
passed on, too. This becomes
a shining moment for us. But
we cannot remain here, on the mountaintop.
As we reenter the world refreshed, renewed and empowered, we are
to offer the world an epiphany, shining moments. Our lives are to be
identified by grace, that the world might be transfigured by God’s love
shining through us.
[1] J.R.R. Tolkien, as written at www.esermons.com, February, 2005
[2] Michael
Lindvall,
The Christian Life-a Geography of God, (
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