As you know, I love to go hiking, and love hikes that take me into the mountains. I have shared some of these stories and pictures over the years. Some might say that this is a rather silly pursuit – it takes so much effort to climb a mountain – so much physical exertion and stamina. Wouldn’t it be simpler to just stay at home, or enjoy the relaxation of the campsite but not hike? Hiking is hard work! But I find I am motivated for the trip up – for the promise of what I will find at the top – the views, the fresh air, the accomplishment, the sense of utter peace and contentment. For me, it is all about getting to and being at the top of the mountain.
You should see me when I do get to the top. I stay on the top of the mountain probably longer than anyone I know. Others come and go well before I leave again. There is that initial gasp as you take in the incredible view – as you look around to all the distances, sometimes even a full 360 degrees panorama. You simply soak it in. And then you take some photos, which never quite captures the fullness of what you are experiencing – the depth, the perspective, the grandeur. Guess what, I always bring along food, usually a lunch – bagels and cheese and summer sausage, some fruit, some other munchies, lots of water. It always tastes better there than anywhere else. That’s when most people turn around and start heading back down. But I want to linger longer, much longer. I simply stay there and keep looking around. It is a place where I am at total peace with myself, my place in the world and the divine. It is a spiritual experience. It grounds me and I carry this time with me for a long time. I have even been known to take a little nap up on top, like I did last summer on top of Silver Peak in Killarney. If you could carry it up, I might even be tempted to set up a tent, a dwelling place –just so I could stay longer. The time seems endless. I don’t want it to end. But inevitably, the time finally comes when you have to leave that sacred place. What goes up, must go down. You can’t stay on the top of the mountain. I take a last quick view, and begin the descent. It is often quicker to get down, but also in a way harder on your body, especially your knees. The tiredness sets in. There is nothing left to look forward to. You feel blah. It is much more perfunctory – you just make your way back down and don’t tend to even stop at those in between viewpoints that so excited you on the way up. I remember climbing Mount Albert in Parc de la Gaspésie with Nathan and Lorena a few years ago – I was well in front of them, pushing all the way to the top. It was an amazing view! We stayed there a long long time. But then on the way down, I languished way behind the two of them. Lorena said something about how old man knees work. Going down is never as exciting as climbing up.
Near the end of the ministry of Jesus, with the Passion approaching, Jesus finds himself on a high mountain with a few of his disciples – Peter, James and John. Jesus is still in the region of Galilee, but Jerusalem looms. Christian tradition, already in the 3rd century with scholar Oregen, has named that mountain as Mount Tabor, even though the mountain is not named in the Bible, and it is not that high a mountain – only 575 meters. By the 4th century it was already a pilgrimage site and there are some early churches built on Mount Tabor, in honour of the Trasnfiguration. I liked the one photo Melinda showed in the children’s story were you see all the houses and buildings surrounding the foot of the mountain, everyday regular life, but you get away from it all if you climb to the top. I am good with the claiming of Mount Tabor, but also kind of like the uncertainty and mystery of the location and that it is not actually named – this could be any mountain, this could be the mountain tops we find ourselves on.
This Transfiguration story is so fascinating. It is the calm in the midst of the storm. To understand the story, you need to look at the context around it, where it falls in the story of Jesus. We are so close to the end of the Jesus’ ministry. The end of Chapter 16, just before our passage, is about preparing for the Passion to come – in three tough serious scenes. It is like they are already starting to climb the mountain. This is the hard work. You can’t get up the mountain without first going through the effort.
The first scene is about identity. Jesus asks the disciples ‘who do people say the Son of Man is?’ There is this speculation about John and Baptism, or Elijah or one of the prophets. Notice how these names, these prophets show up again on the top of the mountain. It is a confident Peter who declares ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ It is like he passes that first test, the first challenge of climbing the mountain – he declares the true identity of Jesus. Jesus calls him blessed and names him as Peter the rock, on which he will build his church…. but don’t tell anybody I am the Messiah.
In The second scene, Jesus foretells his death and resurrection – he must go to Jerusalem and suffer at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. This is the first of 3 times he will give this warning, this prediction. Peter objects and rebukes Jesus – God forbid!, upon which Jesus says ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ You are a stumbling block, setting your mind on human things rather than the divine. This is harsh. Peter was just called the Rock that the church will be built on, and now this stinging chastisement. Climbing this symbolic mountain will be harder than he thinks.
Then in the third scene, Jesus tells his disciples that if they truly want to follow him, they must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow – to lose their life to save it. There is no easy path here. Following will be very difficult – harder than you would ever imagine. But it is the only way to life, the only way to the top of the mountain.
Then they finally get to the top of the mountain, 6 days later. And it is this moment, first of fear, but then of calm and peace, that transforms them. Jesus is shining like the sun, clothes dazzling white. Images of Moses and Elijah appear. There is the voice of God – ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ – These are echoes of the words given to Jesus at his baptism, at that high point of affirmation, before his 40 days of testing in the wilderness. Maybe we can only enter the wilderness, descend to the valleys, walk into the toughest experiences of life, with that reminder that we are loved, that God is pleased with us. No wonder the disciples want to pitch a tent, set up a dwelling, linger a while longer in this sacred and safe and affirming place. I don’t blame them. This is what I do on every mountain hike, and what I wish I could do in life when I get those mountain top experience glimpses into God’s presence and love. The disciples want to hold on, to stay in that moment, to not face what they are just starting to realize is ahead for them. But as they descend the mountain, Jesus tells them, orders them, to tell no one… at least not until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’ Jesus knows that they needed this mountain top experience – right now, as things were getting rough, but even more so in the days ahead as Jesus is arrested and tried and killed. Peter will hit rock bottom – swinging a sword, abandoning and denying Jesus. As deep a valley as one could imagine. But just maybe, it is the memory of the mountain top, the memory of being with Jesus and the prophets, this memory of being loved, of God being well pleased, that will allow hope to emerge again, after all feels lost. The mountain top experience will go with Peter, with the disciples, with us, into the deepest valleys when all hope seems lost. We will remember. We hold the memory.
This is the last Sunday of our summer worship theme on ‘Climbing the Mountain of God.’ It has been a very good summer of worship! We have collectively climbed 7 of the major mountains in Scriptures and immersed ourselves in the stories that happened on each mountain – Mount Sinai, Mount Zion, Mount Nebo, Mount Carmel, Mount of Olives, Mount of the Beatitudes and now Mount Tabor. There has been some heavy lifting involved. We have fully embraced everything each mountain had to offer. We have recognized how significant these mountains have been in the Biblical narrative – as images that the people of God carried with them and helped shaped their faith and their very identity. These sacred mountains literally loom large in the story of Scripture. This was our hope when Melinda and I first met to plan this summer worship series – that we would get to know these mountains and what they had to offer us.
What we didn’t expect, was how the personal sharing of Mountain Top Experiences would take off. We had this little idea that maybe on a few of the summer Sundays, someone would share their own Mountain Top Experience. We would leave a space in the worship order for that. We decided that instead of trying to ask a number of people – afterall, how would we know who might have something to share – we would simply put an invitation in the newsletter and leave it open to the Spirit. We figured maybe we would have a couple of Sundays with sharing, but were fine if not every Sunday had something. We know how SJMC works: Open invitations don’t usually go far. You get the best results with should tapping – a direct ask. Well, were we ever wrong, and surprised and delighted by the response to this open invitation. Other than the invitation to Som from Grace Lao, and one other person, both sharings overheard at the church picnic in June that we thought everyone should hear, every single Mountain Top Experience sharing came to us from people wanting to share – approaching us with an email, an answering machine message, in person after worship – ‘I think I have something I could share, if you still have room.’ We have had someone share every single Sunday this summer – even 2 this morning! 9 all together. This theme has captured the imagination. People have had experiences on literal mountains, or in the valleys, and seen these as metaphors for their lives and as gifts of God at certain key moments in their lives. They hold the memories of these experiences to give them strength when facing other difficult times, or simply as they live their regular lives. These are holy and sacred moments, when God was present, when they wished they could stay up on the mountain and build a dwelling place, like the disciples at the Transfiguration. These have been so rich. And people just kept on volunteering to share.
It made me step back and recognize and name for myself, that we are becoming a congregation more and more willing to step out and share with each other. We are being transformed as a community of faith. Maybe it started with our sharing time. For many years we have had an active congregational sharing time in our worship, with the mic going around. We wondered for a little while post pandemic, if we had lost our voice, but it has returned with rich and vulnerable and respectful sharing with each other for prayer in worship. O Lord, hear our prayers. Thanks be to God. But there is more. We have had an active Beyond Sunday Morning ministry – Thanks Nelson! – with a unique model of individuals sharing their life story on a Sunday evening, often through a particular lens – Careers, Music, Books, Food, Journeys and so on. This really took off during the pandemic when we gathered on-line over Zoom and people prepared all sorts of slides and stories to share, and has continued so strong since in the basement. People love to hear someone’s story, what makes them tick, and how God is a part of that. And we have had so many people willing to share! Various members of the congregation have been willing to preach, 2 again this summer, and to bring their unique voice and style and witness to God’s work in their life to this congregation. We had bread communion stories last summer, Water stories the year before. Don Penner put out an invitation for some longer sharing on a Sunday in our ‘What is Jesus Pointing us to’ winter series, and 3 people took him up on it for a wonderful Sunday morning. Our worship response circle time during the regular year has taken off, as we go around the circle and people share deeply about how the Scriptures and worship themes have impacted them and connected to their personal story. Hmmm… maybe Melinda and I should not have been so surprised by the tremendous response to the Mountain Top Experience stories this summer. We are becoming, and have become a congregation willing to share openly and honestly with each other. We are ignoring that message from Jesus to his disciples to not tell anybody. It is about being real with each other, Vulnerable, transparent. It is as much about our weaknesses and mistakes and unanswered questions, than our confidences or victories. It is about valleys and mountain tops. It is ultimately a willingness to admit and recognize and name and share and witness to the presence of the divine in the midst of our very human lives – to recognize that at the end of the day we can’t do it on our own – we need God and we need each other. Brent, this bodes well for your Life Together Invitation in the newsletter this week for people to send you experiences and stories of being a Spirit Centred people. To me, it also says that as a congregation we are so open and willing to accept and receive these stories. There is no judgement. There are open arms and ears, and so much compassion, as we connect with and identify with what people are sharing. We are all on this journey together. I love seeing all the encouragement and notes and emails and affirmations that go back to the people that share. It is all about giving and receiving in a spirit of trust and awe. This is a sacred gift!
So today is our last Sunday up here in the Mountains of the Bible. (arm to face) Take your last look around. Like the disciples on Mount Tabor, we have to climb back down the mountain, and into the Fall. I would rather linger longer, but that’s just me. But I know that like the disciples leaving Mount Tabor, we will keep carrying and holding on to all these Mountain Top Experiences that we have heard, and they will continue to shape us and sustain us. And I know that we will keep sharing from our hearts, from our vulnerabilities. We will keep being real with each other. And I know that God is present and alive – on the mountains, across the plains and in the valleys – in whatever life will bring us, both personally and as a community of faith. (arms out) O Lord, hear our prayers. Thanks be to God. Amen.