Faith on the Mountain Top

Image: Augustin Kolawole Olayinka: The Transfiguration of Jesus (1997). From: missio-Kunstkalender 2002 no. 5 © missio Aachen.

 

SMR family, 

 

I want to focus this week on the gospel reading which is Luke's account of the Transfiguration of Christ (Luke 9.28-36). 

 

If you're anything like me, the transfiguration is one of those accounts that when you take a minute to consider and reflect, the harder it is to understand. It just seems so... crazy (for want of a better word!) Jesus goes up a mountain with some of his friends to pray when this miraculous experience happens. Luke is descriptive in his account; Jesus' face changes, flashing lights, a kind of angelic conversation between Moses, Elijah and Jesus and Jesus' clothes become bright. It sounds like a dream rather than reality, but then, we are encouraged this week to consider the miraculous power of God. 

 

To be clear, I do believe this happened- but that doesn't mean I can't question it or even doubt it. However, the more I have reflected, the more I can identify moments in my own life that have been hard to explain. I've found things that I swore were lost forever, in times of need family or friends have given money when I hadn't asked, something has fallen into place when I didn't think it could and just when I have felt all hope was lost, I've heard something or seen something that allowed me to keep going. So maybe I do know God's miraculous power in my life?! 

 

These moments, although smaller, are similar to what Peter, John and James experienced on the mountain with Jesus. Miraculous, powerful, encouraging and hard to explain or understand. But then, if we could explain everything about God and how God works- God wouldn't be God and faith would be a little pointless. There are moments in life and faith where are on the mountaintop, lost in wonder, awe and majesty - and we do well to stop and savour these moments.

 

I've not done lots of big mountain climbs in my life, but I have done a few. And anyone who has also done a climb will know that feeling when you get to the top and look out at an incredible vista in front of you- reminding you of just how beautiful and big our world is and pausing to drink in as much creation as you can. It's an incredible feeling.

 

Jesus' transfiguration was important for many reasons- it is the moment he shows his friends who He is, the Son of God, the Saviour. That He is both fully human and fully God. And for three of Jesus' friends to witness this- I can only imagine how special and awe-inspiring it was.

 

However, we know all too well that mountain-top experiences don't last forever- we have to come down at some point. We can desperately try and hold on to these experiences, trying to make them last longer. It's nice to be on the mountain top- right? Peter demonstrates this beautifully and I find it so relatable. He asks Jesus 'Can I build three shelters for you, Moses and Elijah, here on this mountain?' In other words, can I try and capture this moment and hold on to it and box it, so I don't have to go down the mountain?

 

But the disciples don't go back down the mountain alone, Jesus is with them. Even when we are coming back down from a high, in the everyday mundane life and even in the hard times, the good news is that Jesus is with us. As scholar Debie Thomas warns, “Desperate for the mountain, we miss the God of the valley, the conference room, the pharmacy, the school yard. The story of the transfiguration of Jesus loses its power if [the transfiguration] does not include that moment when Jesus and the disciples come down from the mountain.” 

 

So, let's enjoy those amazing mountain top moments of faith but let's also try and notice God's glimmer of hope and love in the everyday. 



Laura Verrall-Kelly

August 2023


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