In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, there is an interesting story called “The Transfiguration.” Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to a high mountain to pray and be alone. Luke 9:29-30, says, “As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.”
In 1st century Judaism and in the New Testament, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven. The belief was that this transformation is how we as believers share in the glory of God. When disciples saw Jesus transfigured, they were getting a sneak peak of the great glory that Jesus would have—a glory greater than any person would receive, because He is the Son of God.
Right after this moment in the story, Peter declares they need to build shelters for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. Most translations have the parenthetical statement: “he did not know what he was saying.” I can hear Peter in his excitement saying, “Let’s build these places and just stay right here!” While it’s not in the text, I can see Jesus putting his arm around Peter…and then walking down the mountain with him.
Mountaintops are great places to experience God and meet with Jesus in a new way. Whether it is a week of Caswell, watching 7 youth (7!!!!) be baptized, or a beautiful Sunday morning service right here at PSBC. The reality is…we don’t live on the mountaintop. I used to live at Caswell and even though living there year round was nice, it was not always a “mountaintop” spiritual experience. Many days, sometimes most days, feel like ordinary days. We go to work, we go to school, and we figure out what we are going to eat for supper. The next day, we wake up and repeat the process.
It’s a challenge to not allow the days after those experiences to bring us down; when life goes back to “normal.” So how do we take the mountaintop experiences down to everyday life in the valley?
We remember those experiences on the mountain and use them as a launch pad. We make the choice to follow Jesus back down the mountain to where we actually live our lives. We remember that the God of the mountaintops is the same God of the valley. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We just need to remember…
Prayer: God, thank you for the mountaintop experiences of our lives. We pray for strength as we recognize most of our life will be lived in the valley. Thank you for your presence on each step of the journey. Amen.
Grace and peace,
Aaron
pastoraaronhinton@gmail.com
(704) 300-0081