Please read Matthew 17: 1-9
The Gospel passage is Matthew’s account of the Transfiguration. The context in which this passage takes place sheds new light on it. In Matthew 16, Jesus asks his disciples who people say that he is. Peter confesses Jesus as Christ, and is told that he is the rock upon which the Church will be built. But then, just moments later, Peter is strongly rebuked to “get behind me Satan” when he protests Jesus’ telling of what lies ahead in Jerusalem.
Six days later, Jesus takes with him Peter and the brothers, James and John—the inner circle—and they go up a high mountain. While they were there, Jesus changed from the inside out; his clothes became a dazzling white and his face glowed. Right there with him were Moses and Elijah. Can you imagine such a powerful sight?
Peter wanted to stay on the mountain.
I can understand Peter’s desire to stay there and worship, especially since he knew now where Jesus’ ministry would be headed. But there was a crowd of people waiting for them at the bottom of the mountain, and they needed healing.
I am involved in the Walk to Emmaus®[1], a three-day weekend experience that is intentionally designed and structured to strengthen and reinvigorate the faith of Christians. For many people, it is a mountaintop experience. As the weekend is concluding, it is tempting to want to stay there—the food, the friendships, the service of other Christians who want to make sure you have a great experience of God’s grace—why go back to the real world and the problems we left behind?
But I think there is a “so that” to mountaintop experiences like the Transfiguration and the Emmaus Walk. An incident of God’s nearer presence—whether you call it a Mountaintop experience, a moving worship service, a glory sighting, or a Hallelujah moment—is “so that” we can be renewed and reinvigorated to then use the gifts God has given us to do our ministry.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for mountaintop experiences where we feel so close to you that our lives our transformed. Thank you for equipping us for ministry and giving us opportunities to bring others to experience your transforming grace. Amen.
[1] The Walk to Emmaus® is grounded theologically and institutionally in The Upper Room ministry unit of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. For more information, please see http://upperroom.org/emmaus/ or http://www.ashlandemmaus.com/
Jeff Taylor
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