Wanting to Be on the Mountaintop
February 19, 2023
Matthew 16:24-17:13 | ???
There are a lot of mountains in the stories of the Bible: Ararat, Sinai/Horeb, Carmel, Jesus’ prayer locations, the Sermon on the …, Golgotha, Ascension. They are all places of demarcation. They are all not-easily-accessed.
Today we’re reading again Jesus’ transfiguration (on a mountain). Despite having many disciples, Jesus only took three. Not all of his disciples were there for the mountaintop experience.
Peter wanted to stay there, to erect lasting monuments. But the divine voice simply declared from heaven a command to listen to Jesus. (We might think it being polite enough not to add the, “First, this means you need to shut up.”)
And then Jesus reached out his hand and touched the prostrate disciples and said,
“Don’t be afraid.”
Matthew 16:24-17:13
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me will find them. Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? What will people give in exchange for their lives? For the Human One is about to come with the majesty of his Father with his angels. And then he will repay each one for what that person has done. I assure you that some standing here won’t die before they see the Human One coming in his kingdom.”
Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain. He was transformed in front of them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.
Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good that we’re here. If you want, I’ll make three shrines: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, look, a bright cloud overshadowed them. A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son whom I dearly love. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!” Hearing this, the disciples fell on their faces, filled with awe.
But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anybody about the vision until the Human One is raised from the dead.”
The disciples asked, “Then why do the legal experts say that Elijah must first come?”
Jesus responded, “Elijah does come first and will restore all things. In fact, I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they didn’t know him. But they did to him whatever they wanted. In the same way the Human One is also going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples realized he was telling them about John the Baptist.
Psalm 121:1-2
I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.
Prayer
God of the Earth -
You made mountains and hills at the very beginning: places on high.
It was on high you settled the Ark.
It was on high that you gave your Law.
It was on high that Solomon built your Temple.
It was on high that you whispered to Elijah.
It was on high that Jesus revealed your Kingdom.
It was on high that you spoke over him:
“This is my beloved, in whom I am well-pleased.”
It was on high that he was lifted up and crucified.
And Jesus’ feet last touched the earth up on a mount on high.
I’d like to be there, but it seems that you determine when things happen on mountaintops. So I relent to your timing. And I wait. Help me wait.
I trust you, by your Spirit and in Christ. Amen.