Based in Matthew 17: 1 - 8
“Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ 5While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ 6When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ 8And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.”
Mountains were considered to be holy places in ancient Palestine. The god of the mountain was often strong and powerful, worthy of fear and adoration. In the Jewish tradition, Yahweh or the LORD often appeared to leaders when they went up into the mountains: Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai and would often retreat to a mountain to be with God; David and Elijah retreated to the mountains to escape persecution; and Isaiah talks about God’s peaceable kingdom as a “strong mountain.” It only seems natural, then, that Jesus would take his closest circle up a high (read: very close to God) mountain for spiritual refreshment, deliberately reminiscent of Moses, the great Founder of the Jewish religion.
The connections with Moses continue. When Moses came down from being with God on the mountain, it is said that his “face shone like the sun.” He had been anointed as a great spiritual leader by God, and his outward countenance was the symbolic statement of his new authority. For Jesus to be “transfigured,” then, is to place him on par with Moses as a prophet and spokesman for God. Not only that, but then Moses and Elijah (who was considered to be another mighty prophet) appear side by side with Jesus, talking with him. To the disciples, this clearly resonates as confirmation not only that they are in a holy place, but that Jesus is a holy man – he keeps company with the pillars of Jewish tradition.
So Peter decides it is best to stay on the mountain. He then offers to build tents, but these are not regular camping tents. The Greek word used is the same as the one used for the Tabernacle, the Holy Place where the spirit of the LORD was said to dwell in early Judaism. Peter recognizes that God’s Spirit is present, but he still doesn’t understand the full magnitude of the experience. It isn’t until the cloud appears and a Voice comes from it that the true association is made. The cloud is reminiscent of a cloud that dwelt over the Ark of the Covenant, another symbolic sign of God’s abiding presence with the Israelites. The words that are spoken by the Voice are very clear: listen to him! In Hebrew, though, the word we translate as “listen” doesn’t only mean to hear, but also to obey. When the cloud and the personages disappear, only Jesus remains: Jesus is the presence of God dwelling in the world, the One truly worthy of being heard and obeyed. The fact that he associates with Moses and Elijah sets him up as a prophet of God, but in the end he alone remains, signifying that his relationship with and to God transcends that of even the mightiest of prophets.
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I sense the need to “go up the mountain” with Jesus. There is a draw to set aside time to reflect and simply BE with God in the stillness. Developing that relationship is crucial for my own faith and health. But I have learned that I should almost expect to be surprised by what I might hear in those times, that I will actually encounter a Living God who stretches me and challenges my comfortable status quo thought and living. To “go up the mountain” with Jesus is to place myself intentionally in a position to be changed.
Yet placing Christ at the center of my life — greater than all other teachers and wisdom, the last one standing in my faith — is to recognize a journey. After their experience with the Voice from the cloud, the disciples are scared. They don’t know what to do. Jesus tells them two things: get up, and do not be afraid. They cannot stay there, nor should they be afraid of that which they have encountered. God is a God of love, not of fear, so the message of reassuring peace that Jesus offers signifies the nature of God: there is nothing to fear there. But relationship with God also calls us to get up — we can’t be stationary. The scene after this finds Jesus and the disciples going back down the mountain to minister to the people they find there. Encounter with God always leads to shared ministry with others. And we have nothing to fear in this journey of transformation and service, for God’s Beloved, the One who remains alone when “other helpers fail and comforts flee,” by our side, gently nudging, “C’mon, get up! Do not be afraid.”
