Genesis 15:5-18, Psalm 27, Philippians 3:17-4:1, Luke 9:28-36
How Beautiful the Mountaintop
In the Gospel reading for today Jesus leads Peter, James and John to the top of the mountain where they will receive a glimpse of the divine.
Let us leave aside for a moment that glorious revelation and focus instead upon what brought them to that peak. It is hardly a full description to say that Jesus led them to the top of a high mountain because this completely overlooks the great effort that it took to reach that point.
I come from western Canada and the Rocky Mountains are in my backyard. Many summers I have spent on hiking trips through the valleys and forests, but my favorite activity will always be finding my way to the peaks; it’s like a compulsion for me. When I see a high point I must try to get to it and if from that peak I see one higher then that is my next goal. But the energy needed for this game is enormous, the cuts and bruises I have suffered are numerous. There is no easy way to the top of the mountain.
It is no coincidence that in all three of Gospel accounts of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountaintop we first hear Jesus telling his listeners what it takes to be a true disciple of His. “If any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it.” Yes the trip to the top of the mountain is fraught with difficulty and it is symbolic of what Jesus is really asking of his followers.
Sometimes it’s difficult to be able to look beyond the suffering that we know the climb will cost us. St. John of the Cross writes about the dark night of soul when despite our yearning God seems nowhere to be found. Why do we keep praying in the midst of such emptiness, is it to torture ourselves? Why do we follow a way that the world does not always recognize as valuable, are we deluding ourselves? No, it is because we have been given a promise. We have seen a glimpse of the peak and we know that if we take a few more steps we will arrive there, bruised and battered perhaps, but oh how much we will enjoy the view from up there. We know that the goal is worth every effort.
The irony of mountain climbing is that the true destination of our endeavor is not the top of the mountain at all, but rather we want to end up in the place where we began, we want to get back safe and hopefully better for the experience. In the Gospel Peter, always the outspoken one, says how good it is to be here on the mountaintop, lets build some tents and stay here. But I am sure that even Peter meant to stay just for a little while. Only a dreamer thinks that they can stay on the mountaintop forever.
We know that while we live out our earthly lives our home is not on the mountaintop with Jesus. Our homes are in the valley in our communities and it is to these that we must return. Though we come back to the same places that we left behind, we don’t come back as the same people who left because too much has happened to us.
We have journeyed to the mountaintop; we have experienced the suffering of the cross and in the midst of our struggle we have seen that our hope lies in returning the reins of our lives to God. In a word we have experienced a taste of resurrection. That is what the season of Lent is leading up to. Not forty days of penance and fasting for suffering’s sake, but forty days of preparation and purification so that when we come to the resurrection we will have some idea of what it is supposed to mean for us.
What obstacles are you facing in your life journey?
Has your experience of Christ change who you are for your community?
