Mountaintop Moments
Scripture Reflection for the Second Week of Lent (March 1, 2015)
Genesis 22:1-2, 9A, 10-13, 15-18
Psalm 116: 10, 15, 16-17, 18-19
Romans 8:31B-34
Mark 9:2-10
Sometimes we are given the opportunity to experience “mountaintop moments,” moments that stand out from our everyday lives. They cast a new perspective on our lives and leave us with a sense of having been in the presence of the numinous, of something entirely “other.” They give us a sense of God's presence in our lives. Today's Gospel tells us about one such “mountaintop moment” in Jesus' life and in the lives of his disciples.
Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain, where they witness an extraordinary event: Jesus is “transfigured.” Unlike the parallel accounts of this story in Matthew and Luke, Mark's account gives little detail as to what this actually looked like. He focuses less on the physical appearance of Jesus and more on the presence of Moses and Elijah and the voice from the cloud: clear evidence of the numinous character of this experience.
It is easy to imagine how Peter, James, and John must have felt. They were undoubtedly frightened by Jesus' sudden change in appearance, and the sudden appearance of two legendary figures representing the Law and the prophets. They probably turned to each other, wondering: “Does James see what I see?” “Did Peter hear that, too?” “Is John as frightened as I am?” Yet, it is Peter who speaks, giving voice to a sentiment that all three must have felt: a desire to remain at this place, a “mountaintop” isolated from the mundane experiences of everyday life. According to verse 6, “he hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.”
Experience of the holy can be terrifying. For many of us, it can stir feelings foreign to our everyday lives. The presence of God can be so overwhelming that the one experiencing it can hardly know what to feel, let alone what to do or say. As overwhelming, frightening, and draining as these experiences may be, we may recognize that there is a deeper longing within us to remain in this moment. God's presence forces us out of our comfort zones, but also, in some ways, becomes an entirely new comfort zone, as demonstrated by the disciples’ desire to remain on the mountain in that experience.
Over the past several years, I have had opportunities to attend a number of spiritual retreats and conferences. I have also been involved in planning a few, and have had good conversations with other individuals who plan and organize these kinds of events for high school students. Often, when participants are asked to provide feedback about their experiences at an event, their responses suggest a kind of “mountaintop moment.” This can be both positive and negative.
It can be positive if it indicates that the individual experienced something of God. Upon returning to everyday life, however, that sense of God's presence can become harder to find, and the spirit with which participants return from these events can wear off. There is little, sometimes nothing, to sustain it. Sadly, I have known many individuals who have lost all sense of the great experience they had simply because of the great gulf that exists between the momentary sense of God's presence and their everyday lives. Further, the experience can be more emotional than spiritual as such. While God certainly does speak to us through our emotions, an over-emphasis on the emotional nature of encounter with God can occasionally blind us to the reality of the experience itself and shift the focus away from God as God is revealed to us in that moment.
It is easy to meet God in a venue specifically organized and carefully planned in hopes of creating an experience of this kind among like-minded individuals. It is harder to meet God as God in the places and times of our life that are full of confusion, chaos, and the messiness of life. It is easier to encounter God in a place far removed from the realities of our daily existence, and echo Peter in saying, “It is good that we are here! Let's build tents and stay here awhile!”
The three disciples were very confused as they came down from the mountain. Jesus told them not to tell anyone what they had seen, “except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” They clearly didn't understand what that meant! And, anyway, how could they explain to anyone who had not been there what they had seen and experienced? Experiences of God are seldom neat and easy. Yet, by coming down the mountain with Jesus, returning to the complexities of the world, they set a valuable example for us. It is good to have those moments alone on our metaphorical mountaintop with God. Even Jesus needed those moments. It is important, however, to remember that when we leave that mountain, we aren't going back alone. Jesus goes back down the mountain and back into our lives as well, just as he did after that “mountaintop moment” with Peter, James, and John. This is as much a part of the experience as the “mountaintop moment itself.”
Image: Mountains in the Fog by Ekaterina Aristova found on Flickr under the Creative Commons License
Aimee Perhach
