view from the mountain

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VIEW FROM THE MOUNTAIN Matthew 17: 1-9 Final in the Series: From River to Mountain 8th Sunday After the Epiphany – February 26, 2017 Rev. David S. Cooney

On April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his last sermon at the Mason Temple in Memphis. It was his last sermon because he was assassinated the following day. Given that, he ended the sermon in a rather eerie way. King, after talking about the struggles of the movement, said, “Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land.” King’s point was not so much about the potential for his early death as it was about perspective. From the Montgomery Bus Boycott of the mid-1950s to the scheduled march in Memphis in 1968, King had been embroiled in an intense struggle for civil rights. He saw plenty of ugliness over those years, and progress was slow and hard won. He had ample reason to be bitter and discouraged and to have a “what’s the use” attitude. That was not his mentality, however. Why? He still had hope for the future. He still had hope because, in the midst of struggle and for all the challenging moments, he also had high, holy moments: moments when the presence of Christ was unmistakable; moments when the working of God’s hand was evident; moments which, not just the past but also the future, seemed clear. This is what he meant by, “I’ve been to the mountaintop.” Just as Moses, after forty years of wandering, climbed Mt. Nebo and peered across the Jordan at the Promised Land, so King had been up the mountain and was able to see what would be. The view gave him perspective. God was working his purposes out in our country, and there was a promised land waiting for him, regardless of how soon he entered. The mountain top experiences, the high, holy moments, gave King the perspective necessary to face the struggles of this life because he was able to trust in God’s future. Our lesson today is about just such a mountaintop experience, quite literally. In the lesson, Jesus went up a high mountain. This was not at all unusual. Jesus often went off by himself to pray and often it was up a mountain. This time, though, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him. While on the mountain, the three disciples saw Jesus physically change. His face began to shine and his clothes became dazzling white. Moses, the giver

of the law, and Elijah, the prototypical prophet, appeared with him. A cloud then passed over and a voice spoke, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him.” The same words were spoken at Jesus’ baptism. And with that, Jesus was alone again, appearing normal. The disciples felt anything but normal, though. They were wideeyed and speechless. What was that all about? Just this, I think. Jesus was giving these three leading disciples perspective. It was not on a lark that Jesus invited them to accompany him on this mountain retreat. The entire experience was for their benefit as much as his. We only have to back up one week to figure out why. Six days earlier, on their way to Jerusalem, Jesus confirmed to his disciples that he was, indeed, the Messiah. This was hardly a newsflash. They at least suspected that he was. That is why they were following him. But Jesus did not stop with that. He went on to explain that, when they arrived in Jerusalem, he would suffer terribly and be killed. Peter said no that God would not allow it. Jesus severely rebuked him for denying the plan, and he told all of them that they had better be prepared to carry their crosses. Whoa! That was a newsflash. The Messiah part they were down with. The suffering part was another story. They had not signed up for that. They wanted to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus in glory. They were looking for victory and power and status – not execution. They thought Jesus was going to take Jerusalem and Israel and the world by storm and usher in the reign of God. No one had said anything about crucifixion, at least not that they had heard. This was a problem. How would the disciples ever stick with the mission after he was gone? How would they believe in the resurrection and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit? They would watch him die, unable or unwilling to save himself, and figure they had made a terrible mistake in judgment. We have two thousand years of faith history and still find it hard to believe the Messiah died on a cross. How could he get them to understand in the heat of the moment? One way was to take the three leading disciples up the mountain and show them the Promised Land. He allowed them to see him transfigured, a sign of his divinity. He allowed them to see him with Moses and Elijah, making it apparent that Jesus was part of the long-range plan of God. For centuries God had been involved with his people, leading them from slavery, teaching them his ways, bringing them to salvation. Jesus was not a break from that history. He was the consummation of that history. He allowed them to hear the very voice of God telling them he was, indeed, God’s Son. Oh, they had lived with the human Jesus and thought him special. Now they witnessed Jesus as divine and understood he was more than special. He was not just an

extraordinarily talented man. He was God. They had to have been changed when they left the mountain. Understand, they still had their moments of confusion, their moments of doubt, and their moments of misunderstanding. They did not put it all together right then or get all of the pieces to fit. Not by a long shot. But that view from the mountain gave them a glimpse of the Promised Land, and it was a glimpse they would not forget. They gained the perspective needed for the upcoming struggle. This is exactly why a view from the mountain is so important for all of us. It is a rare person who fully senses the presence of Christ at all times. It is a rare person who avoids hurt and heartache, discouragement, even despair in life. Even if we are not personally experiencing illness or death or family dysfunction or work trauma, we have friends who are, not to mention the sorrow we feel for soldiers killed or wounded, or for those in the path of the tsunamis or earthquakes or fires or floods, or the refugees from places such as Syria, or, well, you get the point. It is hard not to feel discouraged. I have always considered myself a faith-filled optimist, but there are plenty of days I sit and stare and wonder about what is going on. It is spiritually debilitating. Or would be, save for the views from the mountain when Christ’s presence is unmistakable. Save for the moments when miracles erupt. The moments when the sweep of God’s plan is visible, even if only for a glimpse. The moments when it becomes plain that Jesus is Lord – Christ is in control. Have you had those moments? Have you seen that view? Maybe it was at your baptism, or maybe it was at the communion table, or maybe it was in a cathedral with a service being conducted in Latin, or maybe it was while walking on the beach, or maybe it was in a delivery room, or maybe it was at a graveside, or maybe it was in a Sunday School class, or maybe it was in a hospital room, or maybe it was when a group of friends had gathered, or maybe it was at a wedding, or maybe it was while reading the Bible alone at home, or maybe, maybe it was on a mountaintop. The moments are not the same for each one of us. Some may have had many, others few. We cannot plan for them. We cannot make them happen. We cannot even make them linger. We can only cling to them. We can only allow them to adjust our vision, to help us to see as God sees. And when we see as God sees, we see that the time will come when everything will be all right. There is a promised land. The disciples were surely afraid and confused because of what was about to happen. Jesus took them up the mountain and gave them a different perspective. It is the perspective Jesus gives to us in our mountaintop experiences. It is the perspective necessary to face the struggles of this life by trusting in God’s future.

Can you picture Jesus on the mountaintop, full of light, standing with Moses and Elijah? John the Baptist was the new Elijah and Jesus was the new Moses. They would carry on God’s plan, leading us to the ultimate Promised Land. Both would suffer and die doing it but yet would get us there. This view from the mountain is what gives us the faith and hope needed to get there. “I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead, no doubt. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land.” Shine, Jesus, shine. Lord Jesus Christ. In you is our hope. Amen.