Mountaintop experiences! Have you ever had one? Did it change your life? Did you undergo a transfiguration? Not only in the Judeo-Christian tradition, but also in Greek, Roman, and Asian religious literature, mountains were always places where the human could touch the divine. As human beings looked up at a high mountain, that seemed to be the place where earth touched heaven, so to go up to the mountain top was what one did to seek a special relationship with God. In our culture we have taken the term mountaintop experiences to refer to anything that charges us up and changes us in a positive way, often even what one might call a luminous or supernatural way. My mountaintop experiences most often happen by some body of water.

Jesus took three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, with him to the top of a high mountain, most scholars think it was Mount Tabor. A most amazing thing happened, something we refer to as the transfiguration of Jesus. We are told that his face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white. As if that was not amazing enough, the disciples then saw two other holy men, Moses and Elijah, with Jesus, talking to him. How’s that for a miracle!

In the Hebrew Bible lesson for today we are reminded of another mountaintop experience, Moses going to the top of Mt. Sinai to receive from God the Ten Commandments. God called Moses, “Come up to the mountain and wait for me.”

Have you ever heard God call you to come and wait?

In the second letter of Peter, an eyewitness to this event, we are told again that God spoke on this holy mountain so that the disciples heard. God said This is my Son, the Beloved, with him I am well pleased. The Gospel lesson has God’s voice end by telling the disciples to “Listen to him!”

All of these scripture lessons, as well as Psalm 99 from which our Call to Worship was taken, talk about the holy: a holy mountain, holy men, holy Spirit. In other passages we are told to take off our shoes because this is holy ground or to keep the Sabbath holy; in Romans we are told to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Peter says in his first epistle, … ‘as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct.’

What does it mean for us to be holy? There are 4 definitions in dictionary.com that might apply to a person:

1. Belonging to or associated with a divine power; sacred. 2. Regarded with or worthy of worship or veneration; revered: a holy book. 3. Living according to a strict or highly moral religious or spiritual system; saintly: a holy person. 4. Regarded as deserving special respect or reverence.

Joan Chittester, a favorite author of mine and a Benedictine nun, says in a web article that the purpose of holiness is not to protect us from the world but to change the way we live in the world. Going back to Mount Tabor and the Transfiguration, Peter wanted to build three dwellings, one for each Holy man, and stay up on the mountain. Many people have the impression that to be holy, one must be set apart, to be holy. Jesus, however, let’s the disciples know that they must COME down off the mountain. In the last part of this Gospel chapter, Jesus, Peter, James and John come to a crowd and begin the work of healing and casting out demons. We have a clue to this holiness by noting who is on the mountain with Jesus. It’s not King David or others known for their royalty, or Aaron, the priest, known for interpretation of Law. No, instead there are Moses, the one who led his people out of oppression and Elijah, who had been referred to as “that trouble of Israel” because of his condemning the people’s compromise between true and false gods. There is a real struggle between piety, the mystical and transcendent aspect of religion and the journey down the mountain to be with the people who need them down below. Jesus identifies himself with the prophets, not the kings or the priests.

To quote Joan Chittester, “Real religion is not about building temples and keeping shrines. Real religion is about healing hurts, speaking for and being with the poor, the helpless, the voiceless and the forgotten who are at the silent bottom of every pinnacle, every hierarchy and every system in both state and church.” And to that I add a loud Amen!!! Real religion for me is following Jesus; it’s not about transcending life but transforming life. For me this real religion doesn’t have to be rational. There were so many things Jesus taught us that were not rational, just look at the Beatitudes and his upside down theology of the last shall be first and losing one’s life in order to save it. I believe in Miracles. There’s an old folk tale I want to share with you.

Once upon a time, a seeker went from land to land to discover an authentic religion. Finally the seeker found an extraordinary group. They were known for the goodness of their lives and for the singleness of their hearts and for the sincerity of their service. “I see everything you do,” the seeker said, “and I’m impressed by it. But before I become your disciple, I have a question to ask: Does your God work miracles?” “Well,” the disciples said to the seeker, “it all depends on what you mean by a miracle. Some people call it a miracle when God does the will of people. We call it a miracle when people do the will of God.”

Transfiguration Sunday is the bridge that connects Epiphany, seeing the bright star, being in the light of the Christ and then going forward to Lent. Transfiguration is the change that turns our attention to the suffering that Jesus will endure. In the Luke description of the Transfiguration, the going down the mountain, is described as “his departure which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.” The journey towards fulfilling his life purpose comes after his mountaintop experience, which I believe gives us the strength we need to be holy and complete our purpose here on earth.

To me what makes us holy is to take all the insights, love, courage and wisdom that come from our prayer life, our studying, our worship, and our mountaintop experiences and use them to do miracles for the poor and the marginalized; to work for peace and justice, and to create the Beloved community. Our denomination says that we are the people of the comma; (quoting a line from Gracie burns: “Don’t put a period where God has put a comma”). The whole identity advertising initiative refers to us as the God is Still Speaking people. Come, wait as long as necessary to prepare yourself for the journey, a big part of which is Listening and then going forth as God’s holy people to do the will of God and follow the life and teachings of our Lord and our brother and our friend, Jesus, the Christ. Amen.