Transfiguration Sunday
Mountains to Valleys
There’s something about the mountains that stirs the soul. For the Israelites, mountaintop experiences often reflected an encounter with God. This seems the case for Jesus as his clothes become dazzling white and, as at his baptism, a voice from the clouds calls him “Son,” “Chosen.” There is broader meaning here. Chapter 9 is a transition point in Luke. Just before the mountain scene, Jesus tells his disciples that he will suffer and die, but will be raised again.
The theme continues when Jesus is talking with Moses and Elijah. Only Luke reports what they’re talking about: Jesus’ upcoming death in Jerusalem. Then after returning to the valley and healing an epileptic child, Jesus tells the disciples again of his upcoming death. They don’t understand; rather they change the subject, arguing about who is the greatest. Near the end of Luke 9, we read that Jesus sets his face to go to Jerusalem, intentionally moving from his ministry toward his passion and death.
I believe that Jesus needed that mountaintop experience in order to face what awaited him in the valley. With his identity affirmed in his encounter with God, his task supported by Moses and Elijah, Jesus is strengthened for the journey ahead, surrounded by disciples who have no clue yet about the sacrificial nature of their calling, as demonstrated by Jesus, which ultimately is the path of hope and salvation for this broken world.
We need to seek those “mountaintops” too: times of encounter with God, of renewed awareness of God’s love for us and of God’s call on our lives—our own “chosen-ness.” These times give us the commitment and strength to move from our sanctuaries and also to turn our faces to the valleys of our lives, as instruments to others of that same hope that has been given to us.
Judy Ganz, pastor
Lake Auburn Moravian Church
Victoria, Minnesota