A true "mountaintop experience" if there ever was one for
Peter, James, and John. A life-changing experience, I suspect.
The two are often intertwined.
Recent weeks have reminded us of a more contemporary
mountaintop experience as the world last month noted the death of
Sir Edmund Hillary at age 88. An obscure New Zealand beekeeper
before 1953, but suddenly world-famous after May 19th of that
year as the first, as far as anyone knows, along with his Sherpa
guide Tenzing Norgay, to conquer the world's highest peak, Mount
Everest, the first people ever to literally be on top of the
world.
For years, Hillary let people think that his guide was the
first to actually set foot on the summit. Not true, as it turns
out - Hillary was the first. Perhaps people thought that way
because of the first photograph ever taken at the peak. It is a
picture of Tenzing Norgay. Hillary explained: "Tenzing had never
operated a camera before in his entire life. I didn't think the
top of Mount Everest was the place to teach him." Regardless,
with what by today's standards was primitive equipment in
incredibly difficult conditions, this was a remarkable
achievement and was certainly deserving of the world-wide acclaim
it received.
As you Bible scholars know, mountains have a most prominent
place in the biblical narrative. There was the giving of the Law
on Mt. Sinai, Abraham and the almost-sacrifice of Isaac on Mt.
Moriah, the dramatic contest between Elijah and the prophets of
Baal up on Mt. Carmel; we read of Mt. Zion, the Mount of Olives,
the Sermon on the Mount, to name a few. Now, this morning we
encounter one more. Jesus had gone up on a mountain to pray. He
took Peter and James and John along with him. While they are
there, Transfiguration. The appearance of Jesus changes. He
literally glows - bright, dazzling white, glorious! And all of a
sudden, two other people appear out of nowhere: Moses and
Elijah, representative of all their past religious tradition, the
Law and the prophets.
Peter babbles something about building three little
dwellings, three shrines. One for Moses, one for Elijah, and one
for Jesus in whom the Law and the prophets come together. A
voice interrupts from heaven: "This is my Son, whom I love; with
him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" Scares those men half to
death. Then, suddenly, it is over. And they come back down with
instructions from Jesus to keep quiet about it all, for a while
at least.
Back down the mountain. This mountaintop experience is like
many others - inspirational, exciting, thrilling even. But it
ends the way that mountaintop experiences should end. They do
not remain there up on the mountain, as Peter suggests. They
come back down. There is work to do.
That is the way with mountaintop experiences. Yes, we need
to be inspired once in a while. Or maybe even twice in a while.
But the occasional religious "high" is not what our faith is
really about. Christian discipleship is lived out, not up on the
mountain, but back down in the valley where the people are.
Where the hurt is. Where the need is. There is work to do.
Oddly enough, that incredible mountaintop experience to
which we referred before, the conquest of Mount Everest, ends in
a way very similar to the story of the Transfiguration. After Ed
Hillary had climbed Everest, he became an overnight celebrity.
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. He became a spokesperson for
Sears-Roebuck. His name appeared on sleeping bags, tents, and
boot laces. His name became a household word. And he could have
lived in his little shrine of success for the rest of his life.
But No! He went back to Nepal, back to those people, the
Sherpas, whom he had grown to know and appreciate and respect and
love. He used his fame to make a difference in their lives.
In a speech a few years ago, Sir Edmund recounted how an
elderly Sherpa from Khumjung village, the hometown of most of the
Sherpas on his Everest ascent, had come to him a few years after
that expedition and said, "Our children lack education. They are
not prepared for the future. What we need more than anything is
a school in Khumjung."
So Hillary established the Himalayan Trust, and in 1961 a
three-room schoolhouse was built in Khumjung with funds raised by
the mountaineer. But that was only the beginning. At his
funeral it was noted that there are now 6,500 students in 63
schools because of him. In addition there are two hospitals, a
dozen health clinics, a million trees planted, safe drinking
water systems, bridges and miles of new trails, all a direct
result of Hillary's work. (1)
Edmund Hillary's search for adventure did not end with
Everest. He made the first motorized overland trip to the South
Pole, led a jet boat expedition from "sea to sky" up India's
Ganges River and joined an expedition to the North Pole. But his
true passion would become his humanitarian work which continued
to the end of his life. In a conversation with David Breashears,
a film maker, fellow climber and good friend, he said, "David,
getting to the top is important, but getting back to the bottom
is what really matters." (2) Ed Hillary had his mountaintop
experience, and it moved him to a life of service.
A mountaintop experience comes when something happens to us
that is inspirational or exciting or thrilling or moving, or all
of the above. We need mountaintop experiences to recharge our
spiritual batteries. And the view from the top is magnificent.
But we were never intended to stay up there.
Peter never built his little shrines, Moses and Elijah went
back to glory. And Jesus? Jesus went back to the place where
the people were. Jesus went back to the valley to preach, to
teach, to heal, and eventually, to go to the cross. Another
mountain. Mt. Calvary.
By the way, Jesus' instruction to his friends on the way
back down about keeping quiet about their experience until after
the resurrection has apparently been taken to heart by
generations of subsequent followers in ways that the Lord never
imagined. Modern day disciples, especially those of us in the
mainline church, do keep quiet about our faith. Exceedingly. No
need. The instruction was to wait until after the resurrection -
that has happened. We can open up now.
Yes, we need mountaintop experiences once in a while. Or
maybe twice in a while. They do us good. But remember, faithful
Christian discipleship is lived, not up on the mountain, but back
down in the valley, when we use our lives for Jesus' sake and the
sake of those for whom he died.
Come to the Table now. It is sustenance for the journey.
Amen!
1. Ray Lilley, "New Zealand Says Farewell to Hillary," AP, 1/22/08
2. "A Humanitarian at 30,000 Feet," http://www.newsweek.com/id/91456
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