Oh, how we long for these Mountains Moments of clarity, light and peace.
Oh, how we would have loved to have been on that Mountain with Peter, James and John to dwell for a moment in the dazzling light of Christ.
A divine moment of peace and prayer, understanding and awe, love and light. A divine moment that lasted only a moment but still shines on us here in the valley below.
In a time of filtered Facebook Posts only of our very best days: in a time of sleek Selfies on Instagram: in a time of choregraphed TikTok dances and staged happiness: in a time of perfected Snapchat, TikTok memes, fake manufactured images that alter the truth, Artificial Intelligence that challenge our own intelligence and ethics, in a time, such like this, it is so comforting to dwell for a moment in the light on the mountain with Peter, James, and John. To dwell in the divine true light of Christ.
In that light we are told that we are more than the filtered faces and selfies we carefully present on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat or X formerly known as Twitter.
As adults we are very quick to issue a kind warming to our children, students or younger friends about the threat social media is to our self-esteem and body images. Rightfully we do worry and warn but we should listen too – as a whole person, young or old, is made of bigger and better stuff than perfect filtered images that are posted.
The images seem so real, but we don’t know if they are fake or manufactured. Sometimes it is as if we only exist in pixels, pictures and posts of happy moments, happy families, delicious food and exiting adventures.
The symptoms of this are everywhere from identities and careers completely build on Social Media or Commercial Brands, to all the fractures and mental health issues of teens trying to keep up appearances, and to Politicians selling not only political ideas and agendas but even more fabricated, fragmented and even fake information.
Social media and Artificial Intelligence construct a fake reality that we need to be sceptic to, aware of and regulate.
Which brings us to the Mountain Top today with Jesus.
Was it simply a Jesus’ Snapchat moment of the Mountain… a frozen moment of perfection…. A fantastic Facebook Post to repost and relish…. Was it just a moment in the fleeting time of history? Was it just make-believe or something the disciples imagined in some sort of religious madness or hallucination…
Jesus’ appearance on the Mountain was not a stage show and filtered image. Nor was it an illusion or a hallucination. In fact, the Transfiguration was a decisive moment and divine presence. It was a moment of awe and wonder. For a moment, the disciples saw Jesus as he was, in his shining dazzling presence, as a revelation of the Resurrected Christ. They saw God, they felt Gods presence.
It was indeed a Mountain Moment. A revelation. A transfiguration. A divine intervention. A divine presence.
What do we do when we encounter something that fills us with wonder – that bubbly feeling of joy and wonder, expansive and undefinable sense, and a sense of deep interconnectedness?
What do we do when we find ourselves in a mountain moment that gives us a feeling of wholeness, understanding, peace, serenity and we just want to expand that moment and dwell forever?
Dwelling at the majestic view, the breathtakingly beautiful sunset, the amazing bright eyes of a little child, the starry skies above us or the sense of peace and belonging?
Most of us take a picture, share it, post it and delight in all the likes. But is that truly how we may sense the wonder and awe and deep joy that the disciples did? Do we not detach ourselves from the exact moment we want to capture, by putting the phone up and sharing the moment only to find that it is gone for good?
The gospel today actually does remind us that the human desire to contain moments has existed long before modern technology. It is residing deep in us as humans to look for a place to dwell and find meaning. And then we want to keep it.
Peter demonstrates this in Mark 9:2-9 when he offers to build three separate dwellings for Jesus, Elijah and Moses. His offer is both a recognition of the holy and an attempt to contain it.
We recognize Peter’s bumbling response because this resembles our reaction.
The moment on the mountain was miraculous. The disciples got a glimpse of the divinity that resides in Jesus’ fully human flesh, and they are terrified. Then clouds descend and God addresses Peter, James and John in the darkness with a version of God’s message to Jesus at his baptism: “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
As we read this week’s Gospel passage, we may wonder about the human response to divine revelations. What do we do when we encounter something that fills us with wonder – that bubbly feeling of awe and deep joy?
The offer to build dwellings expresses a desire for permanence. They did not want to leave the mountaintop. Yet, today’s passage teaches us something important about a life of faith. We are not to stay on the mountaintop. God instructs us to listen to Christ, and just a chapter earlier, Christ said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” We are to go out into the world.
Encountering God on the mountaintop, experiencing wonder, is a space that gives us a glimpse into a world that exists beyond the confines of our humanity. It provides context and vision.
But for today, we are on the mountaintop. And we should stay in the mountain mode and reflect on our reactions to divine revelations.
Do we reach for our phones to record the sunset, the view, the baby’s face, or the starry skies?
Do we seek to contain wonder? To understand awe?
Our encounters with wonder give us context for God’s vastness and vision. We are meant to take that knowledge with us into our everyday lives, back down in the valleys of life.
When did you last experience the sense wonder?
When did you last have a mountain moment that you wanted to catch, capture and dwell in?
When did you truly stay in the moment, not noticing time and not thinking about capturing the moment, but simply just be?
How did that moment change you, challenge you and send you back down the valley below?
Remember that moment and share it when we are greeting one another. When were you last in awe of life?
In the coming week,
may you and I experience the presence of God with joy, awe and wonder.
May the holy light comfort us.
May the divine voice encourage and speak to us.
May the power of the Spirit transform us, so we transform our world. Amen.