Loading...Hearing the story of the Transfiguration today reminded me of a little trip Jeff and I took back in November. We stayed in the inn at Pine Mountain State Park for a few days. Every room overlooks the mountains, and the public dining room has a wall of windows to expand that view. Most of the autumn color was on the ground, though some leaves still clung to the dark branches of the trees.
The sky was grey and the ground damp after recent rain, which means the colors everywhere in nature begin to pop. Mushrooms and lichen are bright against the bark of a fallen tree. The leaves on the ground, not yet disintegrating, still hold their reds, golds, and yellow. The holly leaves still poke anyone wanting to touch the red berries, and the rhododendron filling the valleys remained green.
Even though the weather was not sunny and dry, we hiked. Our first adventure was to drive up to Chained Rock. The sky was cloud covered, and as we drove up the mountain, we were immersed in the cloud, making it hard to see further than a few yards. At the top, we parked the car, and began our journey along the trail to see what we could see from the top of Chained Rock.
The visibility was limited. The clouds we walked through were thick and damp. Yet we continued following the trail, not sure what we would be able to see once we got to the rock. Being surrounded by clouds gave us a sense of mystery. When we got to the rock that is literally being secured in place by a thick chain so that it will not fall on the town below, Jeff climbed one way and I went another, our phones in hand, taking pictures. The clouds still surrounded us, but they were just high enough making it possible to see the town below.
Exploring the area, enveloped by clouds, gave us an experience that was very different than the one we had on our last day, when we revisited the top of the hill again, on a bright blue, sunshine filled, nearly cloudless day.
In our Gospel today, we hear the story of Jesus inviting, maybe for the first time, Peter, James, and John to climb a mountain with him and join with him in prayer. While they were there, Jesus steps away, leaving the three men watching as two figures appear out of nowhere and begin to have a private conversation with Jesus.
How they recognize the men are Moses and Elijah is a mystery, but recognize them, they did. Moses, the one who brought the Law, and Elijah, representing all the prophets, came to speak with Jesus about what Jesus was going to accomplish soon in Jerusalem.
And a cloud comes over them all as Moses and Elijah fade away, shrouding them from view. Limiting their visibility to only a few yards. Distorting everything beyond the cloud but heightening the colors and shapes of everything nearby. I’m sure the abruptness of the cloud was disconcerting for them. Then, when a voice came out of the cloud, I can only imagine they fell to the ground in fear.
"This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"
Peter, James, and John received a pronouncement that day that Jesus truly was the Son of God. I don’t know why it was just those three who were chosen to hear this message straight from God. I’m not sure why they needed to be told, after following Jesus for so long that they needed to listen to him, perhaps there was an urgency now, because time was running out. I don’t know if they needed this experience to be able to take up the mantle after Jesus would return to the right hand of God at the Ascension. But they were given this moment and then were told to stay quiet about it.
Of course, the story came out and was written down decades later so that it would not be forgotten.
We don’t often recognize the voice of God or even see the divinity of Jesus unless something out of the ordinary, like an unexpected cloud shrouding the path we are taking, interrupts us.
We might want or need to hear a voice come from that cloud to give us courage to tell God’s story, or to follow the examples of Jesus.
But, oh, my. If a voice came out of the cloud when we were at Chained Rock that day, I might have fainted.
Yet…I heard God’s voice on that chained rock and everywhere we hiked, whether it was cloudy or sunny. I saw God’s handiwork in the tiny and the giant. I felt God’s arms in the chill and in the warmth. And in every nuance in between.
I may not have been there that day, on that mountaintop, to hear God speak, but I believe, partially because of this story, that God so loved the world God sent Jesus to show us what love looks like and acts like.
I can also trust that if God was willing to speak through that cloud to assure Peter, James, and John of God’s presence, and to solidify Jesus’s divine heritage, that God will continue to assure us that the Holy presence of the triune God: Creator, Redeemer, and Advocate, will never abandon us.
Amen.
