The Last Sunday after the Epiphany - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

      

Luke 9:28-36

            There is a village called Medjugorje located in Bosnia and Herzegovina that, since the early 1980s, has become a popular place for Catholics to make pilgrimages. It was in 1981 that six local teenagers said they saw the Virgin Mary on a hillside in the village. Since then, apparitions have continued to be reported, bringing over 40 million pilgrims to visit the site. Calum and Mary Anne MacFarlane-Barrow were two people who, in 1984, made the pilgrimage from Scotland to Medjugorje. The pilgrimage changed their lives forever and led them to action.  

Craig Lodge was Calum and Mary Anne’s business that accommodated people visiting the Scottish Highlands. They were so moved by the faith and devotion of the Medjugorje community they were inspired to dedicate their lives to prayer and evangelism. In 1984, they converted the Craig Lodge into a retreat center – Craig Lodge House of Prayer – where people could come for prayer, reflection, and spiritual renewal. Calum and Mary Anne had a mountaintop experience.  

Have you ever had a mountaintop experience? What is a mountaintop experience for you? When I asked the Wednesday Healing group, someone said they couldn’t put it into words or that it was hard to explain. Other responses were the birth of their first grandchild or when special prayers were answered. Someone said they were invited to a rehearsal of violinist Itzhak Perlman and were transformed when he performed a piece by Mendelssohn. Reverend Melanie responded with “glimpses of the holy.”  

Great things in the Bible have been recorded as taking place on mountaintops. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on the top of Mount Moriah. Mount Ararat is where Noah’s ark came to rest after the great flood. Moses came down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal on top of a mountain. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus preached his famous Sermon on the Mound on the Mount of the Beatitudes.  

Today is the last Sunday of the Epiphany. We’ve spent the past weeks reading Gospel stories, giving us a glimpse of who Jesus is. The man who heals the sick. The man who can change water into wine. The man who teaches us to love everyone, forgive our enemies, and how to fish for people.  

Today, our final Sunday, before we spend the next five weeks following Jesus’ journey to the cross, we read this amazing story of Jesus’ transfiguration – on top of a mountain. It’s here that Jesus’ appearance completely changes, and he becomes brilliantly light. He’s joined by two figures from the past, Moses and Elijah. Jesus’ disciples, Peter, James, and John, are there to see Jesus transfigured right before their eyes. They witness that Jesus is more than just a man; he is a divine presence living among them. This event is so amazing to them that Peter does not want to leave. Enamored by what was happening, he wanted to set up tents and stay there forever. But they can’t stay there forever. There is work to be done at the bottom of the mountain. 

A mountaintop experience is a journey. You have to start at the bottom before you can get to the top. Once you get to the top, you have to come down. We aren’t meant to stay on the mountaintop. We have to return to the bottom – where we live, back to our homes.  

Going up the mountain is about seeking God. It’s not just a feeling. Moses goes up the mountain because God calls him. Jesus and the disciples go up the mountain to get away and pray. They did not expect to see something spectacular when they got up there. For Calum and Mary Ann, they were intrigued by the accounts of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary, so they left on a pilgrimage to witness things firsthand. Genuine spiritual encounters require intentional seeking – not chasing emotional highs. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, he withdrew from others to find a place – in the wilderness, on a high mountain – to seek out God. This should be our practice as well.  

When you get to where you are going, the transformation comes from God’s presence, not the location. Moses’ face shines because he met with God. It had nothing to do with him standing on top of a mountain. Jesus’ transformation comes while he is praying – while he is in communion with God. When Calum and Mary Anne traveled to Medjugorje, they were in awe of how the community lived out their faith with such joy and authenticity. The village's residents were devoted to prayer, which impacted Calum and Mary Anne’s faith and the importance of spiritual devotion.  

While a mountaintop moment is temporary, its impact should last a lifetime. When Moses came down the mountain, he brought the Law to the struggling people. Jesus returned down the mountain to crowds, conflict, and his impending death. He went back down the mountain, and the very next day, he healed a boy. Craig Lodge was transformed into a house of prayer where people could spend time and commit themselves to a life of prayer and service. From that grew a new ministry called Mary’s Meals, which became a global charity providing meals to children in need at their schools. It’s in returning down the mountain where our faith is lived out. Our spiritual experiences should equip us to serve. We need to worship together prayerfully, but we also need to leave here to love and serve others.  

Jesus, Peter, James, and John could have stayed on top of that mountain in the glory they were experiencing. But mountaintop experiences are not meant to keep us there. They are intended to prepare us for action in the world. We go up the mountain, seeking God through prayer and experiencing God’s presence. We are transformed through profound encounters with God, who shapes and renews us. And our faith is lived out in service to others when we come back down the mountain. The mountain is where we meet God, but the valley is where we live out our faith. 

Lent is a journey from the mountain to the cross, where time in prayer transforms us—not for ourselves alone, but so we can bring Christ’s love into the world.   Amen.