It starts off ordinary enough. Jesus and his three closest friends - Peter, James, and John - go up on a high mountain. Nothing unusual. Jesus often went off from the crowds to pray and rest. All very ordinary.

But from here on, ordinary ends. No sooner do they arrive at the top of the mountain, than Jesus is suddenly “transfigured.” Do you know what that means?  I had to go to seminary to figure it out – I’m slow, I admit it.  Actually, all I had to do was look it up in a dictionary.

Transfigured simply means to change form or appearance.  For Jesus, I’m not sure he so much as changed as he  “glowed.” As the text has it, “his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.”

It reminds me of when Moses came down from the mountain after having received the 10 Commandments from God – it said his face shined. 

Jesus shined. But not just his face, all of him.  Now this, in the experience of the disciples was not just out of the ordinary, but it was absolutely out of this world - which, of course, is precisely what the text wants to convey.

And if that is not out-of-the ordinary enough, two of faith’s most honored heroes suddenly appear by Jesus’ side. Moses, the great law-giver, and Elijah, the prophet par excellence – Moses and Elijah representing the Law and the Prophets – both paying respect to Jesus.

This is both literally and figuratively a “mountain-top experience.” No wonder Peter, James, and John are terrified.

 Of course, a little terror never stopped Peter from speaking up; for lack of any other ideas, he suggests erecting three tabernacles or tents so as to have a place for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus to hang around. 

Peter was scared, but he knew he was in the company of some pretty big honchos and he didn’t want it to end.

Suddenly, a cloud overshadows the mountain. The damp air closes in and all the world slips away into a grayness. And for only the second time in the entire Gospels, we hear the voice of God (the first was at Jesus’ baptism) saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

Glowing face and clothes, visits from famous figures of the past, hovering clouds and heavenly voices...Wow!

It was so extra ordinary that when it was all over, and Jesus and Peter and James and John were headed back down the mountain, Jesus told them to “tell no one about what they had seen.”

That must have confused them, but who would have believed it anyway? Certainly, the three of them believed it. They had been there, and those moments on that mountain would forever mark their lives and change the way they looked at everything.

What Jesus did for those three disciples on the mountain, he also does for us today.  He gives us glimpses of his glory -- of his power.  He helps to prepare us for whatever lies ahead.  He strengthens us for the journey.

But he picks and chooses.  For the transfiguration, he chose only three of the twelve apostles.  And he gave them only a brief glimpse of his glory, and then it was back down the mountain. 

When they returned to the base of the mountain, they found a mess -- a boy whose convulsions threw him into the fire -- and disciples who couldn’t help him -- disciples who didn’t know what to do.  Jesus healed the boy, but it had been a tough time for the disciples.

Life is sometimes tough for us too -- not at all what we want.  We want Jesus to lift us up to a high place and keep us there.  We want to be excited and joyful all the time.  We want Jesus to reassure us regularly -- to prove himself to us daily. 

But Jesus gives us only what we need instead of what we want.  He gives us glimpses of glory, and then expects us to walk through ordinary life in the faith that we are serving the Lord.

I saw a coffee shop somewhere with a great name -- The Daily Grind.  That is where we live most of life, isn’t it -- in The Daily Grind.  We get glimpses of glory now and then -- enough to keep us going -- but then it is back down the mountain into The Daily Grind.

I remember back in the Spring of ’93 I was heavily involved with our church’s singles ministry.  It was a great way to meet women.  Anyway, I helped to start a singles worship service on Sunday nights.

One Sunday night I was leading the service in which I did pretty much everything but the sermon. (Keep in mind I had never seriously considered going into the ministry.) 

And I had this feeling come over me that God wanted me to become a minister.  Now, I didn’t hear a voice and there wasn’t a cloud, but I knew it was God. 

That for me was both a mountain top and a deep valley moment.  On the one hand, I was overwhelmed, I was in awe, I was humbled at what I had experienced. 

On the other hand I was scared to death.  Maybe that was a little what Peter was feeling.  Now that I knew where God was leading me … HELP!!! 

The rest was history.  I started seminary that fall and four years later was ordained a Presbyterian minister.

Of course not all mountain top experiences have to be so life changing.  Sometimes it gets you back on the path.  Sometimes it just opens your eyes a little wider. Sometimes it deepens your faith. 

For me, sitting with someone who is dying can be just such a gift from God. When I am with someone of faith who is nearing the end – it is like I am closer to God than any other time.  Sitting with Gene Brown this past week and seeing (and feeling) his faith and his courage and his love – was just such a mountain top experience for me. 

My heart swelled when I was in his presence.  He had no doubt where he was headed.  He was unafraid.  And through Gene, Jesus blessed me in ways I can’t describe. 

Mountain top experiences.  Jesus did it for me.  He can do it for you.  You won’t know when it is coming.  You can’t predict it or make it happen -- but you can help it to happen. Read the Bible -- or a devotional book -- or discuss spiritual things with Christian friends -- or pray for those in need. 

And when it does happen -- when you have one of those special moments with Jesus -- when you get a glimpse of glory -- keep in mind that you will shortly be headed back down the mountain with Jesus.  The one who led you up the mountain to see great things will then lead you down the mountain to serve. 

Be glad for both!  Be glad to have had a glimpse of glory -- but be glad, too, for the fact that Christ trusts you to be his servant in the world. 

And that’s the way it was with Peter, James and John. Up on that mountain they had been given nothing less than a glimpse into the future. They saw past the suffering and death of Jesus which he had predicted a few days before; past their doubts; past their fears. And they would never be the same again. Wow!

I wish everyone could have a WOW experience. I read of a “Murphy Brown” episode in which for some reason she asks the staff about their thoughts or feelings about God. There were different responses from different characters - one was an agnostic, one was a Baptist, and so on.

But the response of the character Jim stands out. He said he was a Presbyterian and went to church every Sunday with his wife.

He said something on the order of, “I haven’t had any experience of God. I go because it is obvious to me that the people who attend are experiencing God, and I am hoping that one day I will too.”

Sound familiar? I wonder how many real-life “Jims” there are in our congregations waiting...waiting. Plenty, no doubt.  If that is you – don’t despair.  Be patient. 

See, if we are open and are willing to listen – listen to Jesus – isn’t that what God asked us to do?  And if we listen – we may discover that God has already given us a “moment.”

The truth is, in God's continual flirtation with the world, only rarely does God bowl us over, write some slogan across the sky in neon. 

More often, God quietly courts us, teases, pulls back the curtain for only a peek.  And when such a glimpse is given you, on a mountaintop in Judea or in a Sunday worship service in this congregation, we are to cherish it.  Maybe it is an anthem the choir sings, or the baptism of a baby, or the reflection on the life of someone you love.  Those are all moments in which God reveals himself. 

I am reminded of Martin Luther King’s last sermon. He delivered it April 3, 1968, on the eve of his assassination, at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, the headquarters of the Church of God in Christ, the largest African American Pentecostal denomination in the United States.

He concluded his remarks that night, speaking of civil rights:

“I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountain top. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.

“And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land.

“And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

WOW!  Because of his Mountain Top experience, Martin Luther King was not afraid.  He had a relationship with God that was not just learned in books or in Sunday School.  He had been transfigured.  And he knew God was with him.

We are entering a period of Lent. Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, a time of penitence, reflection and preparation for the Hallelujah of Easter.

It begins a six week period during which we can take stock of ourselves and our lives. It’s the perfect opportunity for us to try and listen to Christ as God has instructed. 

To listen in the stillness.  To listen in the midst of the busyness of the world around us. To listen and then joy in what Jesus is telling us.

Each of us can have that mountain top experience.  God loves us and is reaching out for us in a myriad of ways.

It is my prayer that each of us be privileged to experience a glimpse of heaven either up on the mountaintop or down here in the valley.

For God is in both. 

Amen.