I’ve only been a few times, but I love to go snow skiing. I find it thrilling to go to the mountaintops, breathe the crisp air, see the beautiful scenery, and ski down the mountain with the wind blowing in my face. Occasionally, I also feel the thrill of being on the mountaintop emotionally. It happens when I escape the stress of life and feel loved and cared for and have joy and peace. We all need more mountaintop experiences in life.
Last Sunday, one team had the mountaintop experience of winning the Superbowl, and that thrill was shared by their fans. Whatever the occasion, it is great to win and come out on top. Do you remember your first kiss, the first time you fell in love, getting that degree you worked so hard to achieve, getting your dream job, paying off a large debt, or meeting a lifelong goal? Those are mountaintop experiences.
In the Old Testament, there were several mountaintop experiences recorded. Moses met God on a mountaintop. A mysterious cloud enveloped Mt. Sinai for 40 days, and the glory of the Lord shown around Moses. There, he received the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:12-18). Elijah met the prophets of Ba’al on the top of Mount Carmel, and God proved Himself to be the one, true God (1 Kings 18). Shortly thereafter, Elijah climbed to the top of Mt. Horeb. God was not in the earthquake, the howling wind, or the fire. Elijah did experience Him, however, in the still, small voice of absolute silence (I Kings 19).
Matthew 17:1-9 tells the story of Jesus taking Peter, James, and John to a mountaintop, where they may have been participating in the Jewish Festival of Booths by camping out in temporary shelters called booths and hearing the stories of the biblical tradition from the lips of Jesus. Suddenly, Jesus was transfigured before them, and they saw him not as an ordinary man but transformed to the glory of the Son of God. He was as radiant as the sun.
The three disciples observed Moses and Elijah on the mountaintop and talking with Jesus. Confused and amazed, Peter offered to build booths for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, but a cloud suddenly overshadowed them, and God spoke from the cloud to the disciples about Jesus, saying “This is my Son, the Chosen: with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” Talk about your mountaintop experiences. It does not get much more intense than that.
Mountaintop experiences have a great influence on us, but most days we live down in the valley. Following the Transfiguration, Jesus took Peter, James, and John down from the mountaintop into the valley of the everyday world of people and their suffering. There, He ministered to those who were suffering and taught His disciples to do the same.
We all need defining spiritual experiences, but we live in the valley. That is where our ministry is. That is where life is lived. In the valley, we can renew the mountaintop experiences every time we pray, worship, and take Holy Communion. Those renewals empower us to go forth and do the work of God in the valley.
Coming back to the mountaintop through worship while still in the valley instills faith in our hearts and empowers us to make the sacrifices associated with ministering to others. You might even find that the experiences you think are valley experiences are actually mountaintop experiences because there, in the valley, you will meet Jesus.
When Jesus was crucified, it must have felt like the valley experience to beat all valley experiences, yet it won our salvation and facilitated our meeting God and living in daily relationship with Him.
Whether you are on the mountaintop, in the valley, or somewhere in between, trust God, for he is doing great work in and through you.
Dr. Dan Darby is a retired United Methodist pastor.
