Day #2597

February 9, 2021

Tuesday’s Thoughts on Scripture comes from Mark 9:9: As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. (NRSV)

This Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday. Just before the church begins the annual journey of Lent, we again hear the account of Jesus taking three of his disciples with him to ascend a mountain. While there, they are visited by Moses and Elijah and Jesus transfigures before them. Even his clothes become dazzling white. 

That is quite the mountaintop event. However, many of us can pinpoint what we might call a “mountaintop” event. A moment or time when we have felt particularly close to God or that God felt particularly close to us. I have been on retreat weekends that I did not want to end or in places where the presence of God seemed especially real. And just like the disciples, I did not want to leave. 

Which brings us to the verse for today - Jesus orders (stronger than tells) the disciples not to tell anyone what they had seen. What?! The first thing I have wanted to do is tell people what I experienced. But, I have learned two things. Sometimes, you have to “be there” to understand an experience. Trying to explain how God was present can fall flat. Perhaps that is why it is called an experience. There is a need to observe the event yourself. 

The other thing is I have learned is that others have much skepticism about mountaintop experiences. I have felt it myself, wondering what in the world someone else is trying to tell me. Were they dreaming? Also, I have wanted to understand what it could mean - was there a purpose and, if so, what it was. And, perhaps most importantly, are they trying to say that unless I experience this, or something like it, my faith is not strong enough?

Perhaps these are why Jesus was adamant the disciples keep quiet until later, when his end would only be a new beginning. It would be the resurrected Jesus who would help the disciples better understand what they had experienced and what it meant for the world. Then they would be really ready to share all that had happened. 

So when we have these mountaintop experiences, perhaps the most basic of learning is to wait for God to help us know what and when to tell and how. And simply let the transforming power of the event in us speak for us. It will. It does. 

Blessings. And prayers.