Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
February 19, 2023
Last Epiphany
Growing up, two mountains held special significance for
me. Both were thin places, places where
earth and heaven seemed to meld into one.
The first was my grandparents’ place in the mountains of North Carolina
at Kanuga, the Episcopal Camp and Conference Center. As children and young adults, we could hike
up the mountain to High Rocks and see for miles over the valley, or we could
hike down the mountain, through the conference center, past a “no trespassing”
sign, and sit by a stream that ran over rocks making the most glorious
music. Both were experiences of the
glory of God. The other mountain is in
Arkansas. The Episcopal camp sits on the
side of a mountain and I spent many weekends and summers there. Camp Mitchell
is where I first experienced the power of Christian community and where I
learned that singing is, for me, the deepest form of prayer. My experiences on those two mountains shaped
my faith in more ways than I have words to express.
We hear about two mountains this morning. In the reading from Exodus, Moses is summoned
up the mountain so God can give him the tablets of stone with the law and the
commandment. There is a good bit of
waiting involved in the brief passage we hear this morning. Moses is told to come up the mountain and
wait for God to give him the tablets.
Moses says to the elders “wait here for us until we come to you
again.” Moses waits on the mountain,
which is covered with the glory of God, for 6 days before God finally calls to
Moses out of the cloud. And the people wait
for 40 days while it looks to all appearances like Moses is being devoured by
fire on the mountain. That’s lot of
waiting!
For those of us who prefer more immediate gratification,
the gospel reading is much more satisfying.
We are told that “six days later” Jesus took Peter, James and John up a
high mountain by themselves. Six days after
what? Six days after Jesus asked the
disciples “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” and Peter answers “You
are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
Correct answer! Six days after
Jesus teaches the disciples that he must suffer, be killed, and on the third
day rise again, and Peter strongly objects.
The messiah is not going to suffer and be killed! Wrong answer and Jesus says “Get behind me
Satan, you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
So, after six days Peter is probably still smarting from being
called Satan by Jesus. But Jesus has
apparently forgiven Peter, since he takes Peter along with James and John, up
the mountain where Jesus is transfigured and Moses and Elijah show up for a
chat.
Peter has taken a lot of grief for what comes next, perhaps
because we can all too easily remember what Peter just got wrong rather than
what he got right. Peter offers to build
three dwellings on the mountain-one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah. Some say that Peter wants to
hold onto the moment forever and live in this thin place eternally. We all know that’s not possible. Some say that Peter is just speaking without
thinking yet again. Been there, done
that! Still others say that Peter is so
overcome by the experience that he has no idea what to do but feels the need to
do something. We’ve all probably been
there before, too.
However,
I think something else may be going on in Peter’s offer to build three
dwellings. First, Peter was a fisherman,
not a carpenter, so he is likely offering to do something rather beyond his
skill set and outside his comfort zone.
But secondly, and far more importantly, Peter offers to build dwellings
for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah only. Peter
is not looking to stay on the mountain with them. Perhaps, recognizing that he is in the
presence of the ancestors, Peter is simply offering hospitality to those who
appear before him. Perhaps, in this thin
place, Peter is moved beyond his ability to make a home for the three men to
shelter them from the wilderness of the mountain. Jesus does not rebuke Peter for his offer or
decline his hospitality. Before anyone
can do or say anything, a bright cloud overshadows them and they hear the voice
of God say “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.” And what does Jesus say to the terrified disciples? “Get up and do not be afraid.”
The
mountain may be a thin place, but the mountain is also a wilderness, and God
appeared to both Moses and Jesus in that wilderness. This morning, we will bury the Alleluias as
we prepare to enter the wilderness of Lent.
But, like the mountain, Lent is
both a wilderness and a thin place. Lent
is a place of waiting where we both wait for God to act on Easter and a place
where we can experience God in the stillness.
Lent is also a place of action as we seek God in that wilderness. This morning, I wonder if during Lent, we are
called to be like Peter, who was not known for his patience. What if Lent calls us to step out of our
comfort zone and offer hospitality to Jesus in a new way, as Peter did when he
offered to build the three booths? What
if Lent calls us to offer hospitality to Jesus in the various wildernesses of
the world-places where there is no peace, or where people need basic human
provisions like food, shelter, or clothing, or where people experience
injustice daily because of their skin color or sexual orientation? Perhaps
people are waiting for us the way the people waited for Moses to come down from
the mountain and they are waiting for us to act with all the eagerness of
Peter. What if the call of Lent is to enter
the wilderness and be people of hospitality to those who live in that
wilderness all the time. How might our
faith be shaped by such a wilderness? As
we bury our alleluias and come down from the mountain this morning to enter the
wilderness of Lent on Wednesday, we are reminded that Jesus never declined
Peter’s offer of hospitality. Instead
Jesus said “Get up and do not be afraid.”
Amen.
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