At the Summit

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. (Mark 9:2-8 ESV). You may be aware that Mary and I have taken a little vacation to visit with friends and family. In a day or so we will travel back to Tennessee and visit with some of our friends in Middle Tennessee. Then, we will travel to the Smoky Mountains to spend a little time in our favorite destination. Mary has been exercising a great deal since her retirement. We have talked about taking an easy trail through the mountains. One of those will not be the Alum Cave Trail. While it is the most hiked in the mountains, it is also one of the most difficult. To reach the 6,593-foot summit of Mount LeConte (third highest peak in the Smokies) from the parking area on U.S. Highway 441, you'll climb 2,853 feet and 5.5 miles on the Alum Cave Trail. If you hike to the two great viewpoints on top of Mt. Le Conte, that will add almost two miles to your hike, so you're up to a 13 mile roundtrip hike. It typically takes 8-9 hours for the hike. I know we are not ready for that kind of excursion! Perhaps one of the “easy walkways” will better suit our ability and stamina. Mountaintops are often like that. They are hard to get to, but so worth it when you do. Often you do not want to leave. Jesus’ mountaintop transfiguration is a moment of majesty and mystery, and Peter doesn’t want it to end. “Let us make dwellings,” he says. Peter wants to stay on the mountaintop. He wants to prolong the experience. It is natural to want to freeze our mountaintop experiences and make them permanent. Instead of moving on to new achievements, new growth, we spin in a tight orbit around one certain event. I have heard it said this is the “halting of the parade.” Instead of being pioneers, always moving forward, always making new discoveries, we become settlers. A mountaintop is a nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there. For Jesus to fulfill his mission he had to go back down the mountain and continue his ministry. So should we. Even when this means going through difficult times, the way forward is better than the alternative.