Mountains and Transfigurations
Mark 9:2 – 13
“Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling bright, such as no one on earth could brighten them.”
– Mark 9:2 – 3, NRSVUE
Have you been on a mountain before? What was it like?
These geological formations that soar above sea level induce awe and overwhelm, admiration and terror. The journey from the base to the top takes serious exertion and perseverance. Yet being on a mountain’s pinnacle can be an amazing, even transformative, experience. To one degree or another, no one descends a mountain as the same person they were before they climbed it.
Perhaps the trek up the high mountain that Jesus and three of his disciples take in Mark 9 is part of what transfigures Jesus. Perhaps the arduous climb on this unique land mass changes all four of them so that they all see Jesus in a completely new way.
What does this transfiguration story show you about mountains?
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Credits
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version updated edition of the Bible
Image of mountain is by Jeremy Bishop on the Unsplash website