Moses and Joshua go up to the top of Mt Sinai, and there Moses encounters the Lord and is given the ten commandments. Jesus takes Peter, John and James, and heads up a mountain, for like Moses, he too is destined for an encounter with God. There, in the sight of the disciples, Jesus is transfigured, and the disciples hear the voice of God.
In both the old and new testament stories, an encounter with God entails a trip to the top of a mountain. It is a journey, and one that only a select few are invited to attempt. Moses takes Joshua but leaves behind Aaron and the other priests. Jesus takes only a few of the disciples, leaving the others behind to wonder why they didn’t make the cut.
It would seem from all of this, that an encounter with God is only for a chosen few, and can only happen high up at the top of a mountain. But while it certainly happened that way for both Moses and Jesus, it would be wrong to believe that God can only be encountered by a select few and only at the top of a mountain. For God is encountered in daily life as well.
Look at the beauty of these flowers. Is that not a way to meet the divine? How about the face of this beautiful child we will baptize this morning? Do you see God in her face? How about in the splendor of the sunshine, or the gentle breeze, or the sound of birds singing or children laughing? Do you meet God in the hug of a friend, or a smile from a loved one? Of course you
do.
In each of these everyday events, we encounter a spark of the divine presence of God. Our God is not some remote figure who lives in the clouds and only appears at the top of the highest mountains. No, God is present in everything that we see and all that we do.
But if God is everywhere, does that mean the mountaintop has no meaning? And to take it a step further, if God is everywhere, do we really need a church? Can’t we just all experience God individually in the ways we prefer?
I read an article a while back titled “The Church of Sheila” which told the story of a woman named Sheila who identified herself as ‘spiritual but not religious’. Sheila explained that despite having grown up in a church environment, she had evolved beyond the need of such old-world ideas. She didn’t need others to help her relate to God; she could do that all by
herself. Sheila had no need of a mountain and no need of a faith community. So, she went her own way and chose to look for God in things that interested her. By walking in the woods on a sunny morning, by going for long bike rides and stopping to smell the flowers. And then as time
went on, by going to the coffee shop, or going shopping, or even getting her nails done. The article closed by telling us how enlightened Sheila had become for finding ways to discover God in the life that she actually lived.
But that is precisely the problem. For in the church of Sheila, God is not first – Sheila is. Rather than see how God has shaped her life and recognizing it as a gift from God, Sheila had found a way to fit God to HER life. That is more than a subtle distinction. Rather than be still and listen for what God is calling her to do, Sheila did whatever she wanted and then looked for ways to rationalize it as God’s will. And while God is indeed everywhere, the difference is staggering. For in the church of Sheila, over time, the voice of God begins to sound a lot like the voice of Sheila. When that happens, it can become all too easy to justify any behavior you want as God’s will. That is why we need a faith community. We tend to get absorbed in our own lives
and our own pursuits. When this happens, we can lose sight of God, and begin to substitute our own ideas. The value of the community is in keeping us grounded, in challenging us to listen for the true word of God, not just what we would like to hear.
That is also the value of the mountaintop. It is a retreat from our everyday lives, it can be a way to stop and really listen for what God is telling you. A time of self-examination and reflection, a time to stop doing, and simply be still. We need both the day to day and the mountaintop, for they each provide us with opportunities to encounter our faith.
As a people, we are uncomfortable with silence. We want to fill our waking moments with noise and stimulation. If you don’t believe me, consider this, when you are in line somewhere, how long do you wait before you pull out your phone? That’s what I thought. But silence gives us an opportunity to listen to that still small voice that we are drowning out with our earbuds or
ignoring as we charge forward with our everyday life. That’s why the church of Sheila doesn’t provide answers as all she can ultimately hear is her own voice.
So, this morning I encourage you to embrace the silence. Go to a mountaintop or a quiet desert or a peaceful garden and completely unplug. Use that time to encounter God in the sunshine and the wind and the flowers. But go deeper. Clear your mind and open yourself to the possibility that you may just hear God speaking to you, if you are ready to listen.
It may take some time. Don’t get discouraged and give up. Remember that Moses was on the mountain for 6 days before the Lord spoke to him. It may be a scary proposition. Encountering God is an awe-inspiring experience. The disciples fell to the ground in fear when they heard the voice of the Lord. But remember too that Jesus came and touched them and calmed their fears.
Whatever you experience, when you return from the mountain, you have a faith community waiting to listen, to encourage, and to help you process what you heard. We do this together, for we are a community of fellow believers who will love and support one another, help us to bear our burdens, challenge one another, and even sit in the ashes and cry with each other. We need the mountaintop, we need the day to day, and we need one another. Each of these play an important role in shaping our lives and helping us on our journey to love God and one another.