The Foggy Mountaintop Incident

Then a cloud overshadowed them,

and from the cloud there came a voice,

“This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

(From Mark 9:2-9)

My mountaintop experience began when a good friend of mine, John, asked if I’d hike with him on an overnight to the Lake of the Clouds hut on the Appalachian Trail.

Sure.

We drove up the Mt. Washington Toll Road, it’s own exciting adventure!

An extremely dense cloud at the summit made the trail to the hut a challenge.

We began the 1.5-mile hike over a clouded, rocky trail arriving at the hut in about 45 minutes.

After spending the night among other hikers, we returned to the fogged in summit.

I’m not sure how we would have reacted if a voice came out of the wind and clouds, but I can guarantee you, we wouldn’t have pitched a tent!

 It is no accident that this story takes place on a mountain.

 This story takes place on a mountain top because ancient civilizations understood mountains as heaven and earth’s meeting place.

The Bible, understands mountains as places for epiphanies, like the stories Moses’ burning bush.

Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to the mountaintop where his clothes turn dazzlingly white.

In this epiphany, Moses and Elijah are talking with Jesus.

Peter, James, and John hear a voice talking to them: “This is my Son the Beloved. Listen to him.”

The epiphany’s significance is to reinforce the work of the disciples in the face of suffering and pain, or healings gone awry.

As Martha Simmons wrote, “where the sweet by and by meets the nasty here and now.”

For me this vision is a salvation story pointing to hope beyond today’s reality of hatred, pain and brokenness to a healed tomorrow.

Think about it: Peter, James and John saw Jesus on the mountain top. Where do you see Jesus?