Of Mountains and Valleys

Coming Down and Doing Good

Mar 02, 2025

²⁸Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³⁰Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. ³¹They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³²Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. ³⁴While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. ³⁵Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” ³⁶When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Luke 9:28-36

I read a quote the other day from Emily Freeman from The Soul Minimalist that said…

“The worst thing for all of us to do is to stop doing the good things we’re already doing because we feel overwhelmed that we can’t do more.”^[1]

The Soul Minimalist

We stop doing good things because we are overwhelmed we can’t do more. Or…we might say our efforts won’t make a difference. Or…we rationalize that someone else is better qualified to do the work.

We all find ourselves at one time or another turning away from good work. I find it especially difficult right now…maybe you do too. There is so much good work that needs to be done but the path towards making a difference seems impossible to navigate. Not to mention that the messages of what is good and right and just are continually in conflict.

Speaking for myself…I am overwhelmed.

I just want to go sit in a quiet corner and tune it all out. And that sense of overwhelm seeped into my worship planning this week. I chickened out on reading the full Gospel text appointed for today.

In case you didn’t know, there are an additional 7 verses that are optional this week. They are complicated and challenging. And I just wanted you to feel good and leave happy. So, I took the optional, easier way out. A decision that I am now going to amend.

Because folks, we can’t stay with easy…no matter how tired or overwhelmed we may be.

The Gospel reading (the non-optional verses) takes place on a serene mountain top where Jesus, Peter, James, and John are hanging out. And then in a mystical experience they are joined by Moses and Elijah. Jesus’ clothes, in fact his entire countenance, are transformed into this bright shining light. The clouds roll in and God speaks.

It’s a moment that leaves you in awe and wonder.

That’s where the reading ends. That’s the easy option.

I love moments of awe and wonder. Don’t you? When everything seems peaceful and good. When God seems so close. When we can be up on that mountain away from all that is going on in the world. We never have to look down or around.

And when we stay up there, not only can we avoid looking down and around, we never have to make a decision about doing good or not doing good. We never have to feel overwhelmed. And when we never leave those lofty elevations, we never have to face the things God may be asking of us.

We don’t have to be uncomfortable.

We don’t have to risk anything.

We can maintain our safety, our security, and our peace.

I wanted you to be able to stay up there…on the mountain top. I really did. I wanted to let you leave here today with a feeling of awe and wonder and peace. I know how much we need that right now.

But I couldn’t. I couldn’t because that’s not the point of this text. Those other 7 verses? They take us back down the mountain. And that journey is essential to understanding the lesson for today.

Take a moment to read those 7 verses…

³⁷On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met [Jesus]. ³⁸Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. ³⁹Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. ⁴⁰I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” ⁴¹Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴²While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. ^43aAnd all were astounded at the greatness of God.

Luke 9:37-43a

This is what happens when we leave the security of our mountain tops. We must face what is going on all around us. The pain and suffering, the grief and desperation. And no matter how faithless and perverse it may feel, we can’t stop caring. We can’t get overwhelmed and walk away. We still have good to do.

And I want you to notice something…Jesus was overwhelmed in that moment. When he speaks to the father and says…how much longer must I be with you…do you think he was happy or comfortable to be there? I doubt it.

***For effect, reread what Jesus says to the father. Read it out loud in an angry, irritated voice. That’s the way I hear him speaking.
“You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?”

Jesus definitely isn’t embracing this moment with open arms.

But Jesus didn’t walk away.

He did what was needed. He did good work no matter how overwhelmed he may have been.

This is the full teaching of our Gospel reading this morning.

So, go, rest, be in awe of God. We need to do that. But in doing so, we must prepare ourselves to come back down and do good…wherever it is needed.

We keep going.

I can’t make the challenges of this world easier to digest. I wish I could give you all one long respite from whatever you may be struggling with. But that’s not what we have been called to do. This is why I changed my mind about those 7 verses.

Because reality isn’t a mountain top.

Reality is our communities, our families, our nation, our world. Reality is the homeless, the immigrant, the hungry, the war torn, the abused. Reality is also the love and mercy, forgiveness and kindness we are called to give. Reality is strength and courage to do the right thing when nobody else will.

And you gotta come down that mountain to do it!

In verse 35, God tells us to listen to his son. God says that for a reason! And listening means so much more than a few feel good words. It means so much more than easy going, socially acceptable theology. Listening means committing to embodying the words Jesus speaks.

There is a beautiful quote by poet Maxine Kumin that says,

“It is important to act as if bearing witness matters.”

This is the heart of the mountain. It is there where we listen to God so that we can return to level ground and bear witness.

New Testament professor Troy Troftgruben points out that, “Enlightening as the Transfiguration may have been, it changes nothing about the challenges and difficulties to come….the call to ministry leads us not to stay [on the mountain]…but to return below, where the hard work of healing happens. After all, Jesus’ ministry is not transformative and redemptive because of what he did on the mountain, but what he did in the valleys and wilderness….”^[2]

So, are you still feeling overwhelmed? If so, let me leave you with this…

One of my seminary colleagues died a few years ago from cancer. Her name was Tallu. She left behind two beautiful children and a husband who absolutely adored her. In her final year as she was dying, she started writing about what she had learned about living. I think her words speak profoundly to the Gospel today.

She wrote…

“Staying hopeful in a really hard time can feel like such a daunting task. But breaking hope down into small acts, or small daily practices, makes staying faithful easier. The daunting thing becomes possible when approached little by little. Hope has to be not only imagined, but practiced. We have to do the work of imagining what could be possible, and then do our little part to make it real.”

This is bearing witness.

I wish I could leave you up on the mountain, but I can’t. What I can do is encourage you to bear witness and never stop doing the good work you are called to do.

Want to read more? Here is the full lectionary for today:

Lectionary readings for Sunday, March 2, 2025

^[1]