Sunday’s lectionary, in keeping with the Transfiguration theme, contains a bit from 2 Corinthians about how the people of Israel could only encounter God with their faces veiled; whereas now, through Jesus Christ, we can have unveiled faces, seeing God’s glory as if in a mirror.
So, this ‘mirror’ analogy suggests there is still something a bit secondhand, a bit attenuated about our encounter with God. And so it has to be. And yet I suspect we are often longing for more … if we can bear it.
If you really want to see God’s glory, I suggest taking a lesson from the Luke passage – not to go up a mountain – but to see God’s glory at work where Christ is working in people to bring healing and hope. Having said that – I think it’s one of those times I’m preaching to myself too.
OTOH, the hills are quite glorious in their own right too, part of a co-operative effort between God’s creation and human management (for good or ill).