Mystic Mountains

Climbing mountains to encounter God

12/02/2019

Isiaih 4:2-6 On that day, The branch of the LORD will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors of Israel. He who remains in Zion and he who is left in Jerusalem Will be called holy: every one marked down for life in Jerusalem. When the LORD washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion, And purges Jerusalem's blood from her midst with a blast of searing judgment, Then will the LORD create, over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her place of assembly, A smoking cloud by day and a light of flaming fire by night. For over all, the LORD's glory will be shelter and protection: shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover from storm and rain.

I come from a land of mountains, in fact, from the land of the highest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest. Because it is the tallest mountain in the world, towering at a height of 29,029 feet, it receives international attention and people from all over the world attempt to ascend it. After eight failed attempts by various groups, the team of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay (an expert Sherpa) were the first humans to set foot on its peak on May 29, 1953. They took photographs of themselves and buried a small cross and a few sweets in the snow. I guess as a reward for anyone else who makes it to the top in the future. Want to join me in trying to find those sweets?

The peak of Mt. Everest is often covered in clouds, being at such a high elevation, but even on a clear day the snow blowing off the top gives the impression of a halo of clouds at the summit. In other words, mountains, like Everest, are not only majestic to behold, but they are also mystical places where people feel close to God. Indeed, mountains are quite literally where heaven and earth meet.

In the first reading today, Isaiah the Old Testament prophet predicts that Mt. Zion will hold a similar (albeit spiritual) attraction like Mt. Everest. You may recall that Mt. Zion is the peak on which Jerusalem is built, and in particular where the Jerusalem Temple is placed. Jerusalem sits approximately 2,500 feet above sea level. In Isaiah’s imagination Mt. Zion is the Mt. Everest in a spiritual sense. He writes: “Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion, and over her place of assembly, A smoking cloud by day and a light of flaming fire by night.” He adds: “For over all, the Lord’s glory will be shelter and protection.” The Jews believed that God’s glory was present in the form of a cloud called the “shekinah” glory cloud that hovered over the Temple on Mt. Zion, like the cloud that hangs over Mt. Everest. And on Mt. Zion the people would not find sugary sweets but the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant that contained the 12 loaves of Show Bread, one for each of the 12 Tribes of Israel. Now, that was some sweet bread!

Moreover, in Isaiah 2:3, the ancient seer had already announced that “People from many nations will come and say, ‘Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord…There he will teach us his ways and we will walk in his paths.” Just like people from all over the world are attracted to Mt. Everest, so too, all the nations are irresistibly drawn to the wisdom and holiness found at the heights of Mt. Zion. Jesus echoes Isaiah’s prophecy in the gospel of Matthew 8, saying: “Many will come from the east and from the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.” Like Hillary and Norgay, and like Isaiah, so Jesus sees mountain peaks as places not only of majestic dignity but places for mystical experiences, where heaven and earth meet.

My friends, have you ever studied closely how Catholic churches are typically and traditionally built? Usually, the sanctuary around the altar is elevated by one or two steps. And the high altar is further raised by 3 or 5 steps. That construction is not accidental or merely artistic but very deliberate to designate an ascent up a mountain. And what do priests use at high Masses? We burn incense to create a cloud of smoke to symbolize God’s glorious presence, his Holy Spirit. But some people miss that meaning and only cough and complain about the incense. It can indeed by hard to inhale the Holy Spirit! And what do we receive when we approach this sacred mountain? Not some sweets left by human mountain climbers, but the sweetest of all food, the Eucharist, left by Jesus, who climbed Mt. Zion, and died on one of its peaks called Golgotha, and left behind a cross and some sweets for those who come after him, that is, me and you.

Folks, you and I are probably not going to climb Mt. Everest in Nepal, or maybe even venture up Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, but at every Mass, we spiritually scale the heights of holiness as we approach Mt. Zion transplanted to every altar where the Mass is celebrated. There we sing Psalm 122 with people from all the nations, from the east and from the west, chanting: “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!