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November 27, 2022: Climbing the Mountain of the Lord
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As we begin a new Church year on this 1st Sunday of Advent, may our drive toward Christmas and the birth of our Savior be one of humbly seeking God’s mercy through the holy Sacrament, and a drive toward welcoming, again, the presence of Jesus in our world and in our personal lives.
As the years go by, I like to compare my own drive toward a deeper faith in Christ to the hiking up a mountain. This mountain climbing image is heard this week from the Book of Isaiah, the great Old Testament Prophet who gives us much to ponder in his later chapters on Jesus as the Suffering Servant. But this first week of Advent, Isaiah invites us into a holy gathering of believers who will “climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” Which mountain does Isaiah refer to? Is it Mount Sinai Isaiah? Or Mount Hebron? Does Isaiah refer to Mount Nebo, where Moses died and was buried? Or how about the Mount of Olives where our Lord was arrested for the “crime” of saving our world? I know for certain it’s not the Mount of Temptation Isaiah refers to. If anything, that’s the one mountain Isaiah is leading us away from throughout this Advent season, and all year long.
I believe each one of these above mountains we hear and read about in the Old and New Testaments would suffice in some way for proper and healthy preparation for the coming of the newborn King. For example, if we were to climb – through prayer and reflection - Mt. Sinai, we could consider how Moses was handed the law for the Israelites to live in ways that would certify and display their holiness before God. What a perfect way to prepare for the first coming of Christ! To consider in our prayer the Divine holiness of Ten Commandments that separated the Chosen People of God from other nations who had zero knowledge of the one true God. Through two heavy tablets which Moses lugged down from Mount Sinai, the Israelites would be the first group in history to become intimate with God, in like manner of how we become intimate with the Lord Jesus through our reception of seven Sacraments he has given to his Church.
Or, again on Mount Sinai, what the Ten Commandments represent by way of a lasting covenant between God and his people. In the birth of Jesus, a covenant will be made will all people 33 years down the road from Bethlehem when the Man from Nazareth will suffer and die for our sins, making a covenant sealed in his blood that will never end. What this covenant accomplishes for us wayward people is to ensure the possibility of eternal happiness with our God, and those we love. What’s first required on our part is belief and acceptance. But without the covenant Christ Jesus establishes in his sacred blood, well, we end up like the Red Sox this past season; in last place, with a losing record under 500. We end up with many more losses than wins. The covenant our Lord seals on Golgotha results in our full-on victory in the life to come. Which in turn, gives the deepest meaning to our lives in the present.
Or, back to Moses again, this time on Mount Nebo, where the greatest leader of Israel came so close to crossing over to the Promised Land of milk and honey. As the story goes, Moses saw from a distance the land he led the Israelites toward for 40 years in the desert. He could see the Jordan River a number of miles off, but was cut off by God from entering the land. As I like to say, God had his reasons for not allowing Moses to taste the milk and honey of what became Israel. The concern of Moses not entering the Promised Land is not ours. What is our concern, and how the geography of Mount Nebo can help prepare us during Advent for the arrival of Jesus in a stable, is to consider and reflect over four weeks how we’re presented the opportunity to see Christ Jesus, initially from a distance, for we know he's coming, and then, through penance and good works, see him close up by the time December 25 rolls around. This is a good path that “climbs the mountain of the Lord.”
Over the course of my life, I’ve been blessed to climb a number of mountains along the way. The first and toughest mountain I climbed was the mountain of growing up with 15 siblings, and living to tell about it. I wouldn’t trade this mountain for the world. Too many good lessons and God-lessons in life have come from this climb.
After family, my second favorite mountain I’ve climbed successfully was Mt. Massanutten in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I believe I’ve seen my last attempt at climbing this scenic mountain, which I’ve done 4 or 5 times, unless I can find the greatest pair of boots ever made in the history of the world. During the climb of this mountain, a hiker is forced to address the presence of countless jagged rocks sticking up from the ground, causing footsore beyond belief by the time the peak is reached, if good footwear is not worn. The same rock structure holds for climbing down. But, if a hiker is blessed enough to make it to the peak, the view is beyond words to describe. It is an experience of “climbing God’s mountain.” Such is the climb of Advent toward the peak of Christmas. The jagged rocks represent the pain we suffer through past choices that are sinful; a good set of boots is like being touched and preserved by God’s mercy and forgiveness on the way up; and reaching the peak to take in the awesome beauty of what is below in every direction is like the birth of Christ into our world, where the beauty of holiness now begins to win, and the wretchedness of sin begins to fade.
Other mountains, even those in proximity to central Massachusetts, are opportunities to experience that of “climbing the mountain of the Lord.” And climbing in a way that speaks to the direction of our faith lives and how the presence of God is experienced in a special way. Mount Wachusett would be one of these mountains, which some folks consider a small bump in the hills. I saw a few photos on Facebook recently of a Confirmation teacher at a past Parish I was assigned to. He took his students for a hike up Mount Wachusett. A couple of the photos were from the top. In the background one could see for miles looking north toward another mountain, Mount Monadnock. I have no doubt the experience of their climb on that Saturday morning, and placing their climb into a religious and spiritual theme, somehow touched on the reception of their upcoming Confirmation.
This season, however, is one of preparing for the holiest birth of all. The particular word used in our faith for the birth of Jesus is Incarnation. The Word becoming flesh, and making his dwelling among us. God pitches his tent with the human race. The Lord Jesus descends from the true mountain of God, Mount Heaven, and comes to wake us up to the truth that God desires us to be in right relationship with Him through the only way possible; the life of His Son. But Advent comes and goes rather quickly. It is about half the time of Lent. There’s a hurriedness to Advent because of the shortness of the season. In one recent year, the 1st Sunday of Advent was December 1. We all know how fast time flies when moving from the 1st of any month to the 25th. It seems like overnight. There’s no time to be wasted for preparing for the Lord’s birth during the Season of Advent. Having a plan right away saves time. Winging it this Advent may not be the best laid plan.
There are many, many mountains we climb over the course of our lives, both physically and spiritually. Probably more spiritually for most of us. But this great season of preparation for the birth of our Savior, this holy Season of Advent, beckons all Catholics to join the chorus of angels who sing louder and louder, with shouts of joy, every time we take advantage of God’s mercy found first and foremost in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There is no better way to prepare our bodies and souls for the coming of Jesus, born in a stable. Let’s make room at the “inn of our hearts,” by flushing out anything that prevents us from enjoying the fullness of Christmas. To this we are invited. And to this may we be willing to climb.