Fellow believers in Christ, I am sure many people here have climbed a mountain or hill and experienced the presence and grandeur of God. Of course, it is never an easy experience to climb a mountain; steep, windy, stony and challenging. It requires real effort, tact and caution. One of the most memorable days I ever had was the day I climbed Mt. Sinai, a mountain in the southern portion of Sinai Peninsula where tradition has it that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. It is part of a chain of rugged, reddish colored granite mountains that rise high into the air. Mt Sinai itself is 7,500 feet high. The view of the stark and arid mountains surrounding Mt Sinai is spectacular.
Abraham was called by God to “climb the mountain” of leaving his home for an unknown territory and start a completely new life. He came from Sumer, a settlement near modern-day Kuwait. He and his family migrated to Haran, a city in the northern part of Syria, near Turkey. God called him to leave his kinsfolk behind and move to the land of Canaan, modern-day Israel. He left behind a prosperous commercial area to settle in a land that was still relatively primitive and undeveloped. Abraham made the long and difficult journey at the tender age of 75 along with his wife, Sarah, who was 10 years younger. It was a pure act of faith for him to believe in the promises God made to him, as we heard in the first reading. Abraham trusted God wholeheartedly and “climbed this mountain” in faith.
Lent is a time when our Lord invites us to “climb the mountain” of intense prayer, fasting and almsgiving. If you’ve never climbed a real mountain, I’m sure you’ve climbed many mountains figuratively: mountains of ignorance to become educated, mountains of fear to discover new strength and courage, mountains of hurt and sickness to find healing, mountains of pride to discover we are not the center of the universe. In conquering such everyday heights, we discover the God who never leaves us. Peter, James and John on Mt. Tabor discovered the God that was hidden within Jesus who was always with them when they “climbed the mountain.”
What mountain will you climb during this Lent to discover God in people around you: at work, in the neighborhood, in family and friends?
Fr. Gabriel Wankar