The Sacred Ground of the Mountains

I came to know the mountains of Washington long before I moved here a couple of years ago. I first fell in love with this area back in 1984 when I came to visit my sister and brother-in-law right after they were married. God has been drawing me to the mountains ever since. These mountains of the Pacific Northwest have become sacred ground for me, a symbol of God’s enduring love. God lures me into the mountains and speaks to my heart. Especially on my days off, I spend as much time as I can in the mountains, allowing the solitude of God to speak to me. The mountains help me quiet my thoughts, they call me to a deeper contemplation with God, and they are humbling in a good way, helping me to keep life in perspective. I breathe deeply of life on this holy ground.

The mountains remind me that God is the ground of my being, no matter what. Even when I’m driving at night, just knowing I am surrounded by the mountains keeps me rooted in God. And even during those times in Seattle when we have more than ninety days of rain, I know that the mountains are behind the clouds, steadfast in fidelity. It is worth the wait to behold them in glory on sunny days or days with sun breaks. No matter what the weather, the mountains keep pointing me to God and affirming for me that God is the most important relationship in my life.

Where is the holy place for you? Where is the place that God lures you, calls you, and speaks to your heart?

The prophet Hosea, in 2:16—22, reminds the Israelite people that God calls them again to the desert. It was the desert experience at Sinai where the Jewish people first fell in love with the God who created them and redeemed them from slavery in Egypt, and where God established a covenant relationship with them. It was the desert experience where they listened to God, where they encountered God’s faithful love, and where they were restored to holiness and made new again. Especially during the Exile, the Israelites needed the desert experience once more.

What is the desert place for each of us? The Hebrew word for God’s steadfast love is hesed, meaning "enduring covenant love." God’s love is like a faithful spouse, a love that gives freely without demanding love in return, a love that forgives, a love that serves, and a love that endures unconditionally for the sake of the other. The desert is the symbol of God’s faithful love to the Israelite people. Once in the desert, God speaks tenderly to the Israelites and espouses them with righteousness and justice, sedeq and mishpat (qualities that promote just and right human relationships), mercy (rahamin), and fidelity (emunah)–all qualities and gifts of authentic covenant love.

In the Gospel of Mark, 2:18—22, this special loving relationship with God continues. According to Jewish custom at the time of Jesus, a married couple would host a wedding feast for family and friends for a week or longer after the time of their marriage. The honeymoon was not a trip somewhere in the Mediterranean, but rather a party at home for the wedding guests. According to rabbinic rules, all those who attended the wedding feast were relieved of all religious observances, such as fasting, that would hinder them from experiencing fully the joy of the celebration. With this backdrop of wedding custom, Jesus preaches a new way of living in covenant relationship with God. He does not discount the rule of fasting. There is a time and place for that, and it will come later. For now, much rejoicing and celebrating are called forth. Jesus uses the image of the wineskin to call us to a new way of being and living in covenant with God. Wineskins are made of organic matter, and new wine must be poured into new wineskins. If not, the old skins burst from the freshness of the wine. The old cannot contain this newness of life. We are thus called to transformation, an ongoing conversion process, as a way of living. Complacency is not an option in walking with Jesus. Therefore our hearts and our lives must be transformed anew to receive the love of God. A new spirit and an open heart (a new wineskin of being) are necessary to live this authentic relational love with God.

These readings from Hosea and Mark are a prelude to the Lenten season. Lent is an intense time of baptismal preparation and renewal. Lent calls us to the desert to retreat with God, to be transformed and restored to wholeness once again, awashed once more in the renewing waters of our baptism. So mark the calendar of your heart. Lent is coming soon.

Meanwhile, for now, where is the place God calls you and speaks tenderly to your heart? Where is the place for you to live this authentic covenant love of God? Where is that place? Go there and go there often with God.