Landscapes of the Sacred #2

"Mountains and rocks make up is backbone and flesh, water the blood running through its veins, trees and grass its hair, and the clouds the breath of its inner life. Touching the earth, therefore, becomes a way of entering more fully the deeper mystery of ourselves and God -as if some vast correspondence linked our being to the mountain's distance silhouette." p.96

Mountains seem to have a draw, of both awe and fear. I remember looking up to the top of a mountain, wondering, "Can I actually walk to the top of that?" It is a test of our physical abilities, a symbol of our lives, but beyond that it is a correspondence between us and God. The mountain is where God's presence has descended, where he has displayed himself as both perfectly holy and perfectly loving. God's presence on Mount Sinai caused fear in the hearts of the Israelites and yet God was gracious enough to allow Moses to go to the top, to fall to his knees and talk, to participate in the mystery of your character, if but for a moment. The mountain is the dwelling place of the gods, the place of sacrifice, the local for the transfiguration. It is a place that is hidden away, in a space a little closer to heaven - or so it seems. It is away from the public eye and away from the mundane. Thus, the mountain becomes the place where man may encounter the sacred in the most individual and personal way he can.

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