Advent Day 5
God's Holy Mountain

Waiting, expecting, hoping, anticipating—somehow these speak to the depths of our hearts, probably because our whole existence here below is characterized precisely by these attitudes. The world is filled with wonderful things and experiences—deep joys and satisfactions. But we all know that nothing here below finally satisfies us or gives us the joy that we ultimately want. In fact, it is usually the best times in life, rather than the worst, that awaken in us most fully this longing and searching.

No matter how much we know, we want to know more; no matter how much we love, we want greater love; no matter how much beauty we attain, we sense that there is a perfect beauty that we haven’t seen. This attitude of longing is ingredient in the structure of our consciousness.

The prophet Isaiah was someone who knew this attitude well. He gives us, in the second chapter of his book, an image that has burned its way into the consciousness of believers up and down the centuries: the image of God’s holy mountain, the place where the deepest longings of the heart are fulfilled.

Where is this holy mountain? Well, the mountain of the Lord’s house is Zion, where the temple of Yahweh was situated. It was the place of right praise. According to the Bible, the key to happiness, and the fulfilment [sic] of our longing, is nothing other than right praise and worship of the true God. For when we give glory to God in the highest, we rightly order all of our desires: we love God first and then all other things for the sake of God.

Bad praise—getting this order out of whack—is always what goes wrong with us. When we allow the mountains of wealth, or pleasure, or power, or honor to become the highest mountain, we experience emptiness and longing.

But when the worship of the true God is established as the highest mountain, then it will function as a magnet, drawing all people to itself. This beautiful image haunted all of the tribes and nations streaming toward Zion and continues to haunt the religious imagination of believers all over the world. It's to that mountain we go. [Emphasis mine]