Today's Scripture Reading (April 25, 2023): Psalm 48
If you have read this blog for a while, you might
note that I believe we need touch to be healthy. Having said that, in a society
that seems to have sexualized touch, touch has also become problematic. As a
result, there is a division within our communities. Some of us are touchers. I
tend to be gregarious, enjoying friendly hugs, usually an A-frame hug from the
side, with friends willing to accept that kind of contact. But not everyone is willing.
I had an associate pastor who was not a hugger. Which was okay; I get it,
especially in our society. But I also remember the day I got word that my
father-in-law had passed away. At the time, I was preparing for another funeral.
The church was busy with the congregation arriving, the family was sequestered
in a room just behind the sanctuary, and people were running in and out of my
office as I received the news of his death. Honestly, I thought I was holding
everything together quite well; I am usually pretty good at compartmentalizing
things. Everything was fine until my associate hugged me; then, all of my walls
began to crumble.
Two mountains are considered to be God's holy
mountains. The first was Mount Sinai. It was the mountain where Moses met God
and received the Ten Commandments. On this sacred mountain, only Moses was allowed
to go. God told Moses;
Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell
them, 'Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of
it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death (Exodus 19:12).
Mount Sinai was about exclusion. Unless you are Moses, if you
touch it, you will die.
But there was a second holy mountain. The Psalmist says that
the city of God was built on God's holy mountain; this one was called Zion.
Mount Sinai was all about fear and terror, but Zion would one day be all about love
and forgiveness. At Sinai, only Moses could come before God; at Zion, all of Israel
could come before God, and one day Zion would be known for inviting everyone to
come before God. Sinai was about exclusion, but Zion was about inclusion. Sinai
was a cold shoulder, but Zion was a warm hug.
The author of Hebrews sums up the differences between the two
mountains.
You
have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire;
to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to
such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further
word be spoken to them, because they could not
bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must
be stoned to death." The sight was so terrifying
that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."
But
you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in
joyful assembly, to the church of the
firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God,
the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled
blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12:18-24).
Sinaia was the mountain of fear, but Zion was the
mountain of joy.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 19
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