on This Mountain
This past weekend I attended a funeral. The priest that was officiating used a passage from Isaiah about mountains. I did not recognize the reading. He didn’t give the chapter or verse, and I am not sure what translation he was reading from, and Isaiah uses “mountain” imagery over forty-five times. My favorite is in chapter 25, I have used in before, I will probably use it again. As I pondered during the funeral service, and reflect on mountains now, I searched my files for the following meditation.
On this mountain
Before Elijah, before Moses
The Light shined,
On that day
On this mountain
The banquet is prepared
We waited for him, we will say
On that day
On this mountain
The Light came down that mountain,
The banquet will wait
For that day
On that mountain
While Moses could not,
And who Elijah foresaw,
The Light set out for another mount
On that day
He will destroy the shroud that covers all peoples,
He has swallowed up death forever!
On that Mountain of Calvary
Steve Skiver
Based on the Transfiguration from Matthew 17 and promise from Isaiah 25:6-9
I am sorely tempted to give a review about the funeral service. It will be sufficient to say that I understood what point the priest was trying to make, however, from my perspective, it fell far short. There is a Latin phrase “memento mori” which translated means “remember you must die”. I joked afterward with my son, “When you do my eulogy, lie about me, too. And if my pastor is not available, do not hire a mercenary to officiate…
Wait for the prepared banquet, and
Trust the Promises,
Steve Skiver