THE MOUNTAIN TOP

Permit me to tell you about three visits to the mountain top which stand out in my mind among the many similar visits that have also been made.

The first visit was made into a move based on The Old Testament, Book of Exodus.  The movie, called the Ten Commandments, was directed by Cecil B. DeMille in 1956.  The main characters were Moses (Charlton Heston), The Pharaoh (Yul Brynner), and the Pharaoh’s wife and provocateur (Ann Baxter).

In the movie Moses freed the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage with the rod of God which afflicted the people of Egypt and forced the Pharaoh to order Moses and the children of Israel to “be gone” from Egypt. (Exodus, chap. 4, verse 7); (Exodus Chap. 9-13); (Exodus, chap. 12, verses 31, 32)  When Moses and the children of Israel left the land of Egypt and began the long journey to the promised land, Moses held aloft the rod of God and opened and closed the red sea. (Exodus Chap. 14, verses 15-31)

Chapters 32-33 of the Book of Exodus tell of conversations Moses had with God on the mountain top.  These chapters also portray the fickle nature of human beings.  When the children of Israel grew weary of waiting for Moses to return from the mountain top, they made a God of gold and engaged in all manner of evil and wanton actions. (Exodus, chap. 32, verses 1-9)

The film ends with Moses old, and alone on the mountain top, and never lived to see the promised land.  The movie was a great success and Charlton Heston will always be remembered for the role he played as Moses.

The next mountain top is found in the New Testament (Matthew, Chap. 4, verse 8), wherein Jesus is tempted by the devil.  The symbolism I see here is that all of us, as human beings with the power of choice, are given the opportunity to choose a life in the pursuit of profit and power with the belief that the end justifies the means, or a life wherein the goal is the pursuit of justice and peace for all mankind.  The pages of history vividly portray the price paid by those who chose the latter (Matthew, Chap. 23, verse 37-39).

Finally, let us move on to our time when young Baptist preacher named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a movement under the mantle of non-violence and love that shattered the corrosive barriers of segregation and discrimination in these United States of America.  One year after Dr. King’s lecture as to the reasons he opposed the Vietnam War, he went to the mountain top and stated, “I have seen the promised land…”.  The next day he was murdered and his dream of uniting the poor and all caring people for a march to the nation’s capitol to demand national recognition and justice for the poor died with him.

In these times of violence, hate, and fear which permeate the fragile fabric of our existence and where the name of God is used during the oath of office, the pledge of allegiance, in our patriotic songs, and our currency, one may well wonder if they who have been chosen to govern us have not consigned the belief in the “good and justice” to the realm of the tooth fairy.

Therefore, when one reaches his or her mountain top, serious thought should be given before making the choice between greed or good for the light of love and goodness is not always extinguished by the darkness of death.  Since all living creatures and things will someday die, the words cited in the New Testament, (Timothy, Chap. 6, verse 10-11) have meaning and truth for both believer and non-believer–

10. “For the love of money is

the root of all evil, which

some covet after, they have

erred from their faith, and

pierced themselves through

with many sorrows.

Fight the fight of faith…”