Our Mountains
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (Luke 3:5-6)
I live at the top of a mountain. Not everyone would call it a mountain; some might scoff at me and say it is a hill. A short bump in the road. I realize I don’ t live on Pike’s Peak or Mt. Everest. I know that my mountain isn’t epic. To me, though, it is a mountain, especially in the winter.
When winter comes, and the snow flies, and I am driving to work, I pause at the top of the “big hill” – the last and biggest downhill slope to reach the flatter roads near our home – and I definitely call it a mountain. I pause at the top to allow the car in front of me to slowly slide – I mean carefully drive – down the mountain. I wait for all the cars coming from Bill and Dana Kosto’s side of the mountain to make their way down so that my way is clear. Then I slowly start driving down our mountain in my all-wheel-drive CR-V. I ever so carefully pump the brakes (I know I’m not supposed to, but I want a slow speed – don’t correct my driving while I’m creeping). I pause where the ice always flows across the road and slowly roll over it. I take the big curve to the outside because I know the road slopes toward the ditch. When I reach the bottom, I celebrate.
I can drive all the way to Charleston in the snow with less worry than when I drive down our mountain. It is an obstacle for me to reach the rest of the world.
Our passage today shares the words of John the Baptist as he quotes the prophet Isaiah, calling for repentance to make the way clear for the Lord to come. I, for one, can certainly imagine how low valleys, high mountains, and crooked roads can be obstacles. I can see how our sins and self-centeredness could block the way for the Lord to enter our lives, and therefore the entire world.
I wouldn’t mind if my mountain were made low so that my obstacle to the world would be gone. I imagine repentance – our turning away from the metaphorical mountains and crooked habits that separate us from God – could make God’s way into the world possible.
What do we need to do to clear the way for God’s entrance into our lives and into the world? What repentance would make the path straight and the way smooth so that all flesh could see the salvation of God? What are our first best steps to make it so?
Kim Matthews
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