View from the Mountaintop

It’s near the end of Deuteronomy, as God’s people prepare to enter the Promised Land, that Moses stands on Mount Nebo gazing into the land that would become the nation of Israel. He himself will never enter it, but in that moment on Mount Nebo Moses gets to see what God promised.

I’ve found myself reflecting on what Moses might have felt in that moment. Regret that he wouldn’t be entering the land himself? Joy that the people’s wilderness journey would soon be over? Gratitude for the lessons learned along the way? Confidence that the God who brought them out of Egypt would now lead the people into the land once promised to their ancestors?

I imagine it would be some combination of all those things.

Or maybe I’m projecting my own emotions onto Moses.

Moses isn’t normally one of the characters with whom I identify in Scripture, but there’s something about this moment on Mount Nebo that has struck me in this season, a season where I’m looking ahead into a future that I myself will not enter.

It feels as if I am standing on my own Mount Nebo looking ahead to the future of First Presbyterian Church. As I approach my final months in this place, I find myself filled with gratitude for all that God has done among us and with hope for all that lies ahead for this church family. I am confident that as God had been faithful since the founding of First Presbyterian Church in 1890, so too will God be faithful to this church beyond our season of ministry together.

While December (and the seasons of Advent and Christmas) will officially be the final sermons I preach as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church, the sermon series that will begin on Sunday, The View from the Mountaintop, is something of my farewell sermons (because the messages and hope of Advent and Christmas should take center stage, not me).

All through scripture important things happen on mountains.

Moses ascended a mountain to receive the law that would shape the nation of Israel as they began their new life in Promised Land. It was on a mountain that God revealed God’s self to Moses, passing by Moses allowing him to see his backside. It was on a mountain that Moses caught a glimpse of the Promised Land, though he himself would never enter it. Later, Jesus ascended a mountain to preach his first sermon. And it was on a mountain (or maybe a hill) that in Jesus’ final breaths he proclaimed, “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

Important things happen on mountains.

It makes sense. From the mountaintop, the landscape suddenly becomes clearer. We can look back and see where we’ve been, we can look around and see the beauty, we can look ahead and glimpse what might be to come.

And the same is true in faith. From the mountaintop the landscape of faith becomes clearer. We can look back and see all that has shaped the past – the saints, the prayers, the courage, the faith – and built this community. We can look around and see the living body of Christ still at work: hands serving, hearts caring, voices singing, and lives being transformed by grace. And we can look ahead to the horizon of God’s promise, trusting that even as our path’s diverge, God’s steadfast love continues to lead us forward.

From one mountain to another, Scripture reminds us that God’s promises are sure, even when we cannot clearly see how the future will unfold. As Paul writes to the church in Philippi, “The one who began a good work among you will bring it completion.”

And so, I hope this series is a time of reflection and thanksgiving, joy and hope. Together, may we take in the view from the mountaintop and see – clearly and joyfully – that the future still belongs to God.

Grace and peace,

Kimmy