“I lift up my eyes to the hills; my help comes from the Lord.” Psalm 121:1-2
Dear Redeemer Family:
The verse above may need a little explaining. Until King Solomon built the first Temple, which he built on
Temple Mount (a mountain, or high place), the Israelites generally did worship and offered sacrifice on
the tops of hills and mountains. I would imagine that the logic was simple: the higher up you are, the
closer you are to God and heaven. To that helps to explain the imagery. Or God is “up there.” Or, since
we moved my father here from Ohio, which is generally flat, he keeps talking about “living on the top of
the mountain in De Soto.” I never considered De Soto, or any other town in the area as being on a
mountain. I guess that it is relative. But the idea that the higher up you are, the closer you are to God
runs through several cultures.
Now quite often, when we worship, we continue to look up. Mainly because there is a cross mounted on
the wall in the sanctuary. And the original cross was indeed on a hilltop. We still seek God and Christ
above us. And it is from Christ being lifted up on the cross that our salvation does indeed come. So, we
still identify with these verses.
As we are now well into this Season of Lent, spiritually we keep our eyes fixed on that raised cross. We
journey towards it. We follow Jesus along the path to it. And we strive to follow Christ more closely.
Basically, we are following our Lord, and journeying with him to the place where our salvation is
wrought. Along the way we traditionally try to conform our lives to his, not to curry his favor, but as a
means of giving thanks. We seek to improve ourselves, for our sake, but also in appreciation for all that
Christ has done for us.
During this Season of Lent, as we journey with Christ to the cross (and the hills), may we all be
strengthened in faith, follow more closely where Christ has led the way. And we may all have a deeper
and firmer belief in the assurance that our “help comes from the Lord.” Have a good journey, and a
blessed Lent!
In Christ,
Pastor Rose