It’s always nice to see a project through to the end.
Especially one you’ve been working on for forty years,
a lifetime really, though back then people either lived
much longer or they were prematurely smitten for
lying with a Midianite.
So when Moses who’s been working on this project,
this project of getting all the people into the promised land,
who’s been working on this project since back in the days
when the Lord was just a glint of fire on a bush, halfway
up another mountain…
So when Moses, who already knows he’s not going to
see this through to the end because of a brief transgression
with a rock and a stick…
So when Moses is asked to climb to the top of a mountain,
Mount Abrim if you really must know, the mountain across
Jordan…When Moses is asked to stand on top of this mountain
and view the promised land, the culmination of his life’s work,
a distant soil his shoes will never know…
it must have been…well you can imagine. You’ve probably
been there. If you’ve ever experienced anything unrequited
you know exactly how Moses must have felt. Moses, the star
of books two through five, turned lame duck leader, asked to
pass his spiritual power onto Joshua the rookie.
The end is in sight and it’s not the land he sees from the
top of this mountain. These old bones will rest in Moab.
But don’t let me skip ahead. We’ve still got a whole book
to go and it’s the longest one. Heck, there are still two
chapters left in this one.
You can’t blame me. I get nostalgic about things that
haven’t happened yet. More often than not the present
moment escapes me as I worry about its passing.
How many of us exist perpetually on our own Mount Abrims
pining for the distant vista, completely missing the glorious view?
This is the curse of the thoughtful human, the task focused.We, temporary mammals, this Earth not ours, but meant for the next, and, when it comes down to it, not them either.
Unbreakable cycle. Know this – the promised land is where
your feet are right now. Where this air enters your nose.
Concentrate on that breath and you will never be left
alone on a mountain.
