20200716 GOING UP THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD
16 July, 2020, Thursday, Our Lady of Mount Carmel
1Kings 18:42-45
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again seven times.” And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising out of the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’ ” And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.
John 19:25-27
So the soldiers did this. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
GOING UP THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 KINGS 18:42B-45A; JOHN 19:25-27 ]
“Lord, who shall be admitted to your tent and dwell on your holy mountain?” The Mountain is always a symbol of the presence of God. Whenever Moses wanted to converse with God, he would go to Mount Horeb. This was where he received the Decalogue from God. He spent 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain to listen to the Lord. “He was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.” (Ex 34:28)
But before they came near to the mountain of the Lord, the people had to be purified. Moses was instructed, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death.” (Ex 19:10-12) Hence, our responsorial psalm says, “Lord, who shall be admitted to your tent and dwell on your holy mountain? He who walks without fault; he who acts with justice and speaks the truth from his heart; he who does not slander with his tongue; he who does no wrong to his brother, who casts no slur on his neighbour. He who holds the godless in disdain, but honours those who fear the Lord.”
Indeed, holiness is required for one to encounter the Lord. At Mount Carmel, we have Elijah, known as the Prophet of the Lord in the Old Testament, whose whole ministry was to bring the people back to the pristine faith of Israel. The worship of Yahweh was compromised as a result of King Ahab who brought in the pagan gods and even enacted a shrine in honour of Baal, at the instigation of Queen Jezebel. Elijah was all out to eradicate paganism from the land of the Israelites. Elijah told King Ahab to assemble “at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” (1 Kg 18:19) There at Mount Carmel they had a contest to see who was the true God by calling upon each one’s gods to consume the holocaust without lighting any fire to burn the holocaust. The prophets of Baal called upon their gods but in vain.
Eventually, it was the fervent prayer of Elijah that won the victory over the false prophets. He prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench.” (1 Kg 18:36-38) Again it was the fervent prayer of Elijah, the holy prophet that resulted in a drought and it was his prayers that brought rain once again to Israel. This is the context of today’s first reading. Climbing to the top of Carmel, praying seven times with his head “bowed down to the earth, putting his face between his knees”, the “sky grew dark with cloud and storm, and rain fell in torrents.” Indeed, this made St James remark, “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.” (Jms 5:16-18) Indeed, when a holy man comes before the presence of God and with faith and fervent prayer, his prayer is always heard. Moses’ prayer was heard because of his holiness when he interceded for his people. “I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” (Ex 33:17)
Now, if this was the case of Moses and Elijah who went up to the Mountain of God and had their prayers answered, what about prayers associated with our Lady of Mount Carmel? Inspired by the prophet Elijah, towards the end of the 12th Century A.D., a group of hermits gathered together on Mount Carmel and built an oratory in honor of Our Lady, whom they chose as their patroness. They called themselves “The Brothers of Saint Mary of Mount Carmel.” Mary was the model of contemplative life for them. Following the inspiration of Elijah, the contemplative order of Carmelites arose, a religious family that counts among its members great saints such as Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Therese of the Child Jesus. Later in the 14th century, this Solemn commemoration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was gradually adopted by the Carmelites as an occasion of thanksgiving for the countless blessings which Our Lady had bestowed on the Carmelite family, the Brown Scapular being a symbol of this and of consecration to her.
Since then, the Carmelites have promoted devotion to the Most Holy Virgin of Mount Carmel. She is seen as a model of prayer, contemplation and dedication to God. Indeed, Mary our mother teaches us the art of prayer and contemplation. In the gospel, we hardly hear her speak. Most of the time, we find her in the act of contemplation for all the events that happened in her life. When the shepherds came to worship the baby Jesus, and shared their testimony of what the angel said, “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” (Lk 2:19) Then when our Lord was presented in the Temple for consecration to God, Simeon prophesied that, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Lk 2:34f) She was silent in contemplation. Again, when the Lord was lost and found in the temple, we read, “His mother treasured all these things in her heart.” (Lk 2:51)
But she was also an instrument of God for people to encounter Him. Immediately after the angel’s annunciation, Mary went to visit Elizabeth to assist her in her pregnancy. Upon arriving, “when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.'” (Lk 1:41-44) Mary was called by the Fathers of the Church, the Ark of the New Covenant. Not only did she conceive Jesus in her womb, she conceived Jesus in her heart and in her being. She brought Jesus wherever she went. She was the new Tabernacle.
Indeed, Mary teaches us how to welcome the Word of God in our lives so that the Word Incarnate can take flesh in us. At the outset, our Lady upon hearing the angel said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38) Elizabeth later would praise her saying, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” (Lk 1:45) At the Wedding at Cana in Galilee, Mary instructed the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (Jn 2:5) The Lord honoured her saying, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Lk 8:21) Going to Mary, we will arrive at the Mountain of God. That was what we said in the responsorial psalm, “Draw us after you, Virgin Mary; we shall follow in your footsteps.” Indeed, at the Collect, we prayed, “Fully accepting the Word, she happily reached the holy mountain.”
Let us be like John the beloved disciple of the Lord, and bring Mary into our home. We must come under the mantle of our Lady’s protection and guidance. This feast is directly linked with the brown scapular. As revealed to St Simon Stock, it is a sign of her protection and preservation to those who wear them. But of course, we cannot wear it as if it is a charm in a superstitious manner. We must wear it with the intention of consecrating ourselves to her by living as her children and the children of God, sharing in Christ’s adopted sonship. This means living a life of contemplation, prayer, meditation on the Word of God and living a life of charity and obedience to His Word. This is the surest way of arriving at God’s mountain.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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