Climbing
Mt Sinai It wasn’t the first time that I had climbed Moses Mt as they call Mt Sinai here. My friend Bobbie and I had made the pilgrimage up the mountain in 1996 beginning at 2:00 am to reach the apex for sunrise. Then it was colder, and others joined us along the way until hundreds met the dawn as a group of Belgian nuns sang in the morning light. That trip had its own magic and drama, but this time something quite amazing occurred. The purpose of my climb this time was to pray for world peace. We had scheduled it for Oct 6th (the anniversary of the Yom Kippur war). However, some business dealings in South Africa forced my husband Gary and me to reverse our plans, so we began our climb on the 23rd, day of September after the Fall Equinox. I had always realized that when one commits one’s life to personal and global transformation, Spirit has its way of guiding your path to meet the perfection required for your task. At the foot of Mt Sinai lies St Catherine’s Benedictine monastery, the oldest living Greek Orthodox Church in the world. It houses the Burning Bush that Moses saw when God spoke to him as well the body of St Catherine, a woman whose body miraculously was transported to Mt Sinai in 3rd Century AD after her death in Alexandria. She had been an atheist and had had a spiritual awakening, which eventually lead to her death by the Romans. After her death, a monk had dreamt that her body was lying on the mountain and he went to find her. Since then her remains are entombed in the monastery and have been worshipped by pilgrims for centuries. Aside from the miracle of St Catherine, the Burning Bush is thriving in the courtyard of the monastery. The Bush had originally been growing inside the monastery as the monks had originally built the walls around it. However, now the root was guided under the walls to a courtyard just outside where this 3700 year- old plant flourishes. Emil, our Egyptologist and friend, told us that there is no other plant like it anywhere else in the world. It was astounding to see how robust it was and as I stood beneath it, there seemed to be a Presence there. One can never tell if something gains its energy from those who believe in it and therefore create its mystery or if the mystery comes first. It was clear that whatever was creating its power could be clearly experienced. When we returned from the monastery that morning Emil, Gary and I held a Native American pipe ceremony to send our prayers out before we made our climb up the mountain that afternoon. I have taken the pipe all over the world to weave the prayers wherever I go and can feel the Spirit of the Pipe with me when I offer myself for planetary transformation. While
Gary and I had intended to make the climb alone, our security guard,
a twenty-year old young man named Allah who had been traveling
with our
van from
Cairo wanted to go too. He later told me he was a Coptic Christian
and had been very moved by the monastery that morning. When I looked
at him
climbing
the mountain
in his navy blue polyester suit with black leather dress shoes,
I was concerned about his The
path to Mt Sinai is well marked and neatly cleared winding in a
switchback pattern up the mountain at about a 15 degree
grade. I tried
to imagine
how it must have been for Moses who climbed without path or knowledge
of where
it might
lead him. Today one often rides camels up to the 750 stairs that
are the final stages of the climb, but we wanted to walk. Once at the top, I realized that we had come there encountering no one. It was quite remarkable when only that morning there were hundreds touring the monastery below and when I had climbed 8 years before we had walked with many. As I rounded the church I noticed an elderly man sitting on the wall behind it. He looked to be in his 70’s wearing a broad brimmed straw hat and a blue check shirt. Noticing us, Case came to introduce himself. As I noticed a small tent nestled into the only flat place on the top, Case explained he had been camping on the mountain for 8 days with 8 more planned. As we sat together watching the sun begin to set, Case told me that he had heard God speak to him when he was a little boy on his farm in Holland. For the past 42 years he has traveled all over the world, guided by his inner voice to pray for the world and teach about sustainable agriculture. Now in Ethiopia, Ruanda, France, England, Brazil, and more countries than I could remember, he goes among the people responding to God’s call. As we shared our mutual intention to pray and meditiate for world peace, the three of us sat together as the sun set. Our dear friend Allah had fallen asleep. He was tired and cold refusing any of our offers of food and water along the way. I have noticed over the years when something holy is about to happen, those who are not to witness it will fall asleep. About 10 minutes before the sun sank below the farthest mountain, a young Muslim boy dressed in a lavender gallabaya stood at the tip of the mountain and began to chant. Sillhoueted against the darkening sky, his melodic voice calling out to God reverberating its ancient sound was the perfect backdrop as we sat in silence. There we were Christain, Muslim and Jew praying together for world peace. Sitting there taking in the profundity of that moment, I remembered that it was the holiest week of the Jewish year between Rosh Hoshanah and Yom Kippur, known as the Ten Days of Awe. Eyes closed with my face towards the sun, a bolt of white light come through the heavens and into my body. High on God’s Mountain watching the sunset, something was ignited by the four of us as if we entered a timeless dimension where all becomes One. When the sun disappeared at last, Case said that Jesus had entered his heart, and he could feel him spreading the light out to the world. He mentioned that that only happens when the company he keeps holds it too. In the eight days that Case had been there, the young Muslim had never come to pray, nor had Case been there without hundreds of people joining him. The palpable silence at the top of Moses Mountain felt like God was saying “ yes” to our prayers, a clear call to peace.We stayed a bit longer sharing chocolate and some food with Case who came to the mountain without provisions knowing that God would provide. His simple ways belied his holiness as most people would only see an old man dressed in everyday clothes camping on the mountain.As we began our trip back to the monastery, a young couple from Montreal just rounded the church. They had hoped to catch the sunset, but were prepared to spend the night. After them five Egyptian young men followed both groups lamenting that they hadn’t made it in time. It was about 7:00 pm as Allah, Gary and I retraced our steps back to the Monastery with the moon’s light illuminating our way in the stillness of the night. We met no one else on the path as we made our descent, at least that we could see. | |
