During this second week of Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, the focus is on the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesuit scholar Kevin O’Brien writes that during this week, we’re striving “to know Jesus more intimately, to love him more intensely, and to follow him more closely.” Through meditation upon texts/readings related to Jesus’ life and ministry, we gain greater awareness of what it means to know, love and then follow Jesus. Through the hours of silence this week, I’ve come to view the purpose of this week through this question: What does it look like for me to follow Jesus-in my unique circumstances, with my unique gifts, and in this unique place?
My spiritual director most recently pointed me to Matt. 14. Here we sit with Jesus as he prays alone on a mountain.
I am reminded that this is just one of six mountain scenes in Matthew’s record of Jesus:
- On a mountain, Jesus is tempted by the devil regarding the world Jesus has come to save (Matt. 4).
- On a mountain, Jesus teaches his Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5)
- On a mountain, Jesus withdraws to pray by himself (Matt. 14).
- On a mountain, Jesus heals a crowd (Matt. 15).
- On a mountain, Jesus is transfigured before his three closest friends (Matt. 17)
- On a mountain, Jesus sends the disciples to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28).
Mountains 1 & 6 are mountains of vocation where we join Jesus in wrestling with the why and the how of the mission to save the world.
Mountains 2 & 5 are mountains of revelation where we join Jesus in revealing him and his way of life to those around us.
Mountains 3 & 4 are mountains of restoration where we join Jesus in giving restoration to those in need or receiving restoration for our own needy souls.
As I survey this mountain range of the Messiah, I ask Jesus, “Which mountain are you calling me to climb today?” How about you? Which mountain do you sense yourself on today?
- Sometimes we’re called to the mountain of temptation to wrestle with false and unhealthy notions of our spiritual vocation (Matt. 4).
- At other times, we’re called to sit and listen as Jesus reveals his counter-cultural way of life, or to join him in showing and telling that life to others (Matt. 5).
- There are days when we join the crowds in seeking healing and restoration from Jesus, or when we join Jesus in bringing restoration to those same crowds (Matt. 15).
- There are other days when we bow in awe as Jesus reveals himself more clearly to us, or when we join Jesus in revealing his nature to the world (Matt. 17).
- And there are times when we obey Jesus’ command to go and make disciples, or we join Jesus in sending others to make disciples (Matt. 28).
Which of these mountains am I called to today? Which stir your heart today?
An even more provocative question is this: If Matthew wrote of the mountain range of my life, which of these mountains might be missing? Which of these peaks would be no more than a molehill in my life?
As I survey this mountain range, I return to the mountain of Matt. 14. The mountain of prayer. Of the six mountains, it’s not a mountain I’ve climbed as often as I’d like. It’s not a mountain I dwell on. I visit this mountain. I drop by this mountain. But most of my time is spent on the other five mountains. Yet I force myself to consider that this mountain was one of the most significant mountains in Jesus’ life. A mountain of prayer.
What keeps me from this mountain? What keeps you from this mountain?
Today, I will accept Jesus’ invitation to join him here. I’ll leave the other mountains and kneel with Jesus in prayer. I’ll determine to let this peak become more prominent in my life.
