I’d love to live on a mountain top / Fellowshipping with the Lord / I’d love to stand on a mountain top / Cause I love to feel my spirit soar

Amy Grant, “Mountain Top”

Mount Olympus is the mythical home of the twelve most powerful Greek gods. Situated near the coast in Greece, this mountain has been a beacon for spiritual seekers for millennia. Despite the ancient belief that the craggy peak was the throne room of these pagan gods, its spiritual significance continued into the Christian ages, becoming a home for monastics who wished to show their devotion to God. A few days ago, I hiked for about eight hours down this mountain, and I gained a new appreciation for people throughout the ages that climbed this huge mountain, seeking communion with the divine.

Other Grecian monastics took their devotion to other mountains in the centuries that followed. I saw this in Meteora, where over thirty monasteries were built on precarious peaks outside of town. Though only six of these monasteries still stand today, they show the real love of God that the people there have.

It’s one thing to see these worship places in a picture or from a low elevation, and an entirely different thing to climb up to them. I hiked Mount Olympus and the Meteora monasteries back to back, and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. I slipped and fell a few times, and sometimes, I thought that I literally couldn’t go on any longer. It made me wonder: why do such holy places require me to hike so much?

Almost every religious tradition associates high elevation with holiness. I think that’s fascinating! What innate sense in us tells us that the divine is above us? What makes us want to separate ourselves from the world below to get closer to the divine?

Something I discussed with my friends as we hiked was how the divine is found in the journey up just as much as the destination. If I could simply walk in the monastery door, that would be nice, but don’t I feel so much more connected after I hike up the steps? There’s a part of me that feels I belong, that feels like I left something behind to deserve being there.

Just a few simple thoughts from today. Why do you think elevation matters spiritually?

Monastic

“…of or relating to monasteries or to monks or nuns; resembling (as in seclusion or ascetic simplicity) life in a monastery.”

“Monastic Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monastic)