Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God,
and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain.
Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke,
for the LORD came down upon it in fire.
The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace,
and the whole mountain trembled violently.
The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking
and God answering him with thunder. Exodus 19: 9-20
From a mountain aflame and loud with thundering trumpetsGod renewed his covenant with his people after they left Egypt and made their grumbling way through the desert. It was the covenant God made with Abraham and their descendants after him.
Later, Elijah on the run came to this mountain.
“At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter.
But the word of the LORD came to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” (1 Kings 19, 11-16)
Some 60 years ago, as a younger man I climbed that mountain, Sinai, on a memorable pilgrimage with Fr. Donald Senior. We rose about 2 AM to begin the climb in the dark, guided up the rocky winding path by a guide with a flashlight. Bedouins offered a camel ride for anyone who couldn’t make it, almost 7,000 feet up.
We arrived at the barren top at sunrise. I remember the silence of the place, the bare rock, the absence of plants or trees or any sign of life. No thundering sounds like those our reading describes today. The guide pointed to a speck of green down aways, “Elijah’s cave,” he said. We left before the sun was high; too hot to stay there long.
Elijah was told to “stand outside on the mountain before the Lord,” and he experienced a strong wind, an earthquake, fire, but God was not in any of these. Then, in the silence, he heard a “tiny whispering sound” and he hid his face before God.
“A tiny whispering sound.” That’s the way God spoke to Elijah and that’s the way God most often speaks to us. Elijah pours out his woes to God. A fugitive, fighting for his life, with no chance against Ahab and Jezebel.
But God whispers to Elijah. Go down the mountain and go north again. Your enemies won’t stop you. There’s a mission I have for you; I’ll be with you. In the silence Elijah heard God.
In the silence of the Eucharist today, God also whispers. “This is the chalice of my blood, of the new covenant.”
The Victor's Place 
This reminds me of a tour to St. Catherine’s monastery with Fr. Donald Senior, and a late Claretian priest, another priest, and you. I opted out of the climb. The Claretian priest (I forgot his name) remembers waking up early for the climb to Mt. Sinai and the cloud that enveloped the mountain…that God’s presence and glory came in the cloud. God thus speaks to us in many ways even in music.
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Thank you for the Elijah story, Fr. Victor. It’s one of my favorites in the OT. God’s whisper to Elijah was God’s love song to Elijah.
Noisy Silence
Dear God,
Here I sit
elbows propped on the table
chin resting on my hands
surrounded by noisy silence –
clocks ticking and chiming
refrigerator humming
Mother’s concentrator running
the incessant buzzing in my head
And yet I am wrapped
in the quiet of
your very real presence
and all I hear is
your love song
Gloria Ziemienski
January 1999
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“The mysticism of everyday life is an opportunity to deeply mine the depths of human experience, relationships with others, and our encounters with nature. Rahner says to be a mystic is to occupy the core of human experience. . . . Mystery is mysterious. It is! Sometimes it comes in stillness when you’re alone. Sometimes it comes without drama and fanfare. Sometimes it comes as an epiphany, an awakening. And sometimes, it comes while you’re practicing the gifts of the Spirit. . . .”
From Karl Rahner, “Religious Enthusiasm and the Experience of Grace,” in Theological Investigations, vol. 16, Experience of the Spirit: Source of Theology, trans. David Morland (New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1983), 47.
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As I walked from the Post Office yesterday, I noticed many of my Jewish neighbors coming from their temple. They were observing the feast of Shavuot which recalls Moses receiving the Ten Commandment on Mt. Sinai. He made the climb for God’s people. He came back to them with God’s message. Such a grand prototype of Jesus!
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