Sermon.
Far higher mountains so wide on earth, There are, but here mountains are only hills:
But preferably with plains and green fields in the North
We Danes take to heart and give thanks:
We are not made for highness and wind, by the earth staying, it serves us best.
This is how Grundtvig wrote in the beautiful song about the much higher mountains found in other countries, and about the beautifully soft and rolling green hills that are Denmark's landscape.
Although we as Danes make do with green flat fields and rolling hills, even though we may not have been made for highness and wind, even though it may serve us best to stay on the ground and not fly higher than the wings can carry us, - even though all of that, we could not resist calling our highest hill at the Silkeborg for Himmel Bjerget!
It is a bit of an exaggeration to call it a Himmelbjerg if we compare it with the world's sky mountains: for ex. Mount Everest in the Himalayas with its impressive 8,848 meters. You can rightly call it a Himmelbjerg, whereas the Danish Himmelbjerg is just a hill, yes a beautiful hill of 147 meters.
As Victor Borge said so nicely about Himmelbjerget: #Der is a nice view from himmelbjerget if you stand on a chair!#
Yes, Grundtvig was right to let us sing about the fact that there are much higher mountains elsewhere on the planet. And today at Danish church services we are literally transported up in the mountains.
"Come up to me on the mountain," God said to Moses, "and I shall give you the tablets with my commandments." So Moses went up Mount Sinai, went into the presence of God, into the cloud, and came down transformed in his body and soul. Carrying with him the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, which would transform life on the plain, but also bearing an insight, an understanding, a transfiguration in his soul that strengthened him and enabled him to stand firm and stand by his faith, and to be Moses.
"Six days later, Jesus took Peter and James and his brother John with him and led them to a high mountain where they were alone. "
Jesus, too, took his three closest disciples up a high mountain to give them something extraordinary to take with them back down the mountain. They saw Jesus in a brighter light and heard the distinct voice of God embracing Jesus as the beloved Son, but also embracing them in light, hope, and faith.
Like Moses, the three disciples experienced a fantastic, transformative, mysterious moment on the mountain. A moment that changed them and gave them strength and faith for life on the plain.
For in this way, Grundtvig was right when he wrote that we are not made for highness and wind, by the earth to be it serves us best. The life of Moses, of the 3 disciples and of all of us is here on the plain, below the foot of the mountain, - here where we are born and die, live and love, challenged and surprised.
Go to the mountain! I've heard that call a few times in the last few weeks. I went to the mountains to ski in Snow Valley for one day: high up with fresh air, white snow, nice views, and skis on my feet.
I'm a continuing beginner who might ski once a year. And with humility and self-knowledge, I know my limitations and fears and know that I am probably not made for highness and wind and skiing, - but I love it very much and I train myself to get just a little better year after year. But I sigh of relief whenever I come down the mountain in one piece and with no broken limbs.
Last Saturday I went out into the blue with a group of Danes walking in the beautiful landscape of Topanga Canyon. We walked along streams, through forest and scrub, and up the hills, which I would call mountains. I went 67 floors up according to my Fitbit! Again, I had to admit that I suffer from a bit of a fear of heights and vertigo, which is why climbing up steep paths raises my pulse and heartbeat. But the reward is the view. The open spaces, the blue sky, the hills, the silence even though you are with 15 talking Danes.
As Danes, we appreciate the mountains because we are not so used to them. We come from a flat country and can be somewhat overwhelmed by the greatness of the mountains. As Grundtvig wrote about the much higher mountains elsewhere, the Danish poet Benny Andersen has written a poem that is a modern pendant to Grundtvig about the much lower fields in Denmark:
MUCH LOWER FIELDS
As a Dane, you should sometimes leave the plains behind and seek out mountains,
Exercise in vision and dizziness.
Typical of mountains are peaks, but also the steep paths, that make it impossible to reach them.
It's healthy to learn that life can be so violent and so unlikely, yes, almost overwrought and ecstatic.
When reading about foreign countries, you appreciate your own country, when you come back and see, how practical it really is, that the fields are lying down."
Yes, the fields are flatter in Denmark. But we need both landscapes: the high mountains and the flat fields. Like Moses and as the chosen disciples, we also have some mountain experiences or transfigurations where life stands still, where life is clear, and where we find the strength to go down from the mountain again, out of this short dazzling moment and back into life on the flat fields, with the people who have become our responsibility and happiness. With hope, with faith, and with the high ideals of these dazzling moments on the mountain. These transfiguring moments in which we see everything in a different and brighter light: a light that will later shine on the life we live in everyday life.
Moses came down from the mountain changed and with 10 commandments that are still the foundation of our morality and sense of law.
The disciples went down from the mountain changed, puzzled, and enlightened with a strong belief in God's presence in the world, which is still the faith we gather around, confess, and rely on in life on the flatter fields.
The poet wrote that it is good for us to train our vision and dizziness and seek out heights. Because we need the height and the view to see the bigger perspective and the big picture. We need height and vision to see God and be reminded of the greatness of life and the divine calling to us.
And then we go down the mountain again. For we are not made for heights and winds, but for serving our neighbors best.
Grundtvig had his eye wide open with a sense of everything great and beautiful, but also had a heart for the close, the communal, the flatter life.
The last verse of Grundtvig's "Far Higher Mountains." ends with a beautiful political prophecy about how our faith and our love of life could create a life where we share fairly: And then in wealth, we have driven it far, when few have too much and fewer too little.
That's a beautiful thought. In a way, it is the basic idea in the old Christian country of Denmark and behind the social community spirit and the pillar of the welfare state that "few have too much and fewer too little."
As much as I love skiing and being in the mountains, as much as I like to hike in the beautiful hills and mountains, I also know that it is only moments that put life in perspective. Like a nice family party, a great holiday, a fantastic book or movie, an incredibly nice service in the Danish church, a quiet walk by the Pacific Ocean, a hike in Topanga Canyon, or a day skiing in Snow Valley.
These deep moments of joy, fullness, and meaning, and greatness train us in vision and perspective to embrace life down here and around again.
"Oh, it's good to be here," said the disciples on the mountain, "let's stay here."
We cannot stay in these shining moments: we can enjoy them, be in them and take them with us back down the mountain. Changed, illuminated, and attentive to life on the plain and the flatter fields.
With a deep belief that God is with us in high and low: that God is in the greatness of nature and the fragility of human life: and that God gives us strength and courage to be human and live in relations.
Rise up and fear not, God said at the top of the mountain.
Rise up and fear not, God says to us today.
Live life, embrace life with faith, hope, love, and much joy!