On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
the web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
One of most memorable of all the speeches that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave was on April 3, 1968 at the Church of Christ headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, the night before he was killed by an assassin’s bullet. In that farewell legacy talk, he said:
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live – a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So, I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
Steeped in the Biblical imagery of the Hebrew Scriptures, Dr. King knew the power and symbolism of ‘the mountain’ for people of the Judeo-Christian tradition. So often, God manifested his power, might and holy presence on a mountain. In the mysterious burning bush that was not consumed, God spoke to Moses, the great liberator of his people, commissioning him to ‘set his people free.’ And, it would be on that same mountain top of Horeb, that The Lord would entrust to Moses the law of the covenant in the Ten Commandments. Good and Pious Jew that he was, Jesus aware of this tradition would be transfigured on the mountain top as he revealed his deepest identity of deified glory to Peter, James and John. And it was on a mountain that he would reveal to his followers the new law of ‘Blessedness’ as he preached the Beatitudes to those who longed for the new covenant of love and mercy that would be realized in the one who spoke those inspiring words. And finally, on the hill of Golgotha, the King of the Jews would paradoxically reign from the throne of the cross, uniting heaven and earth as he embraced humanity in death, only to redeem it in Resurrection three days later.
My friends, amidst the incredible challenges that are upon us in this moment of our lives, we are reminded to ‘lift our eyes to the mountain’ where our hope will come. Raise your vision to the mountain for, as the prophets have said, ‘a people without vision will perish.’
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
the web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.