Looking at today’s first reading, thoughts of the Adirondacks can come to mind right away especially when reading: “Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.”

You have probably been to the tops of different mountains by hiking or driving or a lift. Maybe you have done the High Peaks, the 46 challenges of the Adirondacks. Looking at the world from the top of a mountain, we get a very different perspective. Our horizons change. The world looks different. We even feel majestic. After all, don’t we say: “I am at the top of the world.”

So, we have in the prophet Isaiah a passage about the Lord’s mountain. What is so special about this mountain?

Well, let’s put this into context. We are reading this passage on the first Sunday of Advent. We will survive Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Perhaps we have already heard Elvis sing that it would be a blue Christmas without you as the many merchants count the multiplication of green in their coffers.

So, what is so special about the Lord’s mountain? First of all, as with any mountain, it takes effort to get to the top. For this mountain, we want to get to the top because God lives there.

But why should we want to go there? Isaiah tells us quite simply: “that he may instruct us in his ways.” What a magnificent image! We go to God’s mountain so that God can teach us, give us some of his wisdom.

Let’s bring this down to 2025 and 2026. Each time we come to church, we are – figuratively – climbing God’s mountain. Just as it takes effort to climb a mountain, so too, it takes effort to go to church. Like going to the top of the mountain to find God’s house, so, too, we come to church, God’s house, especially with the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

On a mountain top, we see the world differently. So, too, the mere fact of coming into church helps us see the world differently. After all, our churches are decorated. Our church buildings help us focus on times, people, and situations differently than we might otherwise because we are in God’s presence. Our churches are sacred spaces where saints and sinners come into the presence of God.

Remember that the passage from Isaiah did not stop with going into God’s house. There is a reason: “that he may instruct us in his ways and we may walk in his paths.” Isaiah was exhorting people to go up the mountain of God so that they could hear what God wanted to say to them. Climbing the mountain, we leave behind the rest of the world so that we can focus on what is on top of the mountain. So, too, in coming to church, we leave behind a world so that we can hear what God has to say to us. If we do not climb the mountain, that is, go into God’s presence, where are we going to find God’s solutions to our problems? How will we face difficult situations in life if we have not been fortified with God’s wisdom?

Sadly, many Catholics do not participate in worship, in the Eucharist that Christ left for us to celebrate, that Christ told us to celebrate. Where do they find wisdom? In themselves? Relying solely on oneself is a scary prospect. In some TV guru? That’s not bad in itself, but it is all based on human wisdom, not divine. In Google? Alexi? Siri? AI? Maybe some look to a bottle or a weed or pills for solutions. Who knows?

Everything around us tells us: “’Tis the season.” But ’tis the season for what? If our focus during these weeks is on ourselves, then we are preparing for a secular Christmas. If we wish to prepare to celebrate a religious Christmas, then we must be ready to climb the mountain. In these weeks, we need to put aside all that keeps our focus away from Christ. Paul lists some of them: “orgies, drunkenness, promiscuity, lust, rivalry and jealousy….just to name a few. This Advent is the time to climb the mountain of the Lord.

In the words of Isaiah: “Let us walk in the light of the Lord.”