Desert Rose - Sting

Mt Sinai 027
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Mount Sinai 2-17-07

As one drives through the Sinai desert you become very glad you are safe behind glass and steel. Peak after jagged peak assault your senses, huge drifts of sand call to you, and Bedouin locals laugh at your skittishness of their rugged home. It is as inhospitable place as I’ve ever seen. The deserts or the Southwestern US at least have the occasional bush, bird or cacti. Yet life seems non-existent in the Sinai and thus is the home to one of the most important religious sites in all the world. God just has to have a sense of humor, or maybe it’s just irony. I’m not one to say. I just came to see Mt Sinai and see what I see.

Mt Sinai Burning Bush
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Most people come first to the Monastery of St. Catherine in the shadow of Mt Sinai. It is a Coptic monastery dating back to nearly 300 AD. The draw is that the monastery sits on the spot where Moses camped when he was in exile and then again after he came down with the Fifteen . . crash . .oops, I mean Ten Commandments. Inside is a church built on the site of a well he drank from and the big ‘ta-da’ is the Burning Bush, replanted of course from the top of Mt. Sinai , with everyone reaching for its branches. Well, it’s not burning anymore and I sure didn’t see any other vegetation on any other mountain peaks but whatever they say is okay by me. To be honest I was hoping for some kind of uplifting feeling on seeing the site for the first time but the monastery was extremely crowded and it’s hard to get spiritual with a hundred Russians pushing you from behind. I felt much more enlightened at the Church of the Holy Family (where Mary and Joseph stayed after Christ’s birth) in Cairo actually. I did light some candles and say a few prayers for everyone so don’t scream heathen just yet.

Mt Sinai Burning Bush 3
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The mountain itself seems more like a ridge of peaks. The main peak they called Sinai wasn’t even the biggest and could be climbed in a couple of hours probably. I didn’t have enough time for the whole peak but did climb a good ways up. Being alone on the side of the jagged mountain was a bit more spiritual for me. Standing on a cliff of slippery rocks on Mt Sinai, staring down on the monastery of the Burning Bush, feeling all esoteric, what does one do? You talk to God of course, and you ask Him the BIG question.

Mt Sinai peak
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‘What do you expect of me Lord? What should I do with this life you gave me?’

I asked, not expecting a Moses repeat but the words just needed to be spoke aloud at that moment. And I think I got an answer. A hard wind immediately blew up the mountain and into my face. ‘So you want me to keep climbing up?’ I guessed at the meaning of the response. And the wind blew hard again. So I kept climbing. After an hour I had a good view of the top peak of Sinai but was another hour from completing the long circling path up. The wind seemed to be blowing all over the place now and I figured if God really wanted me to climb all the way up he’d have delayed my bus back to town. The hike was very introspective time spent and well worth the sweat. So I might have a new cheesy beard but I’m certainly no Moses. It was however amazing to walk just a few steps in his path. God Bless and Godspeed.