If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways
peter_asirvatham@yahoo.co.in
"At 6,988 ft above sea level, it's the closest you could get to heaven," read the advert headline my copywriter colleague had written for a time-share resort at Shimla, many years ago. For my part as an art director, to add fillip to the insightful headline, I designed the advert as a "vertical' one (54 cm h X 19.5 cm w). I laid out the headline at the top, got a beautiful photo of Shimla, cropped it vertical, and added a layer of clouds some distance above the peak. The fonts for the ad were condensed fonts, kerned to create space and, set in thin columns. As young advertising "Creatives," my colleague and I felt sure that the headline and the way Shimla was shown would rope in many time-shares for our client. While our client generally appreciated our idea, the marketing manager commented, "Shimla would sell by itself, you don't need to run such an expensive colour ad." So, the ad was "right-sized" to a smaller black and white ad. In its mutilated form the advert did not generate the desired response.
I quite liked the play of words my colleague had crafted for the advert. Advertising executives, especially in the creative department, while promoting tourist destinations try and draw parallels with "Heaven." For example, many years ago, the advertising agency I worked for ran an advertising campaign for Kerala with the baseline, "Kerala-God's own country." But there is an element of truth in the line my colleague had written for Shimla. Man's experience in mountains. Perhaps its the nippy mountain air and the scenic view of the valley below, or simply, the nature that confronts man at such heights, theistic man sometimes feels drawn close to God from the top of a mountain. Man's closeness with God in mountains is mentioned quite a number of times in the Bible. It was at Mount Ararat that Noah and his family thanked God for his act of salvation, before descending to the plains. Mount Moriah was the mountain that the LORD designated where Abraham would sacrifice his only son Isaac. Abraham passed the test and there, on the mount, the LORD reconfirmed his covenant with Abraham. Jesus Christ, our Lord, took three of his closest disciples up a mountain in Galilee, and there (called Mt. Tabor) he was Transfigured, and his garment shone brightly. Here the disciples heard The Father, from Heaven certifying The Son he loved. Some months later Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven from The Mount of Olives. As the disciples looked heaven ward on Jesus' ascension, two men in shining clothes announced, that the same Jesus who was taken up will one day return.
For some days now, I have been reading the story of Moses and the Israelites' arrival at the foot of The Mountain of God-Horeb, also called Mount Sinai. Here as the Israelites camped, Moses ascended and descended the mountain to deliver The Word of the LORD and ultimately the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God. On these days my mind's projector has been re-playing scenes from my trek up Mt. Sinai on the morning of 28th April 2008.
That morning 12-14 pilgrims from our group set out at about 3:00 am. Grace and my father stayed back. Isaac, my son and Binu, my friend and I put on warm clothes and armed with cameras set out for the trek. At the entrance to the mountain, we had to go through metal detector door frames, and our bags were checked and we, frisked by the Egyptian Antiquities police. A young Bedouin, Mohammed (my friend Binu re-christened him Romeo) was our guide for the trek. The code word for recognising our group, should we stray in the dark, was "Sai-da." In Arabic, if I had got it correct, "Sai-da"could mean anything from "Good morning," to "Good day," to "Good night." We had learnt the word from our tour guide to The Pyramids, Mr. Sayyed-el-faraq, the previous day.
It was a grueling walk, about 7-8 kms one way, from St. Katherine's Monastery at the foothills to the summit of Mt. Sinai. The sky was clear and the constellations of stars above the Sinai Peninsula emitted faint light on the tracks as we climbed the mountain. Though camel drivers along the way tempted us with a dollar discount on the "Camel taxi," (the going rate was $12-16) I had resolved that I'd walk all the way up. If an 80 year old Moses could do it, so could I. I wish I had carried a tripod for my camera. The stars and the faint twilight against the mountain ranges was awesome. I managed to shoot a couple of photos on slow shutter speed by placing the camera on rocks. When there was sufficient light, I selected a small flat stone, as a souvenir, from the stones and rocks on the way. Someday, when I find time, I want to inscribe the verse from Exodus 33:13(a) on it.
When we stopped for tea at the end of the road, we saw a brilliant sunrise. The "camel taxis" stopped here, and the climb became arduous. About half the number from our group, dropped out here. The remaining half straggled up the rocky climb to the summit. Isaac and Binu, at one place, stopped, exhausted, they were contemplating giving up the idea of going for the summit. I continued the ascent.
Four men, including one pastor from our group had reached the summit a few minutes before I reached there. We were the only pilgrims at the top. The chapel at the summit was shut for the day and I felt so disappointed. We requested the pastor to pray. And standing outside the door of the chapel we prayed. Shortly, Isaac and Binu reached the summit. I was so happy to see the two.
Though we had arrived behind "schedule" at the summit and, therefore had to leave soon, we spent sometime in prayers. Did I feel any closer to God or Heaven from the summit of Mount Sinai, than in the plains? Well, not really. However, in my prayer I was overwhelmed, with God's graciousness. God has been so good to me in the past. The present was so exciting. We were in Egypt, later today, we would cross into Israel. And I laid the future in his caring hands. "If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you." Exodus 33:13 (a) Isaac prayed too, the previous day (27 th April) was his birthday. I piled up seven small stones as an "altar" at the summit, in remembrance of God's graciousness.
It was time to move. There were no camel taxis on our way down. Ahamad, our tour guide in Egypt was waiting for us in our tourist bus. We were driven to our hotel. Famished and fatigued, we hurried to the restaurant. None of our group members were angry at us for returning so late, the older ones appreciated the privilege that we could exercise. Even our tour organiser, Brother Raphael, in a lighter vein, commented that our faces were radiant like Moses' on his return from the Mountain of God.
Our pilgrimage ended seven days later, on another mountain, in Jordan, at Mount Nebo. It was from here that The LORD showed Moses The Promised Land. At the end of the forty year journey in the wilderness, God had kept his promise to his friend Moses.
In my life, God fulfilled my dream of visiting Israel.
Link to the photo album.
peter_asirvatham@yahoo.co.in
"At 6,988 ft above sea level, it's the closest you could get to heaven," read the advert headline my copywriter colleague had written for a time-share resort at Shimla, many years ago. For my part as an art director, to add fillip to the insightful headline, I designed the advert as a "vertical' one (54 cm h X 19.5 cm w). I laid out the headline at the top, got a beautiful photo of Shimla, cropped it vertical, and added a layer of clouds some distance above the peak. The fonts for the ad were condensed fonts, kerned to create space and, set in thin columns. As young advertising "Creatives," my colleague and I felt sure that the headline and the way Shimla was shown would rope in many time-shares for our client. While our client generally appreciated our idea, the marketing manager commented, "Shimla would sell by itself, you don't need to run such an expensive colour ad." So, the ad was "right-sized" to a smaller black and white ad. In its mutilated form the advert did not generate the desired response.
I quite liked the play of words my colleague had crafted for the advert. Advertising executives, especially in the creative department, while promoting tourist destinations try and draw parallels with "Heaven." For example, many years ago, the advertising agency I worked for ran an advertising campaign for Kerala with the baseline, "Kerala-God's own country." But there is an element of truth in the line my colleague had written for Shimla. Man's experience in mountains. Perhaps its the nippy mountain air and the scenic view of the valley below, or simply, the nature that confronts man at such heights, theistic man sometimes feels drawn close to God from the top of a mountain. Man's closeness with God in mountains is mentioned quite a number of times in the Bible. It was at Mount Ararat that Noah and his family thanked God for his act of salvation, before descending to the plains. Mount Moriah was the mountain that the LORD designated where Abraham would sacrifice his only son Isaac. Abraham passed the test and there, on the mount, the LORD reconfirmed his covenant with Abraham. Jesus Christ, our Lord, took three of his closest disciples up a mountain in Galilee, and there (called Mt. Tabor) he was Transfigured, and his garment shone brightly. Here the disciples heard The Father, from Heaven certifying The Son he loved. Some months later Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven from The Mount of Olives. As the disciples looked heaven ward on Jesus' ascension, two men in shining clothes announced, that the same Jesus who was taken up will one day return.
For some days now, I have been reading the story of Moses and the Israelites' arrival at the foot of The Mountain of God-Horeb, also called Mount Sinai. Here as the Israelites camped, Moses ascended and descended the mountain to deliver The Word of the LORD and ultimately the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God. On these days my mind's projector has been re-playing scenes from my trek up Mt. Sinai on the morning of 28th April 2008.
That morning 12-14 pilgrims from our group set out at about 3:00 am. Grace and my father stayed back. Isaac, my son and Binu, my friend and I put on warm clothes and armed with cameras set out for the trek. At the entrance to the mountain, we had to go through metal detector door frames, and our bags were checked and we, frisked by the Egyptian Antiquities police. A young Bedouin, Mohammed (my friend Binu re-christened him Romeo) was our guide for the trek. The code word for recognising our group, should we stray in the dark, was "Sai-da." In Arabic, if I had got it correct, "Sai-da"could mean anything from "Good morning," to "Good day," to "Good night." We had learnt the word from our tour guide to The Pyramids, Mr. Sayyed-el-faraq, the previous day.
It was a grueling walk, about 7-8 kms one way, from St. Katherine's Monastery at the foothills to the summit of Mt. Sinai. The sky was clear and the constellations of stars above the Sinai Peninsula emitted faint light on the tracks as we climbed the mountain. Though camel drivers along the way tempted us with a dollar discount on the "Camel taxi," (the going rate was $12-16) I had resolved that I'd walk all the way up. If an 80 year old Moses could do it, so could I. I wish I had carried a tripod for my camera. The stars and the faint twilight against the mountain ranges was awesome. I managed to shoot a couple of photos on slow shutter speed by placing the camera on rocks. When there was sufficient light, I selected a small flat stone, as a souvenir, from the stones and rocks on the way. Someday, when I find time, I want to inscribe the verse from Exodus 33:13(a) on it.
When we stopped for tea at the end of the road, we saw a brilliant sunrise. The "camel taxis" stopped here, and the climb became arduous. About half the number from our group, dropped out here. The remaining half straggled up the rocky climb to the summit. Isaac and Binu, at one place, stopped, exhausted, they were contemplating giving up the idea of going for the summit. I continued the ascent.
Four men, including one pastor from our group had reached the summit a few minutes before I reached there. We were the only pilgrims at the top. The chapel at the summit was shut for the day and I felt so disappointed. We requested the pastor to pray. And standing outside the door of the chapel we prayed. Shortly, Isaac and Binu reached the summit. I was so happy to see the two.
Though we had arrived behind "schedule" at the summit and, therefore had to leave soon, we spent sometime in prayers. Did I feel any closer to God or Heaven from the summit of Mount Sinai, than in the plains? Well, not really. However, in my prayer I was overwhelmed, with God's graciousness. God has been so good to me in the past. The present was so exciting. We were in Egypt, later today, we would cross into Israel. And I laid the future in his caring hands. "If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you." Exodus 33:13 (a) Isaac prayed too, the previous day (27 th April) was his birthday. I piled up seven small stones as an "altar" at the summit, in remembrance of God's graciousness.
It was time to move. There were no camel taxis on our way down. Ahamad, our tour guide in Egypt was waiting for us in our tourist bus. We were driven to our hotel. Famished and fatigued, we hurried to the restaurant. None of our group members were angry at us for returning so late, the older ones appreciated the privilege that we could exercise. Even our tour organiser, Brother Raphael, in a lighter vein, commented that our faces were radiant like Moses' on his return from the Mountain of God.
Our pilgrimage ended seven days later, on another mountain, in Jordan, at Mount Nebo. It was from here that The LORD showed Moses The Promised Land. At the end of the forty year journey in the wilderness, God had kept his promise to his friend Moses.
In my life, God fulfilled my dream of visiting Israel.
Link to the photo album.
