George Mallory led the first three English expeditions that attempted to scale Mt. Everest. When asked, “Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest,” he replied, “because its there.”

On his third expedition, Mallory and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, were last sighted on the North-West ridge a short distance from the summit. Did he make it? No one knows. His body was discovered in 1999 some 75 years after his disappearance. His camera, which could have provided conclusive evidence, remains lost, but there was one intriguing clue.

Mallory promised his wife that if he reached the summit, he would put a picture of her on the top of the world. He always carried that picture in his breast coat pocket. It was the first thing his discoverer looked for. The picture wasn’t there, and romantics like me leap from there to the belief that Mallory made it.

Like George Mallory, Moses climbed a mighty mountain; a mountain of mystery. To this day, no one is sure where Mt. Sinai is. On that mountain, Moses experienced what Christian teachers call “union with God.” His divine ascent led to this bold prayer:  Exodus 33:13 (NRSV) Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight.”And on that mountain, Moses’ prayer was answered; he came to know God and God’s favor in a way that transformed him forever.

Many folks have climbed Mount Everest since George Mallory; Per Wiki Answers, there have been 4102 ascents by about 2700 individuals. Precious few have followed Moses on his divine ascent to union with God. The great Roman Catholic mystic Teresa of Avila spent her whole life on this quest, and said she only accomplished it for 6 days.

So why do it? Why embark on the hard work of spiritual growth? Why should we try to climb this mountain and make a divine ascent - Because it’s there? No, that’s the path of superficial spirituality that leads us nowhere. We make this climb because every step of the way, we get to know more about God and more about ourselves. Union with God is what waits on top of the mountain; complete knowledge of God; for most of us, that’s something to look forward to in eternal life. For most of us, the path of divine ascent is marked by the first two of the three steps on this threefold way – purification of the heart and illumination of the mind leading to the summit – perfection of the soul, union with God.

Jesus taught us: Matthew 5:8 (NRSV) “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. So what is a pure heart?

A pure heart is not something to achieve; we do not develop purity through some rigorous program of moral improvement in which we replace all our vices with virtues. Any such program is likely a form of spiritual pride; our focus is on ourselves; how can “we” improve “ourselves?” We’re back in the garden munching on Eve’s apple.

A pure heart isn’t full of ourselves; it’s filled to overflowing with God. God loves us. God accepts. God purifies us. We do not achieve purity; we receive it; we receive it from the nail pierced hand of our Savior who set us free and made us pure.

Once we realize that purity of heart is a gift, we begin to develop the virtue of humility. We stop trying to improve ourselves and start living in response to God’s love. Does this mean that developing virtue doesn’t matter? No, spiritual growth does result in the development of virtue; virtues like humility, patience, kindness, generosity, etc. are benchmarks that help us see what God has done in our lives. The key step which prevents many false steps is that we live in response to God’s love rather than in fear of our failures. We follow in the footsteps of Moses, of whom Scripture says: Numbers 12:3 (NRSV) Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth.

A pure heart is a humble heart; here’s what that looks like: “God, we believe, accepts us, accepts all men [and women], unconditionally, warts and all. Laughter is the purest form of response to God’s acceptance of us. For when I laugh at myself I accept myself, and when I laugh at other people in genuine mirth I accept them. Self-acceptance in laughter is the very opposite of self-satisfaction or pride. For in laughter I accept myself not because I’m some sort of super-person, but precisely because I’m not. There is nothing funny about a super-person. There is everything funny about a man [or woman] who thinks [they are]. In laughing at my own claims to importance or regard I receive myself in a sort of loving forgiveness which is an echo of God’s forgiveness of me. In much conventional contrition there is a selfishness or pride which are scarcely hidden. In our desperate self-concern, we blame ourselves for not being the super-persons we think we really are. But in laughter we sit light with ourselves. That is why laughter is the purest form of our response to God.”

Guilt does not purify; grace does. Shame does not sanctify; love does. We cannot achieve a pure heart; we can receive a pure heart. In humble trust, offer your heart to God. Let go of your spiritual pride. Let God’s love fill you anew. Sit light with yourself, laugh often, and enjoy the surprises as you (yes, you!) make the divine ascent.

“Illumination means, very simply, our growth in the practical knowledge of God.” It is what Peter urges us to when he writes, 2 Peter 3:18 (NRSV) But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Illumination allows us to see God at work in everyone and everything. The heavens are indeed telling the glory of God, as the Psalmist says. So are the birds at the bird feeder, and that nasty neighbor who doesn’t get along with anyone. God’s glory is even on display at work and in our families. God’s glory can be discerned in anyone, anywhere, any time.

So the practical question is not, “Is God at work in this, but what is God doing and what am I invited to do with God?” To get to this question, we may go through what St. John of the Cross famously called “the dark night of the soul.”

Now, before I did some reading about “the dark night of the soul,” I thought it was a crisis of faith in which we experience the absence of God. We can’t see. We’re in the dark. But St. John’s teaching goes deeper than that. John’s insight is that in order for us to see God’s glory clearly, God teaches us to see things differently; God undoes and removes beliefs and concepts of God that are in the way. “The dark night of the soul” is the experience of letting go of what we once believed so that we may believe in a richer, fuller way.

“The dark night of the soul” isn’t easy, and God knows how frail we are; God knows how much we can take, and we can certainly agree with Mother Theresa who said, “God never gives us more than we can handle, but sometimes I wish he didn’t trust me so much.” It isn’t easy, but the dark night does end, and as the Psalmist teaches, “Joy comes in the morning.” We “see Thee more clearly. Love Thee more dearly. Follow Thee more nearly, day by day.”

You might think that the man who wrote a book called “The Dark Night of the Soul,” would be a rather grim fellow, but St. John of the Cross was actually a fun-loving fellow and a terrific story-teller who enjoyed arranging picnics and weekend jaunts for his fellow friars.

Richard Foster notes: “John was able to lift the burden of anxiety from people. Folks would come to him for confession filled with guilt and an oppressive religiosity, and John would tenderly bring them into the love and care and acceptance of God. It was said that John was able to cure people of “the illness of scrupulosity.”

The path of Christian devotion that is the divine ascent begins as we receive a pure heart. Virtues develop, and illumination opens our eyes to know God anywhere, anytime, in anyone. Perhaps in this life, or for certain in the life to come, the divine ascent leads us to a union with God in which we know God and know ourselves in such completeness that all the pieces find their place. There is order and understanding. The light of understanding goes on and is never extinguished.

The following poem is known as Teresa’s bookmark because it was found in the prayer book she was using at the time of her death. It gives us a glimpse of what union with God looks like:

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing alarm you
While all things are passing;
God is unchanging.
Be patient and you will gain everything,
With God in your heart nothing is lacking.
God alone suffices.                                      
Amen.