Let us go up rejoicing to the house of the Lord

Psalm 122. November 28, 2022 - Monday, 1st Week of Advent

Many metaphors try to describe the mystery of life, but the one that I particularly like is a pilgrimage. Psalm 122, which begins the season of Advent, belongs to a group of Psalms known as the Songs of Ascent. There are fifteen of them, from Psalm 120 to 134, and they are associated with the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

As you probably know, according to the Old Testament, the Jewish people should appear in Jerusalem three times a year on the most important feasts of their faith. The first and most important was the Passover which celebrated their liberation from slavery in Egypt. Then fifty days later was the feast of Pentecost that celebrated the gift of Torah. Finally, in Autumn, there was the feast of the Tabernacle, during which they recall the journey of their ancestors through the desert towards the promised land. The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus’ family had a custom of making a yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. Then, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are framed around Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem where the salvation of humanity would take place.

“Jerusalem, built as a city with compact unity. To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD”(Ps 122:3-4). Jerusalem was not only the capital of the Jewish nation, but it was also its spiritual centre. There was the magnificent temple with its daily liturgy. It was the place where the glory or the name of God resided. In it, the people could offer sacrifices and receive the priestly blessing. No wonder that every Jew rejoiced going up to Jerusalem. But, in the imagination of the prophets, Jerusalem was also to become a pilgrimage destination for all the nations. Prophet Isaiah announces that “all the nations shall flow to it” (Is 2:2). They will want to go to “ the house of the God of Jacob” to be taught how to live (see Is 2:2-4). And then, the prophet prophecies about the time of the Church: “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Is 2:3). The risen Christ told his apostles that they are to proclaim the Gospel of salvation from Jerusalem to all the corners of the world (see Luke 24:47).

Jerusalem is located on the mountain, and all pilgrims going to Jerusalem had to go up into the house of the Lord. This location of Jerusalem becomes a metaphor for our spiritual ascent to the heavenly Jerusalem which is our mother, our home, and our life destination. This heavenly Jerusalem is described in the book of Revelation as “the dwelling place of God with man” (Rev 21:3). But unlike the earthly city of Jerusalem that often fell into the hands of evil empires and was destroyed by the enemies of God’s people, the new Jerusalem is assured of peace and prosperity (Is 65:17-25). This new city, a centre of the new heaven and new earth, will not know suffering or death (Rev 21:4). “They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD (Is 65:25). 

So, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. Our life is a pilgrimage towards the new Jerusalem, the heavenly city prepared for us by God where he will wipe every tear from our eyes and “death shall be no more” (Rev 21:4).