Cliff

Recently we’ve heard a great deal in the press about the prospective “fiscal cliff,” the automatic spending cuts and tax increases that will go into effect in the new year if Congress cannot reach agreement on a budgetary plan.  As far as I can tell, it’s less of a cliff than a slope, but the term “cliff” is much more effective in arousing anxiety and creating pressure for resolution.  Cliffs are dangerous places, whether you’re at the top, perched on an overhang looking down at the view, or standing at the bottom, wary of falling stones.

In September, I spent two weeks in Israel and Jordan, exploring the theme of desert wilderness.  Cliffs were in abundance: from the overlook at Mitzpe Ramon to the rock faces of Petra, from the valleys of the Judean desert to the caves that protected the Dead Sea Scrolls, from the monastery perched high above Jericho to the abrupt drop from Temple Mount into the Kidron Valley.  

So it’s not surprising that cliffs - and other rocky places -  appear frequently in Scripture. Jesus’ opponents wanted to throw him off a cliff (Luke 4:29), but he walked safely away; the devil temped him to throw himself from the pinnacle of the temple (Luke 4:9), but he declined.  That time, he quoted from Psalm 91:11-12: 

For [the Lord] will command his angels concerning you
  to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
   so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. 

Cliffs provided places of safety, from the caves of En-gedi that sheltered David (1 Samuel 24) and where Elijah stood to hear God not in the wind, earthquake or fire, but in the sound of sheer silence (1 Kings 19:4-14), to the cleft from which Moses was permitted to see the glory of God (Exodus 34:1-4).

Fortresses were built using the natural defenses of the landscape; it is no wonder then,

that the Psalms constantly call on GOd as a rocky fortress, a place of safety.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
   my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
   my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my 

   stronghold (Psalm 18:2).

You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
   for your name’s sake lead me and guide me 

   (Psalm 31:3).

O my strength, I will sing praises to you,
   for you, O God, are my fortress,
   the God who shows me steadfast love (Psalm 59:17).

Be to me a rock of refuge,
   a strong fortress, to save me,
   for you are my rock and my fortress (Psalm 71:3).

Yes, cliffs are dangerous places, but in our tradition they are also places where God cares for us, providing safety, protection, and sometimes even a glimpse of the Holy Presence. And whether there’s a fiscal cliff or a slippery slope, or perhaps, we hope, an agreement that gives us a fiscal plain, we need not succumb to fear.  Wherever we are, God will be with us.