Down from the Mountain

Up on the mountain it's easy
Everything is clear and bright
All the food is bread
And all the water is wine

Up on the mountain they all dance
Ask anyone and they will give the Good News
Kneel to pray and the words will come at once
Lift up a song and it will be beautiful
And it will be genuine
The distractions are small
And the glory is great

Up on the mountain our sins seem silly
Saul's hasty sacrifice seems absurdly stupid
Our old hatreds are easily set aside
And the stumbling blocks look so small

Up on the mountain joy abounds
We could sing again and again
With the thriving monotony of children
We could dance until our legs gave way
Because our Beloved is here

But we have to leave

Will it be different?
We've all done this before
We've all wiped away our tears
And returned to our old sins
We've all lost our joy
To the drudgery down below

Down below the traps are laid
The nets are ready and the knives are sharp
The bitter pleasures and the dull addictions wait
Down below are a thousand sacraments of Hell
And before an hour back below is passed
They will have ensnared us once more

But if we are disciples
We must go down
Because we did not go up to find our Beloved
It was He who came down to meet us
So we must also go down

Because that's where the glory is
There amidst the traps and poisons
There in the midst of resentment and addiction
There in the battlefield of common humanity
That's where the inheritances lies
That was written of in our hearts

The Lord is not a fool
This is not for nothing
The joy will be stripped away
The experience will fade
But the abundance of the mountain
Conceals some small treasure
Some little pearl that remains
Because some much else is stolen away
This small blessing shall remain
This brief song is not forgotten
And against our King's humble gift
The powers of the Enemy
Shall be exhausted and dismayed