Living Under a "Low Ceiling"

Living Under a "Low Ceiling"

Retired Pastor's Column

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 11, 2026

“On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples,

the web that is woven over all nations;

he will destroy death forever.”

from Isaiah 25:6–10

This scripture from Isaiah is often read at funerals. It is an optimistic reading. It is incredible that it was written hundreds of years before Jesus came, before the Jews had a firm belief in the resurrection of the dead. Death was a mystery to them, and yet there was hope. Even then, many Jews believed there had to be more to this world than meets the eye, more to God’s promises than this present world provided.

Once I was flying out of PDX, headed back east. It was typical Oregon winter weather, with lots of clouds. In the airline industry, this is called a “low ceiling,” meaning that the clouds hang low in the sky. Everything below was dark and gray.

We have a saying when you can spot Mount Hood, especially when it has been a while: “Mount Hood is out.” On a day like that, it would take an active faith to believe that there was a Mount Hood, let alone any of the other Cascades, because you could see nothing—which is typical here during the winter and spring.

But as the airplane pierced the clouds, it was a sight to behold. Every one of the Cascades came into view—or rather, the tops that had been hidden by the clouds—all covered with golden, glistening snow. It was dawn. One could see all the way from the Three Sisters and Mount Jefferson to Mount Rainier and Mount Adams, and, of course, Mount Hood.

This image is like a parable, a metaphor. We often cannot see beyond the clouds. It is called faith. We are not normally permitted to see everything there is. We live in a world of “low ceilings.” Of course, there are some who think there is nothing beyond the clouds. Again, this is a metaphor, because we all know perfectly well what is there in the physical world. But death takes us to the unseen world.

If one grew up seeing only clouds, one might not believe there was anything beyond them. One can only imagine the moment of death when everything comes into clear view. Surely, at that moment, the soul says to itself, “Of course. I should have known!” A mountain that starts wide at the bottom and tapers upward will have a point at the top, or come to an apex, even if we cannot see it.

Even so, our own world, our personal existence—even with all the tragedies, trials, wars, and suffering, as well as the joy, love, and hope that we experience—all of it points to something more. Injustice and suffering that cannot be explained require more. That sense that, in the end, life is unsatisfying, even with all the stuff we accumulate, the places we travel, or whatever else we pursue, speaks of more. Suffering and injustice require an explanation.

People of faith have something even greater. We know somebody who has been there. He came from the world we cannot see. Jesus, who created everything, became one of us. He was born in time and died the way he did to show us his love and point the way to the future. He calls us to become the men and women we were meant to be: children of God who strive to do the will of God. In a world so filled with suffering and war, and every other unspeakable thing, a world with so many questions, it can be hard to find hope sometimes. But that is only if we have a view of the world that stops at the clouds.

We do not live in the clouds. We live on Earth, but we keep our view toward what we cannot see, knowing that it really is there. This short life prepares us for an eternity that will last forever.

The more we begin to see the hints that God sends us, the more we notice them. But even when we are in the midst of the greatest suffering, we can trust the One who came from heaven to point the way for those who wish to follow him, that he might lead them there.

His desire is that we become the fullness of the human beings we were created to be. This involves a journey of faith, for now under the clouds. For those who wish to follow Jesus and strive to do the will of God, eternity awaits—even if, right now, we have a “low ceiling.”