Which mountain do you worship at?

In John 4:19-20 the woman at the well posed this problem to Jesus:

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

It was a hot topic. Samaritans and Jews were deeply divided over the issue.  The author of Hebrews seems to play off this debate, but introduces a different twist.  In chapter 12:18-29 he makes a comparison between Mt Sinai, the place of the old covenant, and Mt Zion, the heart of the new covenant. Sinai is all about the law and judgement. Zion about acceptance, grace, and forgiveness.  Sinai is about fear and terror. Zion is about peace and the confident knowledge of the presence and blessing of God. 

All through the reading, as well as in early parts of Hebrews, the author is asking the question of his readers:  Which mountain do you worship at?

For some, the old covenant with its laws and rituals needed to be enfolded into faith in Christ, but as the writer of Hebrews points out, this simply leads to a new legalism and places us back under God's judgement as we are rejecting the grace that has been given through the life and death of Jesus. As he says in verse 28, "we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken." That is God's kingdom...the messianic kingdom...the new creation.  It is ours as a gift from God. 

The warning at the end of verse 29... "our God is indeed a destroying fire." is a reminder that to reject his grace and to stand outside this kingdom gift, is to put ourselves under his judgement and from that there is no escape.  

So what mountain do you worship at?