Climb a Mountain

Scaling the sides of life’s mountains

10/25/2021

Rom 8:12-17 Brothers and sisters, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Have you ever told someone: “Go climb a mountain!”? Do you know who loved to take that advice? Pope St. John Paul II. While archbishop of Krakow, he frequently took trips to climb the local Tatras Mountains. Later as pope, he ventured to the Val d’Acosta region of the Italian Alps to scale those shimmering peaks. The pope frequently compared mountain climbing to the challenges of the Christian life.

He once wrote to a group of climbers: “Mountain climbing requires rigorous virtues in those who practice it: strict discipline and self-control, prudence and a spirit of sacrifice and dedication, care and solidarity for others. Thus we can say that mountain climbing develops character.” And he concluded: “In contact with the beauties of the mountains…man enters into himself…and is lifted up to God on the breath of prayer and gratitude toward the Creator.” In other words, mountain climbing contributes to Christian maturity by building fortitude, teaching love of neighbor and inspiring contemplation. That is why you should tell someone, “Go climb a mountain!”

I love whenever we read from Romans 8 in the liturgy, our first reading. Why? Well, if all the letters of St. Paul were considered a huge mountain range, like the Himalayan Mountains, his epistle to the Romans would be Mt. Everest, the highest peak. And of the 16 chapters of Romans, chapter 8 clearly stands head and shoulders above the rest. The great New Testament scholar, N. T. Wright, wrote this about Romans: “It dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages.” He continued: “We are dealing here with a work of massive substance, presenting a formidable intellectual challenge while offering a breath-taking theological and spiritual vision.”

In Romans 8, the apex of the Apostle’s theological presentation, he speaks about the Holy Spirit. Paul preaches: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” Seeing the spiritual landscape from the Alpine peak of Romans 8 and contemplating how the Spirit has made us sons and daughters, Paul sensed what John Paul predicted: “In contact with the beauties of the mountains…man enters into himself…and is lifted up to God on the breath of prayer and gratitude to the Creator.” That is, reading and studying the letters of St. Paul can be like climbing a mountain, whose peak is chapter 8 of Romans. With that metaphor in mind, you should tell someone: “Go climb a mountain!” In other words, study scripture!

My friends, what are the mountains you are climbing in your life lately? I don’t mean literally (necessarily), but also spiritually or morally or socially. I have recently been getting tennis lessons from Fr. Daniel, and it feels like climbing Mt. Everest to try to be as good as him. His game is definitely “an Alpine peak towering over my little hills and villages.” But I keep climbing with his help.

Perhaps your mountain is a moral challenge, a nagging sin like alcoholism or some sexual sin. I would urge you like John Paul, not to give up the climb but rather seek solidarity with others, and learn self-discipline, and climb with a spirit of contemplative prayer. Do not take your eyes off the mountain peak of sobriety and freedom, available and attainable to all God’s children. Cry out with the Holy Spirit when you feel like giving up the climb, “Abba, Father!” and the Father will throw down a rope and pull you up higher.

Or maybe your mountain is a physical challenge like a diagnosis of M.S. or the return of cancer, or the limitations of growing older and less physical freedom and activity. You feel like a prisoner in your own body and your own home. That, too, can feel like an impossible mountain to climb. Well my advice to you would be: “Go climb that mountain!” Why? Well, because as Jesus assured his apostles: “All things are possible with God” (Mt. 19:26).

You know, I look at my parents as great mountain climbers, too. Over their long life they have conquered many peaks: coming to a new country, raising a Catholic family, building successful careers, living the American dream. It is fitting that they have retired to the mountains of Northwest Arkansas and can survey the surrounding peaks. I hope they feel what Pope St. John Paul II said: “In contact with the beauties of the Mountains…man enters into himself…and is lifted up to God on the breath of prayer and gratitude to the Creator.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!