Asset Publisher

Ascending the Heights Session III: The Summit

Session Summary Orthodox Life: The Summit
The session will begin with an opening prayer, the Troparion of the Transfiguration.The purpose of this session is to discuss the idea that the ascent of any mountain, but most especially the spiritual one, requires great humility. This conclusion is drawn through discussing the physically exhausting and mentally taxing ventures up to the peak of Mt. Everest. A parallel is made to the ascents that spiritual giants of our faith made, such as Moses up to Mt. Sinai, and Peter, James and John up to the top of Mt. Tabor with Jesus.The texts used are listed in the body. Activities and discussion questions are provided, which are purposefully open ended to assist in facilitating discussion. It is my hope and prayer that my unworthy words may be used by the Lord through whomever this facilitator might be.

 

Part One: Introduction and Activity
Campers will discuss and compare two mountains: Mt. Everest and Mt. Sinai. The activity is a verbal puzzle that may be difficult to answer at normal altitudes that would be nearly impossible to answer at the peak of Mount Everest.Part Two: The Voice of GodThis section includes discussion of Moses listening to the voice of God. The discussion includes other voices competing with that of God's today and by looking to the saints, how we can remain focused on the voice of God.Part Three: The TransfigurationMark's Gospel account of the Transfiguration is read and discussed and tied in to listening to the Lord.
 

Street Wise: The Summit

The purpose of this session is to demonstrate that we are all blind to a degree, and need help in the spiritual life; that sometimes it is hard to discern the voice of help and the voice of hurt; and to foster working together in adverse conditions.Part One: ActivityThis activity is meant to be completed outdoors. It is an exercise in listening to the voice of God in the presence of various distractions.Orthodox Life

 

Session 3: The Summit
Part One: Introduction and Activity
Begin the session with a prayer, the Troparion of the Transfiguration:
"You were transfigured on the Mount, Christ God revealing Your glory to Your disciples, insofar as they could comprehend. Illuminate us sinners also with Your everlasting light, through the intercessions of the Theotokos. Giver of light, glory to You."

In this session we are going to discuss the summit of Mt. Everest. We will begin by reading a passage from the book of Exodus.


"On the morning of the third day, there were thunders and lightenings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to gaze and many of them perish." (Exodus 19:16-21).

In this passage we hear of Mt. Sinai, which is of less elevation than Mt. Everest. Mt. Sinai stands about 8,650 feet tall, whereas Mt. Everest stands 29,028 feet tall. During this session, we are going to look at the similarities between Mt. Everest and Mt. Sinai.

The summit of Mt. Everest is considered to be between Camp IV at 26,000 feet, and the summit of Mt. Everest, leaving 3,028 feet to reach the top. This last area is called the "death zone" because many have lost their lives there. It is only possible to climb to the top of Mt. Everest from Camp IV one or two weeks of the year because the rest of the time, the peak experiences hurricane force winds. To illustrate the force of these winds is a description of a hurricane's aftermath. There was an empty lot with a marquee standing in front, as if a theatre once stood there. The marquee read, "Gone with the Wind."

The air becomes very thin at the top of Everest. It is so thin that helicopter blades cannot cut through the air; it would simply fall out of the sky. We know that we need air to live. We also need air, specifically oxygen, to think straight. Most people cannot think clearly at the altitude of Mt. Everest's summit because oxygen is scarce. They can think clearly enough to climb, but they may not have been able to work a tough math problem. The following activity demonstrates this. This is a problem-solving test that is performed to study proper brain function.

Activities
Provide each camper with paper and a pencil, and each pair with a stopwatch. The first person will read a question from the page, then after having read the question, will start the watch, while the second person answers the question. As soon as the second person answers, whether it is right or not, stop the watch and record the time and whether the question was answered correctly.  Verbal Puzzle 1

The next test covers the area of memory, which is also affected by high altitude in adverse ways. This time, the questioner and the partner answering switch roles. One person recites the following sentences and times how long it takes for the other to repeat the sentence, counting the number of errors. Record these results.  Verbal Puzzle 2

Continue the session with, "Imagine if you were on top of Mt. Everest, those questions would have seemed impossible to solve or remember. This gives you an idea of what happens to people on significantly higher altitudes."

Another problem with great heights is altitude sickness. Have any of you ever experienced this? Altitude sickness was first recorded in 20 AD, when military companies were traveling from China to India. They had to cross many high mountains in the area of Mt. Everest. Listen to their description:


"The account was written by a general to Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty: South of Mount Pishan (in the Karakoram range) the travellers have to climb over Mount Greater Headache, Mount Lesser Headache, and the Fever Hill, where they will develop a fever, turn pallid, feel a headache, and vomit, which also occurs in donkeys and other animals without exception."

Here you can see what happens when you go too quickly through great heights.

The next challenge is that after surviving all of the dangers of the climb, you cannot stay very long at all at the top of the mountain. On Mt. Everest, some people can only stay a few minutes, just enough to look around and say, "I did it!" They have to start their descent, otherwise their bodies cannot handle the extreme height, thin air, and cold winds.

Part Two: The Voice of God
If we were to tell you to gather up your stuff, we've chartered a jet and you were all going to climb Mt. Everest this week instead of being here, what would you say?

Moses had a similar challenge. God called him to climb Mt. Sinai, which was covered with smoke, thunder and lightening. Imagine the worst storm you have ever seen. Then, imagine that storm on the top of a mountain in a desert. This was the experience of Moses on Mt. Sinai. Now Moses was afraid of God at the top of the mountain. Not afraid in the sense that he was afraid God was going to hurt him, but he had great respect for God and he didn't want to offend Him. We are called to fear God in the proper way during every Liturgy when we hear the priest say, "With the Fear of God, faith and love, draw near." This is the same fear that Moses had on Mt. Sinai. This is the way we approach communion, as if climbing onto a great Mountain.

On top of Mt. Sinai, Moses really had to focus on what God was telling him, and that alone, for he was receiving the Law of God, which was to be taught to the people. Spiritually, it can be really difficult to focus only on the voice of God. Many of you know this.

Ask the group, "What other voices are competing with God's today?" Answers include the media, popular culture, advertisements, and politicians. Allow a few moments for discussion. Then continue the session.

Many of our saints and ascetics have taught great methods for remaining focused on God. One method is to use short prayers, such as repeating a single psalm verse over and over when a distraction arises. Such a distraction for Moses could have caused him to lose footing and slip off the mountain on his way to God. Perhaps Moses could have been reciting this simple prayer, "God, as you know and as you will, have mercy on me." It is even better for us today to use the prayer as, "Lord Jesus Christ, as you know and as you will, have mercy on me."

Part Three: The Transfiguration
We had mentioned earlier that though the great mountaineers would have wanted to stay for a long time on top of Mt. Everest to relish their great accomplishment, they had to return quickly due to the conditions on the summit. There were three other mountain climbers in the Scriptures who also wanted to stay at the mountain top. These were Peter, James, and John at the Lord's Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor. The following is from the Gospel of Mark:
 

"And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah" For he did not know what to say for they were exceedingly afraid. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to Him." Mark 9:2-7.

There are many important teachings that can be gleaned from this passage. The Lord went many times to pray on the top of mountains, so it wasn't unusual for the disciples to see this. This event is almost identical to Moses' experience on Mt. Sinai. However, Moses went alone and returned before the people; Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him, was transfigured before them, was counseled by Moses and Elijah, and then went back with them to their ministry. Peter, being afraid, much like Moses was, and much like the climbers of Mt. Everest, wanted to build booths for everyone to stay in. But the Lord from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, Listen to Him." Here we see that perhaps the thin air was affecting Peter. He was reasoning to himself about what was happening, instead of waiting to be instructed by the Lord. Here again we see that in climbing the Spiritual mountain, listening is important.

How do we listen today? The first place to practice is at Church. Try to focus on one part specifically, like the Gospel and Epistle reading, and make sure you never miss this part at every service. After you can do this well, add another part, and another, and so on. Another way to practice listening is to practice silence. When you feel like speaking out in everyday situations, wait and listen first; there may be something that you need to learn that you would had missed if you had been talking. What other methods can you think of to practice spiritual listening?

Peter wanted to stay with the Lord, but they needed to return to their ministry below. The first person they encountered after such an extraordinary occurrence was a father losing faith, and his child possessed with a demon that caused him to have epileptic seizures. It would have been easy for them to be judging, mean and hard-hearted toward the father after having seen the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, but the Lord healed the boy inspite of his father's lack of faith. The Lord is always pouring out His mercy on those who choose not to climb the mountain but to remain in the valley.

The following is a quote given by an avid mountaineer who climbed Mt. Everest. This mountaineer lost a good friend in 1996 on top of Mt. Everest. The friend had managed to take a picture of himself before he passed away. His wife shared the picture with our mountaineer. Listen to what he has to say.

"You can see the fatigue in his face. But behind the tiredness is a clear expression of triumph, even joy. And therein lies the eternal tug of Everest, the sense of unworldly adventure that brings sober men and women halfway around the world and out into the midnight snows to climb its majestic heights.


I recognized something very familiar about this scene; yet I also felt an acute sense of displacement. I've always looked to the sky, the snow, the clouds for that light. I've climbed to the highest reaches of the planet in search of it. But when I looked closely into Bruce Herrod's eyes, facing his own camera lens, I saw what I might have known all along, and it is this: The risk inherent in climbing such mountains carries its own reward, deep and abiding, because it provides as profound a sense of self-knowledge as anything else on earth. A mountain is perilous, true; but it is also redemptive. Maybe I had dimly understood this when, as a rootless boy, with no earthly place to call my own, I deliberately chose the iconoclast's rocky path of mountain climbing. But in this moment of pure clarity I realized that ascending Everest had been, for me, both a personal declaration of liberty and a defiant act of escape. Now, suddenly, I felt an inexpressible serenity, a full-blooded reaffirmation of life, on Everest's icy ridges.

At last, I was ready to descend the mountain and go home."

Close with a prayer.

Street Wise Session 3: The Summit
The following activity is be completed outdoors.
Begin this session with the Troparion of the feast of the Transfiguration.
"You were transfigured on the Mount, Christ God revealing Your glory to Your disciples, insofar as they could comprehend. Illuminate us sinners also with Your everlasting light, through the intercessions of the Theotokos. Giver of light, glory to You."

If time allows, read once again Exodus 19:16-21.
"On the morning of the third day, there were thunders and lightenings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to gaze and many of them perish." (Exodus 19:16-21).

You may also read once more the account of the Transfiguration from Mark's Gospel:
"And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah" For he did not know what to say for they were exceedingly afraid. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to Him." Mark 9:2-7.

Activity
This activity is designed to teach listening and focus, especially when there are many distractions present. A natural obstacle course is to be constructed by the group, using large rocks, logs, branches, etc. Depending on conditions and time, the course could be put together by facilitators of the camp prior to the start of this session. The course should run from one point to another in a straight line. Each group of three is to have a blind fold. Two or three can complete the obstacle course at a time while the rest of the group waits on the sidelines. One person is blindfolded while the other two stand on either side. The blindfolded person has to complete the obstacle course, simply walking around or stepping over objects, etc. (the course should not be too difficult), while the others speak in his/her ears about what to do. They cannot physically touch the blindfolded person. Those in the background can make noise to distract. The goal is to make it from one end to the other and back without bumping into anything. Everyone should have a turn being blindfolded as time allows.

Discussion Questions
For those who were blindfolded, what was that experience like? Was it difficult to listen? Did they trust those speaking to them?

For those giving instructions, what was most difficult? Did they develop different strategies to help the "blind" person?

Often throughout our spiritual lives, we are inundated with words, words from television, movies, school, home, etc. It is difficult at times to discern the Word of God in this chaos of words. What from this drill can we use to help us in this discernment?

After completing the discussion, close this session with a prayer.