Rocky Mountain High

The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

March 3, 2019

St. John’s Newtonville, Massachusetts

Last Epiphany

When I served as the Acting Dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, I had the opportunity to witness many things on the Boston Common. There were parades, protests and politics, marches and sit-ins, drug dealing and cup shaking. My journey from home to work involved walking through the Common, which gave me an opportunity to reflect on many things. One memorable day was a Saturday afternoon when the Cannabis Society occupied the Common. There was loud blaring music, lots of food trucks, and a significant veil of smoke that hung like a cloud over the public square. I walked home through that veil of smoke.

My husband Paul has been in recovery from the disease of alcoholism since 1989, a journey that he takes one day at a time. As a grateful member of al-anon, I walk with him. We have seen first hand the dangers of marijuana for some people, and the benefits for others. We have known people who have used it at the end of their lives in order to ease their pain from cancer. We know youth who made marijuana their drug of choice because they could drive home from parties without fear of being arrested for a DUI. We know an 85 year old nurse who was given a joint at a food pantry to take home to her husband, who had always wanted to try it. And of course, there’s the recreational buzz that some people enjoy without the calories of alcohol. Marijuana, for whatever it’s use, is a mind altering substance that changes your body, mind, and soul.

And so it is with interest that I read stories about legalizing the use of marijuana. Public and private properties are involved in political considerations. Who wants a pot shop in their own town? What will community gardens grow? What are the risks and benefits of legalizing marijuana, and for whom?

Of course, we know the bad effects of smoking cigarettes on our bodies, and so we have warnings and public policy changes everywhere, at least in our country. A friend recently told me that he started using the drug called Chantix to help him quit smoking, and proudly told me that he was down to 5 cigarettes a day. Having known someone else who tried Chantix, I asked him about his sleep and if he had any nightmares. Laughing, he said, yes, but they weren’t nightmares, only vivid dreams, which reminded him of his days when he used LSD, a well known psychedelic drug, and a mind altering substance.

It was with continued interest about marijuana that I read an article in the Boston Globe in January. Teresa Hanafin wrote, “In 2012 Colorado became one of the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana. Now Denver is starting the process of eliminating low-level marijuana convictions and the city could become the first in the nation to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms. Supporters say psilocybin isn't addictive, and could reduce opioid use as well as psychological stress. Just be careful with that mushroom pizza you scarf down after smoking pot.” (Teresa Hanafin, Globe Staff, Fast forward Jan. 10, 2019)
By now, you might be wondering, what all this has to do with the scripture lessons for today. Known as Transfiguration Sunday, today’s lessons talk about mountains, clouds, and veils, and their effects on the body, mind, and spirit. Veils are used to cover people’s faces to protect them from the elements, or for religious reasons, as Moses did. St. Paul refers to veils that lie over people’s minds, hardening them from receiving the good news of Christ. On mountains, clouds can confuse us. We may wonder, “Is this the voice of God that I’m hearing, and are these people real, or just a drug-induced hallucination?”

As part of our spiritual journeys, we climb mountains. Like Moses and Jesus, either literally or figuratively, we climb mountains in search of God. One received God’s commandments for the Israelites; the other received affirmation of his identity. When he climbed Mount Sinai to talk with God, Moses took off his veil. With vulnerability, he stood before God and allowed God to transfigure him, that is to change him. After Moses descended the mountain, he took off his veil in order to share what he had received from God, and then covered his face until he spoke with God again. He wanted to protect God’s glory from fading away.  
In the gospel of Luke, we hear Jesus repeat this same pattern. He went up on the mountain to talk with God, not alone this time, but rather with Peter, John, and James. “And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.” A cloud overshadowed them all, and from this cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, my Chosen. Listen to him.”

Today’s scripture lessons about Moses and Jesus describe alternate states of consciousness that come to us when we talk with God. We call this prayer. And when we listen to God, we call this meditation. Alone or with others, we can ascend spiritual mountains in search of God, longing to receive direction or affirmation. Hopefully, we descend our proverbial mountains, and share what we’ve seen and heard with others. Since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we can act with boldness. Sometimes, we keep silent, like Peter, John, and James. Maybe we’re afraid of what people might think, or we’re confused by what we’ve experienced. Either way, hopefully, people will see in our faces, through our words, and by our actions the glory of God that we’ve received. Hopefully, we will be changed for the better.

On Wednesday nights at our Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston there is a 12 step group called Conscious Contact. These two words refer to the 11th step, which states that “through prayer and meditation we seek to improve our conscious contact with God, praying for knowledge of God’s will, and the power to carry that out.” The 12th step states that “having had a spiritual awakening because of all these steps, we carry our message to others and practice these steps in our daily lives.” We attract others by our way of life.

I have a sign in my office at home that proclaims, “Prayer changes things.” Some people argue that prayer doesn’t change anything but rather people, like Moses, Jesus, and the disciples, like you and me. The word transfigure means to change the body. When we pray, our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls are changed. When we enter into the presence of God through prayer, we are transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ. The contemplative life means that we engage in this ongoing cycle of spiritual renewal.  “What good is our receiving God’s glory if it doesn’t produce righteousness, healing, and freedom beyond ourselves?” wrote Denise Anderson. “What good is our healing if the people around us stay sick?” Or as the 12 step community is fond of saying, “You can’t keep it unless you give it away.”

My daughter lived and worked in Denver, Colorado for 5 years and I was excited to visit her. The mountains are legendary, and we had several occasions not only to see them from a distance but also to do some skiing and hiking up close. I recalled John Denver’s famous song called, “Rocky Mountain High.”

I looked at the lyrics again this week. On mountains, acting with boldness or with carelessness, we can either fall to our death, or reach new heights. On a clear day, we can see for greater distances and with better perspectives. We can hear the voice  of God in the solitude of forest and streams; we may even see fire raining down from the skies. In the silver clouds below us, we may remember those we’ve lost or left behind. Our rocky mountain highs can excite us, scare us, depress us, and comfort us. All of them will change us.

This week, we will enter into the season of Lent with our Ash Wednesday service, joining with the good people from Trinity Church and St. Paul’s. Our spiritual journey begins today on this Transfiguration Sunday, and it ends with the mountaintop experience that we call Easter. We are people who naturally resist change, wanting to stay at the base camp, or build booths on high. Rather we are invited into a daily cycle of prayer and meditation, allowing ourselves to be transfigured by God’s glory. As we ascend and descend these holy mountains, we can seek God’s grace in every step that we take.

Like Moses, Jesus, and his disciples, we can go to the mountain and talk to God every day. We can take the veils off our minds, and listen for God’s voice in the clouds. This Lent, we can let God’s grace transform our lives in a rocky mountain kinda way.

Genesis 45:3-11, 15
1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50
Luke 6:27-38
Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42