Quite a few years ago a confirmation curriculum was published called, “Encountering Christ in the Episcopal Church.” The title has always fascinated me. I wondered whether would Christ want to hang out in our church. But suppose he does—I believe he does—I then wonder: are we prepared to encounter him?
Our readings today, particularly the ones from the Acts of the Apostles and from John describe encounters that lead to a new or deeper relationship with the Holy One. These encounters lead to revelation. What we did not know, we have begun to understand. What we have begun to understand makes a difference in our lives. We can see that this encounter may occur in many different ways.
Let's turn to the description in Acts of Peter preaching with power to fellow Jews. He preached as a Jew out of the tradition found in the Hebrew Scriptures of the long hoped for a Messiah. Through his preaching, his listeners encountered the Messiah who had been crucified—something they had not expected. But “cut to the heart” by this encounter, they came to know what they had not understood. Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified one, through the power of God, became Lord and Messiah. The response of many that day was to repent and agree to be baptized. Also, Peter promised the Holy Spirit would come to each person.
Then from John's gospel we heard the story of Cleopas and an unnamed disciple encountering the resurrected Christ on the road to Emmaus. Although they were aware of the crucifixion and the empty tomb, they did not understand and did not recognize Jesus. He spoke of how Moses and all the prophets had spoken about the Messiah—and how all these scriptures applied to himself. But for Cleopas and the other disciple, this wasn't enough for them to understand and recognize Jesus. Yet through their generous offer to stay and have supper, Jesus found another way to reach them—as he had done earlier in his ministry—he took bread, blessed it, broke and gave it to Cleopas and the other disciple.
In this act their encounter became a moment of divine revelation. And this revelation led to their witnessing to the risen Lord!
No one in these stories was “prepared” to encounter the risen Jesus and yet encounter and revelation happened anyway. You can see from these stories some early patterns of how the Christian community understood the process of encounter that still guides our liturgical practice today. Encounter Christ through word and sacrament. Listen for revelation as the scriptures are broken open through preaching and teaching. Receive the bread that has been blessed and broken in the name Jesus Christ.
Today, May 8, if it weren’t a Sunday and by prayerbook rubric always a feast of our Lord, would be the feast of Julian of Norwich (England). Encountering the crucified Christ through spiritual experiences during a severe illness, Julian, who lived in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, wrote about these visions in a text called “Revelations of Divine Love.” Unlike the people to whom Peter preached and unlike Cleopas and the unnamed disciple, Julian prayed for an encounter with the Holy One. She was clear that God would initiate the encounter by his will. She recounted praying this way: “Lord you know what I would have. If it is your will that I should have it, grant it to me. And if it is not your will, O Lord, do not be displeased, for I only want what you want.”
On May 8, 1373, as she lay near death (she did recover), she received fifteen revelations (and one the following day) which she called “showings.” She did not immediately understand what God was revealing to her, but for about 20 years she thought and prayed about what they meant. And then she wrote. She wrote out a concern that these “showings” were not for her alone, but God wished her to make them available to everyone. Her understanding of her “showings” led her to these theological points: Christ is our Mother; all creation is made by God, is loved by God, and is cared for by God; every living creature will be saved by God; and our Lord's meaning is love.
What Julian received, and indeed what we will receive, from an encounter with the Holy One might be called a sense of wholeness and completeness, despite what may be happening around us or to us. Julian wrote: “God of your goodness, give me yourself; you are enough for me . . .And if I ask for anything that is less, I shall always lack something, but in you alone I have everything.”
So let us rejoice for the encounters we have had with the risen Christ and those that are to come. God seeks us out through His word, preached and heard. God seeks us out through the sacraments in our worship. God seeks us out as we pray. God seeks us—no matter how ready we may or may not be. How awesome God is!
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