have you met jesus?

Seventh Sunday of Easter ● May 12, 2024

Rev. Alexis Lillie © 2024

You can view the full worship video recording at:

https://youtu.be/dtSX9obij48?si=3CWQWE9bRtfzfx3H

Scripture Readings: 

Acts 9:1-19 (The Inclusive Bible)

The reading text is provided at the end of this sermon.

"Have you met Jesus?” This was a question we posed to ourselves as we began planning this service. My short answer was, I’m not sure! Which is maybe not the answer you’d expect from a pastor and church-y person!

 I'm not quite sure what it would mean to "meet Jesus," at least as I consider it off the top of my head. Sure, there are verses about whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me; verses about welcoming the stranger and entertaining angels unaware. These can be imagined as ways to frame and even answer this question. But boiled down to it ... have I met Jesus??

Here's how I've been thinking about that question as I’ve sat with it over the last number of days. It starts with a bit of an existential exercise so bear with me! Often we use "Jesus" and "Christ" interchangeably. What's the difference? Who is Jesus, and who (or what) is Christ?

There’s not one right way to answer this, but to help order things in my mind, I've thought about it this way:

Jesus = physical person

Christ = more of this universal spirit of Jesus – and Jesus’ work in the world – that is evident throughout creation.

Mystic and teacher Richard Rohr talks about the Universal Christ. In fact in a chapter titled, "'Christ' is not Jesus' last name," he explains:

"Christ is a good and simple metaphor for absolute wholeness, complete incarnation, and the integrity of creation. Jesus is the archetypal human just like us, who showed us what the Full Human might look like if we could fully live into it." (23)

So, we probably haven't encountered the physical, historical person of Jesus, but it's likely that, as Richard Rohr suggests, we've experienced Jesus Christ as the spirit of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. The work Jesus as the historical person came to do.

And there are a whole host and range of ways this experience could unfold. Let's table that idea for a minute and turn to how Saul / Paul in our story today experiences Jesus.

The text says - the character in the encounter Saul / Paul has identifies themselves as Jesus. At this point in the story, Jesus is dead so (if we're considering the term "Jesus" as attached to a physical person), I would say this is more of an example of the spirit of Jesus-ness, or, the Christ appearing.

Who or whatever meets Paul, it's sensational! Thanks to lots being painted and written and reflected on about this encounter, it can easily take on a dramatic character in our minds. And I find kind of unhelpful!These pieces of drama and theater are what I subconsciously pictured for a long time regarding the idea of “call.”

This has been problematic for me! I’ve often felt like I don't have a dramatic, interesting "call" story. I felt this way since I was a kid and sometimes considered – maybe I should give this whole Jesus thing up, go out and live some crazy stories, then reform myself so I can have some sort of exciting, dramatic transformation.

This “problem” continued into my ordination and ministry journey where you are constantly asked to share and reflect on your "call!"

First of all, "exciting" is in the eye of the beholder. And I certainly don't think the Saul / Paul call and conversion story is put here to shame us for not having experiences with Jesus as the Christ in so dramatic a fashion. Ok, then why is it here? If we understand this drama as a literary device, what point is it trying to get across?

The encounter is showing pervasive presence and drastic change. We know from other texts we've looked at in this series, that the early communities who followed Jesus are challenged to take their experiences “to the ends of the earth." This story is another example of that happening, so in that way it's actually not that sensational! The experience of Christ (the presence of Jesus made real in the world) is going far afield, to someone that had been persecuting early communities of Jesus' followers! Further demonstrating, there's nowhere this spirit won't or can't go.

Reading this text as one way – one more in a line-up of stories –to experience the pervasive presence of Christ frees me up. It's not the standard for my encounter. I don't need a story that is more exciting, it doesn't have to be cataclysmic. Not to minimize things for Paul, but it's actually just one more in a series of examples of the universal Christ doing their thing: reaching beyond the expected, breaking norms, and pushing boundaries.

Which is good news for me ... and maybe for you too. And I would venture to guess that many (perhaps most?) of the people Paul then went to did not have dramatic call stories. They were living their life in the way of Jesus

Just look at the other character right here in this story! There's a beauty and simplicity of Ananias' attunement to the spirit of Christ prompting him to help Paul. There's a very identifiable humanity in his response: he argues with this prompting! Ultimately, he is won over and convinced to follow the pervasive presence of Christ that he has experienced, but not in a big, bold fashion.

I imagine him kind of rolling his eyes: "Ok. here I am, Lord ..." "Ok, I guess I'll go ... I don't really get it, but I'll do it ...” A lot more quotidian than BOOM! a ray of light to the back of the head, and ensuing blindness.

And yet, for the fullness of Paul's encounter with this presence of Christ in the world to take place, it requires Ananias to also be attuned to this same spirit, and to be willing to respond. Paul has the dramatic encounter but it wouldn't come to fruition without help from Ananias. This supporting one another and being in discernment together, that, too, is the experience of Christ in the world.

It says as much right here in this story. 

When Paul is interrupted on the road, the character of Jesus is quoted as saying to him, "why are you persecuting me?"

As we said, the physical person of Jesus wasn't alive, so Paul wasn't literally doing anything to Jesus himself. Rather, the permeating and ever-present universal Christ is deeply identified with the followers of Jesus in the ancient world who are being abused and mistreated. Christ is them. Christ is us. Rohr says, Christ is revealed in us, as us.

So, we have all met the spirit of Jesus revealed as the universal Christ in the world – because it's us! It's you, and me, it's this beloved community. Anywhere we encounter – as Rohr says – absolute wholeness, complete incarnation, and the integrity of creation ... we are experiencing the spirit of Jesus in the world.

We can free ourselves from needing to tell an impressive call story. (Though if you have one – awesome! Christ is revealed in it!). We can free ourselves from a dramatic, theatrical standard that was never meant to be a litmus test for our experience of Christ in the world.

To that end, I shared this week in the newsletter reflection about a simple daily practice I have with Junia that I think often reveals the spirit of Christ to us. Where we pick a tarot card each morning and see what this universal cosmic spirit might be saying to us. I heard from some folks that the idea of this practice revealing Christ was new to them. So yay! I love it when we're challenged by scripture into new ways of thinking. For me, this morning practice connects me to Christ because there are absolutely times (not always!) when a card resonates so deeply there's no other way to describe it than complete incarnation. And it's something I do in community, with my precious child, connecting us to our divine imagination, something both within and beyond ourselves. I can easily conceive of this as absolute wholeness.

So ... have I met Jesus? Not the physical human of course, but every day, even moment-by-moment, I am meeting the spirit of Jesus revealed as Christ in the world around me, and even in my very being.

Acts 9:1-19 (The Inclusive Bible)

Meanwhile Saul continued to breathe murderous threats
against the disciples of Jesus.
Saul had gone up to the high priest and asked for letters,
addressed to the synagogues in Damascus,
that would authorize him to arrest and take to Jerusalem
any followers of the Way that he could find, both women and men.

 As Saul traveled along and was approaching Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed about him.
Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice saying,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

 “Who are you?” Saul asked.

The voice answered, “I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me. 
Get up now and go into the city, where you will be told what to do.”
Those traveling with Saul were speechless.
They heard the voice, but could see no one.

Saul got up from the ground unable to see, even though his eyes were open.
They had to take him by the hand and lead him into Damascus.
For three days Saul continued to be blind,
during which time he ate and drank nothing.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias.
Christ appeared to Ananias in a vision, saying, “Ananias.”

Ananias said, “Here I am.”

Then Christ said to him,
“Go at once to Straight Street, and at the house of Judah
ask for a certain Saul of Tarsus. He is there praying.
Saul had a vision that a man named Ananias will come and lay hands on him
so that he would recover his sight.”

But Ananias protested,
“I have heard from many sources about Saul and all the harm he has done
to your holy people in Jerusalem.
He is here now with authorization from the chief priests
to arrest everybody who calls on your name.”

Christ said to Ananias,
“Go anyway. Saul is the instrument I have chosen to bring my Name to Gentiles,
to rulers, and to the people of Israel.
I myself will show him how much he will have to suffer for my name.”

With that Ananias left.

When Ananias entered the house, he laid his hands on Saul, saying,
“Saul, my brother, I have been sent by Jesus Christ,
who appeared to you on the way here,
to help you recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes,
and he regained his sight.
Saul got up and was baptized,
and his strength returned after he had eaten some food.

The Word of Life and Salvation.

Thanks be to God.