A Fool for Christ By Pastor Kay Young

The sermon this week (July 9) shamelessly used Paul's confession to weakness in Christ1 as a springboard for considering the fact that we sometimes become too intense for our own good. Paul was intense, and his letters probably would be easier to read today if he had been a little softer in his approach to the churches at Corinth, Ephesus and others. However, a certain toughness of mind and rhetoric may have been the only way to make clear to them (to us, too) what it means to be a Christian, wholly dedicated to `the way' of God. It is useful to speak about his experience of vision and revelation for its own sake, however, so we will ask: 1) What IS a mystical experience? 2) Who has them? 1) When Paul speaks of being `caught up in the third heaven-whether in the body or out of the body,' he is speaking of a mystical experience. Some call these occurrences, de ja vu (Fr., experienced this before) or coincidences. They occur when the routine awareness of reality around us suddenly changes-there is a break in the `norm.' And sometimes it is a deeper feeling, one of being connected in a physical way with all matter. It was probably this latter way for Paul. Many of these `connections' are described in the Bible (the disciples `seeing' Jesus with the prophets on the moun- tain), and are sometimes referred to as `ecstatic' experiences. They are. VERY difficult to verify. Only the one having the experience really knows and sometimes even that is not clear. This is why Paul warns the people of Corinth of `false prophets.' There is a problem with identifying false prophets in every age, today as well. HOW DO WE KNOW THAT SOME EXPERIENCE IS HOLY? 2) Who has them? There is no good way to describe this phenomenon because everyone catches glimpses of another dimension or reality at some time or other in our lives, and every experience is different from every other. And most of us DON'T NOTICE or, DISMISS THE EXPERIENCE as coincidence or `strange.' They often occur when our lives are jolted out of routine by some situation or other. Death of a loved one or complete change of routine (moving, changing jobs and life-style) sometimes invites a mystical experience. We all have the opportunity and the ability, but most of us are not 'aware.' We live in a kind of routinized oblivion. St. Augustine lived his entire life longing for such an experience and never had one. And this brings us to teachings from the Bible which help us discern some of the answers. Jesus told us and the disciples to `remain awake.' He is speaking of the act of always `remaining tuned' to God, asking continually if what we are about is a Godly thing, an act of good, an act of listening for the still, small voice of God. It is a discipline. And it takes our whole being. "When we begin to become fully conscious of God, we will experience what to say and what not to say as love grows in us."2 1 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 2 St. Augustine, "Homily on Psalm 99"