The Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday of Easter – April 10, 2016

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday of Easter – April 10, 2016

Acts 9:1-20
Psalm 30
Revelation 5:11-14
John 21:1-19

How many sermons can you get out of one week’s lectionary readings? Today’s lectionary readings, all have a mystical air, but they express the mystic vision in a variety of ways – revelation and transformation, angelic praise, and ethics and spirituality.

If you are able, read the totality of the lectionary recommendation for Acts of the Apostles, all twenty verses. Yes, Paul’s encounter with the bright light of Christ is important and changed the course of history, giving birth to a global faith. But, Paul’s encounter is transformational as well as mystical. Paul encounters the Risen Jesus and becomes a new creation. The one who sought to persecute the Christian movement now becomes an ardent proclaimer to God’s people of all races and ethnicities. He receives a revelation and also a calling. Mystical experiences, in the Christian tradition, are seldom about the individual self’s isolated spiritual journey, but invite us from personal growth to global transformation. Authentic Christian spirituality is about us and not me, about world-loyalty (Whitehead) and not personal gain.

In the spirit of William Blake, Paul’s “doors of perception” cleansed and open wide and his spirit becomes Christ-like in stature. Paul’s experience is also post-modern in spirit, and may address the journeys of today’s millennial and baby boomer seekers. Paul’s faith is, first of all, experiential and not doctrinal. Despite the attempt to make Paul the pillar of orthodox theology, his theology is always based on his experience of the living Jesus and the faith of the Gentiles. If the Spirit descends, then you are a follower of Jesus, first class, even if you have no words to describe your experience.

There is another transformational encounter in this passage, that of Ananias, who also has a vision that is both mystical and vocational. Synchronously, Ananias also experiences God and is called to welcome Paul and help him make the transition from darkness to light, physically and spiritually. God can inspire many people at the same time. Is it possible that a congregation might hear the inspiration of God, addressed to several members each in her or his mode of understanding. God is generous with inspiration, shining God’s light on all humankind. (For more on Acts of the Apostles, see Bruce Epperly, Transforming Acts: Acts of the Apostles in the 21st Century, Energion Publications)

The author of Revelation is also transformed by a mystical encounter with the divine. He is ushered into God’s presence, experiencing, first, angelic praises and, then, hearing the cries of creation. In the spirit of Psalm 150:6, all creation praises God. Every creature is transparent to the divine. No one is left out in God’s quest for universal healing. The adventurous preacher might address the issue of angels. While pastors may not recognize it, their congregants find mystical experiences, near death experiences, healing encounters, and angels of more than passing interest. In response to questions from laypeople, I am beginning at study on “Angels, Mysteries, and Miracles” next week at South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Centerville, MA, where I pastor. A study on the afterlife and near death experiences last fall eventuated in the recent publication of a short book on death, grief, near death experiences, and the afterlife. (Bruce Epperly, From Here to Eternity: Preparing for the Next Adventure, Energion Publications, 2015) Pastors should never underestimate the power of adult faith formation to transform a congregation.

The Gospel passage, the Risen Christ appears to the disciples, makes them breakfast, and then dialogues with Peter on the nature of discipleship. A meal together with Jesus leads to feeding others. Loving Jesus leads to feeding God’s sheep, and here we are talking about both physical and spiritual hungers. Those who encounter Christ are called to reach out to the world sharing good news for body, mind, and spirit.

How does a preacher creatively synthesize these three striking passages? Perhaps, only one will speak to you, and that will suffice. We are not obligated to preach every lectionary passage for a particular Sunday, but if we read it, we need to say something about it. In my reading of these passages, clearly mysticism leads to mission, and encounters with Christ drive us from individualism to embracing the world in all its diversity. No one is immune from God’s inspiring grace, and everyone can be a vehicle of grace.

Christ is alive, not to be held onto, as Jesus says to his dear friend Mary of Magdala, but to be experienced everywhere. There is no limited election in these passages, no righteous saved or reprobate lost, as strict Calvinists assert, but a universal call to healing and wholeness, embracing all of humanity but going beyond that to address all creation.