“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since ‘no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord.’” (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 3)
What does it mean to “encounter God”? Is it so easy that you really could do it every day?
The catechism says, “God, who ‘dwells in unapproachable light,’ wants to communicate his own divine life to the men he freely created, in order to adopt them as his sons in his only begotten Son. By revealing himself God wishes to make them capable of responding to him, and of knowing him, and of loving him far beyond their own natural capacity.” (CCC, 52)
Is this what is meant by encountering God? If so, it seems very important to know how to recognize and interpret such a meeting.
Pope Francis is fond of the word encounter, and it has become part of our church lexicon from synod meetings. I’ve been told that the Spanish word encuentro, in Pope Francis’ first language, has a deeper meaning than our English word. Spanish encuentro is not so much a hostile or unexpected meeting (English definition), but more of a transformative meeting with another person “as other.”
The Spanish encuentro includes elements of vulnerability, openness, and honesty in communication. I used to have a picture in my office of a kitten and mouse looking at each other with curiosity, rather than fear or hunger. That picture is my definition of encuentro, the deeper encounter.
One way to view this Sunday’s Scripture readings is to see them as word snapshots of what it means to encounter God, as seen in the Spanish meaning.
Abram in Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18
Altogether, Abram and his family walked over a thousand miles because God told them to, from near the mouth of Euphrates and Tigris Rivers at one end of the Fertile Crescent to the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt on the other end. Abram is the 10th generation after Noah. He lived about 1800 years before Christ. His story is told in chapters 12-25 of Genesis.
The Scripture for today tells of God’s promise to Abram (whose name God eventually changed to Abraham). He became the “Father” of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because of this promise or covenant. We do not know why God picked Abram, but we do know from archeological finds that the ancient Sumerians of Ur believed in personal relationships with gods. We know that Abram consistently believed because of his encounters with God. Genesis lists at least twelve of them.
When God makes this promise to Abram in today’s reading, he is over 75 years old. God doesn’t begin to keep his promise until he is one-hundred years old.
Abram had some deep experiences of God, but he also seems to at times have gone years between encounters. Abram surely had dry spells when God was silent and seemed absent. In fact, several of Abram’s difficulties happened when God had been absent for a while.
We learn some things about encounters with God from today’s snapshot:
- When Abram encountered God, he was seized by fear, in the dark, and alone
- Abram trusted that God was real and would keep his promises
- Abram talked to God and told him his doubts and difficulties
- Abram did what God told him to do and that changed him
- Even though many years intervened before God’s promise came true, Abram continued to talk with God, to worship, to trust God, and to let what God revealed in the encounter guide his life
Transfiguration Luke 9:28-36
The Transfiguration follows Peter’s profession of faith (“You are the Christ”) in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Once it occurs, Jesus turns toward Jerusalem and begins to predict his crucifixion.
In the Transfiguration, not only Jesus, but also Peter, James, and John encounter God. They see Jesus in radiant garments talking with Moses and Elijah. They hear the voice from heaven say, “This is my chosen Son, listen to him.”
We learn about encounters with God again:
- Again, the setting is out in nature, on a high mountain, set apart
- Jesus put his faith in the experience. Afterwards, he began to talk regularly about his coming crucifixion and resurrection
- Jesus talked to Moses and Elijah. Peter spoke to Jesus. There was active verbal exchange. Encounters with God are not passive experiences.
- While there is no sign that Jesus was afraid, the disciples “became frightened when they entered the cloud”
- The encounter changed Jesus’ behavior and speech.
- The disciples were overcome and said nothing until after Jesus’ death, but it prepared them for his resurrection
Our Transformations Philippians 3:17-4:1
Here, St. Paul is urging the members of the church at Philippi to remember they are meant for heaven—they are meant to encounter God forever. God has made all of us a promise, just as he made to Abram. Our promise is that if we truly follow him, we will have eternal life. St. Paul also reminds his readers that they must not be enemies of the cross of Christ. Earlier in Chapter 3 Paul says, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” He speaks of the “upward call of Christ Jesus.” This is the call for our living transformed by God because of our belief and trust in him.
In Conclusion
Spiritual writers, especially saints, remind us again and again that WE CANNOT call down God to have an encounter with him. If we could, we would be the boss of God, instead of God being the boss of us.
God comes when he comes, the way he comes, for as long as he comes. No more. No less. More than once, when God has come, I have tried to replicate the experience. I’ve gone back to the same place. I’ve done what I did before. I’ve waited.
And I’ve been disappointed.
God doesn’t come because you or I have been bad or been good. God doesn’t come to give us an emotional high. God comes because he sees it is time for a change; it is time we let go of something to become more formed in God’s image. God comes to send us on a journey to something new.
When God comes, there is metanoia—conversion. In metanoia, a person experiences God’s Presence, recognizes “missing the mark” in attitude or behavior, turns to embrace what God reveals, and begins to practice the new wisdom God has given.
In that sense the experience of God lasts—even into eternity. Every encounter with God, if we let ourselves enter into it, will have the effects the encounters Abram, Jesus, and the disciples had in today’s readings. Through each encounter and resulting metanoia (conversion), we are changed to become more in the image of God, more able to “match the mark,” closer to living with God forever.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You that You reach out to all of us through encounter. Help me to hold on to the change You seek to give to me when You and I meet, rather than the passing joy of Your Presence. Give me metanoia.
