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Unity Church of Castro Valley

Sunday Message for October 1, 2006

The Grand Encounter

We have been talking about one of the most extraordinary, unforgettable Christians of all times, the apostle Paul.  As a religious pioneer of Christianity, Paul did a lot to take Jesus’ spiritual message into all corners of the world.  He also altered it into a complicated, ecclesiastical organization.  But the greatest importance of Paul to us can be his example as a spiritual pioneer.  A study of the great lessons and adventures in his personal life can help us learn to meet the challenges and opportunities we encounter on our pathway to spiritual growth.

So let’s look at the most unforgettable encounter in Paul’s remarkable life, his “Damascus Road Experience.”  This is the spiritual conversion that changed him from Saul to Paul.

PERSECUTOR

There was nothing lukewarm about Paul.  Whatever he did, he did “breathing flame,” and moved ahead full throttle.  When he took up the cause against the sect of fledgling Christians, he not only became a persecutor but sought to become chief persecutor.

Persecuting the Christians seems like such a terrible thing to us, but the motives and determination of Saul were utterly sincere. He studied with the Pharisees.  The followers of the man Jesus were seen by Saul as enemies of the worst kind. This is very similar to what Christians would later feel about the many factions and groups that seemed to rival their particular denomination.  To Saul these were heretical enemies of all that the Pharisees stood for – all the truth that he studied, honored, and loved as a Jew – enemies boring within the ancient Mosaic fabric, threatening to destroy it.

Paulo Coelho wrote in Warrior of the Light, “The Warrior of the Light always manages to balance Rigor and Mercy.  To attain his dream, he needs a strong will and an enormous capacity for acceptance.  Although he may have an objective, the path that leads to that objective is not always as he imagined it would be.  That is why the Warrior uses a mixture of discipline and compassion.  God never abandons His children, but His purposes are unfathomable, and He builds the road with our own steps.  The Warrior uses that combination of discipline and acceptance to fuel his enthusiasm. Routine was never the leader of any important new movement.”

SAUL’S CONVERSION

And then – something happened!  In one incredible moment, Saul’s life and history – right down to us – was changed forever.  Here is the account as recorded in (Acts 9:3-9) “Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”

What had happened? It was “The Grand Encounter,” a rare, hard to explain, seemingly uninvited and instantaneous spiritual experience sometimes called “conversion.” This is a powerful transforming moment of deep surrender and rebirth that changes a person and makes all the difference in everything.  Saul had a blazing, “blind” encounter with the living Presence.  The voice he heard was Christ, introducing him into an entirely new dimension of existence. He was saying, in effect, “Here is what your soul has been seeking such a long, long time, the truth that I Am. Here I Am, a new vision in which the world looks different, with new values, new goals, new experiences of Truth, beauty, joy, love, and grace – a new, exciting life for the old one.”

Saul had experienced what has recently been labeled a “paradigm shift,” a sudden experience in altered consciousness, entry into the spiritual, cosmic Christ consciousness that is the Savior of the world, that mind that was in Christ Jesus, which revealed to Saul the divine way and his own divine possibilities.

WHAT’S CONVERSION?

As mysterious as they seem, conversions are primarily experiences in consciousness – a new mind with new ideas and a new way of thinking.  They open us up to new resources, new energies, new qualities right within ourselves.  They bring forth healing, creativity, and the waiting potentials of our true nature.  They can seem sudden and startling, like bolts of lightning.  But lightning isn’t really sudden at all; it is the culmination of mighty forces that have been gathering for a long time.

Cardinal Newman wrote that there are really no sudden conversions, but there are sudden realizations that you now are what you have already become through hard work.

What is conversion? From Cardinal Newman’s observation, we can see that it is a change within that has been born in our minds and proclaims itself to us in a new vision.  A conversion is a new awareness, a new way of seeing, a new state of consciousness.  Conversion is a discovery of something that has been happening within, a spiritual influence that has long been at work.  If the discovery is instantaneous (one great moment), the event is dramatic and often impassioned.  The change can also occur almost imperceptibly as a gradual, creative, inner development that progressively “makes us over.”

Whether the awakening is sudden or subtle, it is really a continuing, cumulative process of inner spiritual evolution, transcending, regenerating, and uplifting us into new dimensions, new possibilities, and amazing new adventures. It is always very personal – and universal.

PROTOTYPE CONVERSION

Saul’s classic conversion, unique and personal to him, was a prototype spiritual transformation.  It was the natural result of the “leaven” of all the years of study, prayer, and the Truth seeking that had gathered in him since childhood.  With him, it became a “blinding light,” flooding every nook and cranny of his consciousness with a radiant illumination that initiated a life-changing, spiritual rebirth.

It was the authentic spiritual encounter from which he later observed: (2 Corinthians 5:17) “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”

Baby turtles have a seemingly uncanny ability to find the ocean.  A Harvard professor discovered that they can neither see, nor hear, nor even smell the ocean, but they are attracted by the light.  They always go to the ocean because there is more light there than toward the land.  There is something inside the turtle that makes him want to go where he can find the most light.

Each of us is a creation of light, and deep within each of us is a longing to unfold in the direction of more light.

Most of Saul’s young life had been dedicated to the religious life according to the understanding of the established beliefs of his time.  But the Lord of Saul’s being knew that he had grown to a level where he was ready for new enlightenment.  And, for Saul, at the perfect time, illumination came as a great surprise to him.

Spiritual experiences are natural experiences.  We are, essentially, spiritual beings.  When Saul’s soul was ready, he received that portion of his spiritual heritage that was exactly necessary and appropriate for his next level of growth and unfoldment.  And, although it seemed to be accomplished by the sensational, spectacular lightning clamor of a Wagnerian opera, its real work had been done as quietly and simply as the growth of grass – or better, the growth of a child.

OTHER CONVERSIONS

There have been many spiritual experiences throughout history – classical episodes such as Abraham’s “call.”  God spoke to Abraham and said in (Genesis 12:1-3) "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

There was Moses and the burning bush.  God spoke to Moses in (Exodus 3:6-12) "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain."

Jacob’s double encounter with the ladder and the wrestling angel, Peter’s sudden insight into the Christ nature of Jesus, and even Jesus’ own evolving understanding of true, spiritual, latent Christ-potential in all people.  There have been many lesser known Spirit-revealing experiences that have occurred in every land of every age, often not strictly religious experiences, but transcending encounters with a mysterious spiritual X factor that transformed the minds and hearts of artists, poets, musicians, government leaders, scientists, farmers, and housewives, each revealing higher and nobler expressions of the possibilities of our true nature.

We each have our own soul pattern, our own individual plan for growth and unfoldment.  Therefore, we all develop differently and have different experiences.  The exact manner of our life-changing transformation is unique and peculiar to each of us, but they are bound to come to any seeker of Truth.  If we are alert, we will discover that we experience fresh encounters daily.

Spiritual attainment is more than an event.  It is a way of life, a way of seeking more light.  The vision opens our eyes.  The world looks different and life becomes sacred.  God’s presence exhibits every bush aflame; what appeared separate and divided now becomes unified, and differences tend to be resolved and transcended.  Best of all, we increase in spirit and Truth. We go beyond what we have been to more of what we can be.  Our illusions, fears, inhibitions, and defenses decrease and are replaced by the qualities of Christ.

What happens is simply some degree of awakening in our consciousness to the reality of ‘what is’ as God created it. We are awakening from our belief of ‘what is’ as we have created it in our limited awareness. This can be called conversion, paradigm shift, peak experience, born again, cosmic consciousness, illumination, whole-brain experience, healing, or a spiritual experience.  Each is an encounter with a new idea, a new perception of Truth, a new identity with love, life, peace, joy, power, beauty – with God.

Each encounter with higher consciousness is as important as any other.  None is permanent.  Each one challenges us to a new level of living. From each one we are reborn from Spirit.

Paul’s encounter – a great blazing moment – was a rare and beautiful vision of Christ.  We each share in his living realization, as all humanity shares in each awakening we experience.

It is often difficult for us to believe in human nature when it is pitted against the stark challenges of our present human experiences that we now so persistently confuse with reality.  But we are not required to believe in human nature – as we now understand it.  All we need to believe in is God’s indwelling, transforming power in every person – the Christ!  Our friend Paul was a marvelous example of what God can do with a human being.

Let me close with what Paulo Coelho writes, “The Warrior of the Light is a believer.  Because he believes in miracles, miracles begin to happen. Because he is sure that his thoughts can change his life, his life begins to change. Because he is certain that he will find love, love appears.  Now and then, he is disappointed. Sometimes, he gets hurt….  But the Warrior knows that it is worth it. For every defeat, he has two victories in his favor.  All believers know this.”

REFERENCE: Great Dramas of the Bible William Earle Cameron; Warrior of the Light Paulo Coelho

SCRIPTURE: Acts 9:3-9; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 3:6-12

Last updated October 1, 2006