a rich history

The inspired authors of the sacred Scriptures inspire us.  The authors of the New Testament were real people, who had direct encounters with God, in Jesus.  Their testimonies are awe-inspiring, and we love to read them.

Those manuscripts were originally composed many centuries ago; today, we live in a world that is far removed from them, and different in many aspects.  And as Christians, we realize how long ago it was that Jesus walked the earth with his apostles; we read about it again and again, and seek to draw inspiration from those encounters each time we open the sacred Scriptures.

However, I feel convinced about something that seems just as real to me today as Jesus must have been to those who walked and talked with him, centuries ago.  Those experiences have not been trapped in history, in those early formative years of Christianity and of the Church; I am convinced of this.  Even in the New Testament, we read about the overwhelming experiences and convictions of a man named Paul, who encountered Jesus some years after the time of his earthly ministry – when Jesus came to visit him, and offer him those graces, so to say, of his real presence.  What I feel convinced about is this: I do not think that Paul’s experience was the last of its kind in the heritage of our Christian history.

Our history is very rich with inspired authors who have also had experiences with the Lord; albeit they are not found in the sacred Scriptures, they are still nonetheless people who have had powerful experiences with the Lord.  I must admit: I find great comfort in knowing that even beyond the history of the early Church, and in practically every generation since that time, men and women who have been courageous models for holiness have sprung up, and inspired others.  Like Paul, who wrote with such conviction that each person really can have an authentic, personal encounter with Jesus, these men and women throughout history have spoken and written in the same way.

I must also admit: if Paul and the other apostles and evangelists of that early era of Christianity were the last to experience the Lord with such transforming conviction, and for the centuries since there has not been other examples, I would feel saddened by that.  But I don’t think that is true.  Such men and women, who have given their testimonies, and many who also laid down their lives like Paul and the other apostles, have also been known as mystics – those who knew the Lord in such personal ways that their convictions spilled over in their words, written down and spoken to all they encountered; they have done so, much like Paul and the other apostles did all those years ago.

One of my favorite authors, besides the inspired authors of the Bible, is John of the Cross, a friar from Spain who lived in the 1500’s, known today the world over as such a mystic.  Paul, too, was – I would say – a mystic, which is overwhelmingly evident in his writings.  John of the Cross is also, I would say, a mystic in like regard.  Recently, I read a book about John of the Cross life called ‘Spirit of Flame'.  The author – E.A. Peers – discusses how radically different the propositions that John of the Cross made for men and women who had sincere faith in Jesus.  The radical nature of John’s writings is so different than what perhaps many Christians today might expect.  His words were radical, much like Paul's were; here is what Peers wrote about John of the Cross:

“What, then, of the genuine follower of Christ, who has no previous acquaintance with mystical writings or experience of the life of contemplation?  It must be admitted that he, too, at first, has often scant sympathy with [John of the Cross’] teaching.  The [way of John of the Cross], it seems to him, conforms hardly at all with his idea of Christianity: it must be meant for quite different people.  To him being a Christian means the acceptance of certain beliefs; the practicing of them, so far as they lend themselves to practice; the attempt to lead a moral life and possibly also to exercise a good influence upon those with whom one comes into contact.  Anyone who does all that, in the general belief, does about as well as can be expected of him.  And here is John of the Cross writing of God as of someone who can actually be known, and expecting us to prepare to make His acquaintance (and in this life, too!).

“It all sounds completely unlike the sober Christianity of the Church, the Gospels and all the good people with whom we are acquainted; it is also so far from the conventional standards of mediocrity and moderation.”

The way of John of the Cross is not, at first, attractive; in fact, the way to union with God, he tells us, involves what he calls a “dark night of the spirit”.  That being said, it also rings authentic, especially in light of the words of the Master himself, who told us that we need to deny ourselves and take up our cross in order to follow him; Paul, too, would tell us similarly how we should not only believe in Christ, but should willingly suffer for him.  The terms and the language of John of the Cross, and the way of the “dark night”, touch upon those core principles of the Gospel.