I shared in
previous stories my personal need for experiencing the presence of God in what
we refer to as a “Spiritual Encounter”. By
that I mean a mental state in which we feel close to the presence of God. We feel exhilarated, mentally enhanced and
strangely detached from experiencing the world around us. We feel at peace. We
feel happy. We may receive information on an enhanced plane. And
best of all we experience an indescribable feeling of love toward others - even
toward those that we consider in a “normal” or “usual” state of awareness with indifference,
dislike, even loathing.
I have learned
to hunger for those kinds of experiences since I was a young adult. I have found that I can experience them in
the peaceful settings of nature, or gatherings that we refer to as “Reunions”
or “Retreats”. I have also found those experiences
on sparsely inhabited Alaskan islands where I would not encounter another human
being for long periods of time.
But I have also
experienced that wonderful state of being in such locations as the Auditorium
where I would worship, pray and sing in the company of some 6,000 other
brothers and sisters in the faith.
And then there also
were times when I experienced a “spiritual” experience when I was not even
aware of it occurring. I learned from those
experiences that they were not necessarily meant for me – and that I was being
used by the Holy Spirit to minister to someone else. In such an experience God wanted to touch someone
else – to provide direction to someone else, to physically or spiritually heal a
life through a life altering event that the individual needed and would never
forget or even deny.
The event I am
recalling (how could I ever forget it?) in Columbus, Ohio where my family and I
resided, worked and worshipped for some twenty years. We had been invited to an
event at the Ohio State University where a young man whom we knew as “Teddy”
was giving an organ presentation at Music School Auditorium on a Sunday
afternoon. You may have observed the same
young man (we did during World Conference) exercising his masterful skills on
the Temple Organ in Independence, MO. Teddy was giving what we essentially known
to be his Master’s Degree Thesis by performing on the organ at the Music
Auditorium. Because many of us knew the young man most of his young life, and
had worshipped with him and his parents on a regular basis, we had been invited
to attend this important occasion – an invitation that we eagerly accepted. I
should note that a wonderful lady organist at North Church in Columbus had been
his teacher and mentor for several years – my friend Elsie Zellers.
His parents
were of course also present and so it was after Teddy’s performance we
congratulated the parents on the professional skills displayed by their young
son. During our conversation we also happen
to speak with a brother, who had been our pastor for several years. He curiously asked me if I had been aware of
an unusual event that his young son of 14 named “Paul” (not his real name) had
witnessed or experienced that morning during the communion service. I confessed that I was not aware of anything
out of the ordinary. It had been an uneventful communion service for me, we had
a big crowd and I had given the communion message, which I hoped had ministered
to those attending the service.
Then my pastor
began to tell me a story that fairly sent the chills through me: I remember the young man and his mother
sitting in the front row and moving around somewhat agitated. His father told me that he had whispered to his
mother – as I was giving the communion message: “Mom – do you see that arm”. She looked at him and replied “What arm?” To
which he replied: “The arm on Joe’s shoulder!”
Being a
longtime member in the Community of Christ his mother was familiar with the
kind of spiritual experiences that she and others had previously experienced in
their worship services during their lifetime. So, she responded in a positive way by asking
her son: “What does the arm look like – describe it to me?” To which the 14-year-old youngster replied: “There
is a large hand resting on Joe’s shoulder and it is disappearing at the elbow
in a mist!”
That is
essentially what the young boy’s father related to me that Sunday afternoon and
then, asked me if I had been aware of anything unusual happening. I was astounded but I had to confess that I
had experienced nothing unusual.
I think we both
departed somewhat disappointed, not really being able to tie his son’s
experience to anything unusual.
But I could not
dismiss the event that the young boy had witnessed. Paul was not the kind of individual that to
my knowledge pursued any spiritual encounters; he did not seem to be intend on “tuning”
in to God on a spiritual wavelength. It
was several weeks later – approximately 6-8 weeks later that my wife and I
visited our pastor and his family on a friendly basis. And while in their home,
being still very curious about what he had shared with me at the organ recital
– I asked if he could ask his son Paul to share it with us his experience. My pastor agreed and called to his son who was
riding his Cushman motor scooter in the backyard. Paul came in, flushed from his activities and
looked at us – impatient to return to his outside activities. I should tell the
reader that Paul was “all boy” on his way to become “all man” it seemed to me.
There was nothing soft or sissy about him. And – he really did not seem to be
interested in anything “religious” I soon found out how I had misjudged him.
His father inquired
of him if he could relate to us the experience of some weeks before. To our surprise, Paul instantly broke into
tears whereupon his father asked him, “Paul, why do you think you had that experience?” Paul replied between sobs: “Because I had my
doubts about the church that morning, I also had my doubts about the ministry
of the church really being called by God.”
It became
obvious to me that sunny afternoon that the experience that Paul had was mostly
for him. He felt the effect of it to a degree that none of us had. He had
doubts about the church and her priesthood was really based on God’s
calling. But the vision that he had erased
that doubt for him – probably for a lifetime. The experience he had been meant
for him, and not for any of us. And I
realized in that moment, that for as long as Paul lived – he would never deny
what he had experienced. God in that vision had revealed to him that he loved
him and impressed on him not to doubt the message that had come to him through
the church that he had been baptized in.
And that He – his Heavenly Father – was as close to him as his next
breath.
We lost track
of most of the church members when we moved West but we have never forgotten
the many wonderful experiences we shared with so many of the brothers and
sisters there. And I will never forget “Paul’s” spiritual encounter – so long
ago!
