Have an encounter with God

God could have called from heaven, “Your sins are forgiven! You’re good to go,” but He didn’t.

God could have waved His hands from heaven, “Death no longer has dominion over you,” but He didn’t.

God could have breathed His grace upon the world from heaven, but He didn’t.

Today’s Gospel Reading: Luke 6:17-23 (RSV) - At that time, Jesus stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.  And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all.  And he lifted up his eyes on His disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.  Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.  Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man!  Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven."

 God could have been a distant all-powerful God casting judgment down from His Throne in heaven, but instead chose to enter into creation so we could have a true and physical encounter with God. His desire for our healing, sometimes expressed in physical miracles, ultimately requires our willingness to approach Him and touch Him to be healed from everything.

Orthodoxy is about having an encounter with God. Just as the crowd “sough to touch Him,” we can touch Him through the Eucharist. We can enter His House (the Church) and set our eyes upon His Glorious Altar of Sacrifice and call upon His Name. Orthodoxy is about being healed by God, in God.