Karen Hollis | January 12, 2025
Epiphany 1/Thecla 1
First Stage of Spiritual Transformation:
I like to sleep in complete darkness. I don’t like night lights or streetlights or moonlight. I want pitch black sleeping conditions. In our apartment, our windows face east, the rising sun, which is lovely in so many ways, except for 5am in June. On those beautiful clear mornings, the sun comes streaming into my bedroom. Even if I’m already up, I’m probably hanging out in the gentle glow of a string of lights or a small lamp. I like to ease my way into the light of day. However, the light of the sun comes in at full force. The light announces itself unapologetically. We’ve all been there.
From a metaphorical perspective, this is the first stage of Spiritual Transformation, as depicted in the Acts of Paul and Thecla. The stages are similar to the Hero’s Journey in the Odyssey.
The light, however it comes, jolts or startles us to attention. It commonly comes in crisis or loss or a trauma. Though, it also comes in some other ways, like storytelling or a conversation or an image/symbol.
I was looking at a course description online once and I felt something in me kind of do a doubletake and turn toward the computer screen – oh yeah, we’re doing that. Boy, it got my attention and held it. In this first stage the jolt draws us in, such that we cannot turn away. It’s an inner process, and so it invites us to turn our attention inward. This wake-up call re-centers our attention from the outside world to what is within.
There are 6 stages that follow, as discussed by theologian Meggan Watterson. I’ll go through them briefly:
Stage 2: a shift in perspective, the ability to see what is possible for us.
Stage 3: In the third stage, the doorway that takes us to something new is now visible. We need to find the courage to walk through it.
Stage 4: Stage 4 is a pilgrimage that the new way of seeing compels us to take. The purpose is to unravel the old way of seeing the self and test our readiness to let go of the old way of seeing.
Stage 5: In the 5th stage, we are presented with a choice to either return to the old life or die to the old life and become something new. The process of death and new life gives us access to new internal resources or power that helps us navigate the new life.
Stage 6: The 6th stage is about owning the hard-won internal resources or power to care for the new self. In this stage we care for the self that was made available to us in our new circumstances. In this stage we learn to belong to ourselves.
Stage 7: In the 7th stage, we return to the place where the call first came, where we saw the brilliant light that startled us awake. We come back to that place, but this time we are our own self, rather than someone else’s expectation. We have come home, but are now home in ourselves and free in the truth that called us from within.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves – we begin with the brilliant light of epiphany, the unmistakable light that gets our attention and speaks to us of something new.
I invite Joyce to come and introduce us to Thecla’s story.
Scripture Readings
Thecla 5:1, 6:1-6, 7:1a And when Paul entered into Onesiphorus’s house, there was great joy and kneeling and breaking of bread, and the word of God concerning self-control and resurrection. As Paul said, “Blessed are the clear of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the ones who tremble at God's word, for they will be called. Blessed are the ones who receive the wisdom of Jesus Christ, for they will be called children of the Highest. Blessed are the ones who keep their baptism, for they will rest with the Father and the Son. Blessed are those on the journey to uniting with Jesus Christ, for they will be in the light. Blessed are the ones who have departed the form of the world through God’s love, for they will judge angels and, at the right hand of the Father, they will be praised. Blessed are the compassionate, for they will receive compassion and will not see the day of grievous judgment.”
And Paul said these things in the middle of the association in Onesiphorus’s house. A certain maiden, Thecla - whose mother was Theocleia and was promised in marriage to a man, Thamyris - sat at a window close to the house and listened night and day to the message about holiness spoken by Paul.
Reflection (Karen):
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be reflections of your word to us today, in Christ’s name we pray. Amen
I went searching in scripture for Beatitudes . . . I found them, of course in Matthew – sermon on the mount – and in Luke – sermon on the plain – and here they appear in Thecla, also in the Gospel of Thomas . . . I even found one in the Gospel of Truth we’re currently reading in Queer Bible Study . . . and no doubt there are more. Finding them in so many places is broadening my perspective on them. Most of them are written in Jesus’ voice and all are offered in the context of a gospel teaching. They seem to take a challenging human experience and reframe it through God’s eyes, which is often articulated as a hope for the future.
The range in beatitudes is really striking to me. Luke says: blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God (6:20). In Matthew: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (5:6). Gospel of Thomas: Blessed is the one who is disturbed by her discovery. That one has found life (Logion 58). In Thecla: Blessed are the ones who tremble at God’s words, for they will be called (6:1). Gospel of Truth: Blessed is the one who has opened the eyes of the blind. And when this one awakened, the Spirit pursued in haste (15:7). Beatitudes are for the hungry, those who seek righteousness, are disturbed, who tremble, and serve their siblings in Christ. Beatitudes are for everyone.
Everyone is included: Jew and gentile, peasants and affluent, the hungry, seekers of God, seekers of justice, leaders. It is not our external contexts that the beatitudes are speaking to . . . rather it is our humanity, our belovedness in God that is lifted up. Whatever our human situation or circumstance, God meets us in our humanity and offers us a gift that is unique to where we find ourselves. When we stand in our own context and see through God’s eyes, there is a gift and a hope and a promise for us.
The beatitudes in Thecla have a different flavour from Matthew and Luke, and I think it’s because this text has a different audience. Paul speaks in the courtyard within On-eh-si-phor-us’ house and over the course of a few days, the story tells us that more and more women come to hear. Paul is saying to them: “Blessed are the clear of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the ones who tremble at God's word, for they will be called. Blessed are those on the journey to uniting with Jesus Christ, for they will be in the light.” He speaks to them of seeing God, union with Christ, and hearing a calling. In a context where women were required by law to marry, this was a dangerous message to share and a powerful message to receive. As we will see in the coming weeks, Paul gets in trouble of preaching to the women of Iconium the possibilities of life outside of marriage.
The women in the courtyard are not the only ones who can hear Paul. In this reading, we get a glimpse of our main character, Thecla, listening intently from her bedroom window next door and not looking away. Paul’s beatitudes awaken her in a new way and re-center her attention in the first stage of her spiritual transformation.
(next slide) This scene is actually depicted in a 6th century fresco in the Cave of St. Paul, above the ancient ruins of ancient Ephesus in Turkey. You can see Paul clearly. His hand gesture is called the teaching and blessing mudra. It tells us that he is teaching. To the right of him is Thecla, with the same hand gesture. Notice that the two of them are the same size and the same height – they are depicted with equal authority. This is in a sense an “after” picture of Thecla. To the left of Paul is a “before” picture of her. We see a brick house, where Thecla is listening to Paul’s teaching from the window.
The existence of this fresco and others is a testament to how important and widely known this story was in the ancient world. To have copies multiple copies of the story in 3 languages is astounding, especially for a text that was condemned along the way by political and religious leaders for encouraging female leadership. Copies of Thecla’s story were hidden away and shared in secret, because it carries a powerful message for all who encounter it . . . beginning with this first stage of spiritual transformation.
I imagine Thecla sitting at her window, hearing the words: blessed are the ones who tremble at God's word, for they will be called. This truth, resounding in her, is simultaneously thrilling and terrifying, both affirming and unsettling, both profoundly resonant and inviting her beyond what she has previously known. She remains there, still for 3 days, receiving this light, this insight, this truth that was always in her and is now fully known.
Open Space:
I invite us now into a time of personal engagement with these ideas. We’ve done this open space before. We’ll have 8
minutes to engage in the different offerings on the screen and around the room.
- Write a beatitude using the strip of yellow paper those in the sanctuary were given. There’s a little guide there – write in a human situation or circumstance and then a future hope or promise, or as I said before, the view through God’s eyes. If you want, you can tape your beatitude to the board at the front – we’ll make a big shining sun of blessing.
- You can also contribute prayers here to the prayers of the people.
- Light candles and place rocks in water.
- Reflect on the questions on the next slide
- Those online, if you have a prayer request or you would like to share a beatitude, you can email minister@comoxunitedchurch.com during the 8 min.
- You are welcome to sit and reflect and listen to Marni’s music. When you are finished engaging with the stations, you’re invited to return to your seat for personal reflection. We will then gather together for a short time of silence and proceed with the prayers of the people.
This time is yours.
As we gather together again, I invite us for a couple of minutes to lean into the inwardness of this first stage of spiritual transformation. This stage draws us inward to the truth that can only be found there. I invite us to bring ourselves into this moment, connect with our breath, turn inward and listen for whatever your inner self has to share with you this morning.
Express authentic gratitude for whatever your inner self has to share with you this morning. Express authentic gratitude for whatever you heard and let us gather together in prayer.