SIMULATIONS  

OF GOD 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Wednesday in the 6th Week of Easter is, "Simulations of God."

Since today’s first reading is about God and since the Gospel has Jesus telling us about the Father, I would like to talk about God today.

The title of my homily is: “Simulations of God.”

Simulate means, “as if” – “faking it” – “a copy” – “a deception”.

The one we love is not really the one we love. It’s only a simulation, a fabrication in our mind,  built of assumptions about the person we love. 

Then,  if we stay with and love the one we love, long enough, we’ll eventually discover who the one we love really is.

Arthur Clarke said this in this way: “The person one loves never really exists, but is a projection focused through the lens of the mind onto whatever screen it fits with least distortion.”

I’ve often said to couples preparing for marriage that there are 6 people in a marriage: the she, she thinks she is; the she, he thinks she is; the she, she really is. The he, he thinks he is; the he, she thinks he is; the he, he really is.

Say that 10 times very fast....

Well the same goes for God.

FIRST READING

In today’s first reading from Acts we have Paul walking around a Greek temple in Athens looking at the different shrines of different Gods - till he came upon an altar with the inscription, “To the Unknown God.” [Cf. Acts 17:15,22 - 18:1]

It’s easy to picture this scene from today’s first reading. When people visit a church for the first time, they take a tour of the place – with their eyes or with their feet.

I picture Paul walking around checking out all these different statues of the Greek gods. He’s fascinated.  Then he becomes even more fascinated and excited when he comes to an altar dedicated to The Unknown God. 

There was his opening for a speech and speak he did.

Interesting – in today’s reading from Acts we hear an old trick people play when they feel an inner "Uh oh!" “We’ll get back to you on this – some time when we have time.” 

Surprise! There’s no Athenian Church or Letter to the Athenians in the New Testament. I would think that would have been the best letter of Paul: To the Athenians.

THE GREATEST SIN?

Thomas Merton says the greatest sin is idolatry.

At times, I think the greatest sin is laziness.

Someone else said, “The greatest sin is our inability to accept the otherness of other people.”

George Bernard Shaw said, “The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that is the essence of inhumanity.”

Others say, "It’s cynicism.”

So what the greatest sin is, is up for arguments.

Today with this story about Paul going to the temple of the gods in Athens, let’s go with Merton. The greatest sin is idolatry - putting strange gods before the real God.

JOHN LILLY

I have a book called Simulations of God by John Lilly. It’s where I got the title for this homily. The book is a great examination of conscience on the first commandment.

He gives a long litany of simulations of God by people. Listen to some of them:

·       God as the Group,

·       God as Power,

·       God as Pleasure and Sex,

·       God as Science,

·       God as War,

·       God as Money,

·       God as Compassion,

·       God as Death,

·       God as The Body,

·       God as Righteous Wrath, etc.

·       He even has God as Computer.

In his book, John Lilly says he tried LSD and his mind showed him some weird stuff.

I never drank in my life – but once I had a horrible flu and was feeling miserable. Someone gave me a good dose of Nyquil. 

I ended up seeing some weird stuff – and the room was really moving and spinning at 5 miles an hour – me with an 102 degree fever. 

It taught me why some people take drugs. 

It taught me why native people take Peyote or Ketamine. 

It taught me why some Native Americans use mushrooms.

John Lilly is a M.D. Having experimented with drugs he recommends not taking drugs for so called “mystical experiences.” 

Instead to get into mystical experiences, he recommends the old fashioned way of prayer and meditation. 

He says from experience that’s a better way of getting in touch with God.

He also describes an interesting thing he pushes. He has this tank of water. The water is only  10 inches high. It’s kept at 93 degrees Fahrenheit. In the water there is enough Epsom salts so that a person can float. The tank is in a very quite place – far from sight and sound. He says that some people have experienced the feeling of discovering the great religious truths while in that tub of water.

OURSELVES

I’m sure people use a bathtub for a similar calming experience.

I would also think that Paul’s experience at that temple in Athens can bring about a similar experience as well.

Walk around. Watch people. Notice what gives life and what kills people. Notice what people think happiness is – joy is – what the purpose of life is – where God is.  

Notice people praying.

Like Paul keep on discovering Jesus Christ. Keep on meeting Jesus Christ. Go into Jesus’ presence in prayer and ask Jesus to reveal himself to us. 

Like Paul says, we’ll discover that God is not really that far from any of us. “In him we live and move and have our being.”

CONCLUSION

All this happens slowly. 

That’s why we keep on coming to church. 

That’s why we pray. 

We slowly unmask our projections and simulations of God. 

And when we do, when we meet God from time to time, we go "Wow!"

As Jesus tells us in today’s gospel, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.” [Cf. John 16: 12-15.]

But unlike the Athenians who say, "We'll get back to you on all this," Jesus continues. He says  the Spirit of truth will guide us – and give you more announcements to come.

As in every great marriage that works, we discover the person we married is far greater than anything we knew about the other than the first time we fell in love with them.

In prayer, we look at our pursuits and what we’re after. We ask who is our God? And in humility we might say with John of the Cross that we don’t know. And then with Jesus, to accept that as a poverty and hope that he is on the shore waiting to feed us or he is in the boat sailing along with us. Jesus is a sailor.

To go to Jesus and ask for Light

Knowing that if we stay with him long enough we will know him and then know the father

And be like Paul then proclaim him to others so we’ll get to know God. Amen