"THE DIVINE MYSTERY"
Fourth Sunday in Advent
December 24, 2017
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my Gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith--to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Romans 16:25-27 (ESV)
We humans have always been suckers for the mysterious. If we are given a choice between a simple, down to-earth explanation for something and a mysterious one, we will invariably opt for the mysterious. People crave mystery. This no doubt explains the enduring popularity of the eastern mystery religions and the occult even in an age in which nothing is supposed to be mysterious or unexplainable. Despite all of the dramatic technological advances that we have witnessed among us in recent years, the mysterious and the groups that thrive on it continue to survive and flourish, while at the same time the lot of other organizations have fallen by the wayside. In a lot of ways we in the Church aren't really all that different when it comes to being fascinated with the mysterious. The design of a typical church building, the use of candles, vestments, chanting, and just about everything else that we make use of in worship all had a very simple and practical beginning, yet we have retained it all and have found all kinds of symbolism to read into it.
In these closing verses of Paul's letter to the church at Rome, the apostle speaks of a mystery that is not so mysterious at all. It is the mystery of God's great love for us, which He has revealed in no uncertain terms through the life, ministry, suffering and death, and resurrection of His incarnate Son. But despite His clear revelation, the redeeming love that God has for us remains a mystery to us because we cannot fully comprehend it, and the reason why we can't is because it is foreign to us. We simply don't love like that. We can't. As a matter of fact, not only are we unable to give that kind of love or understand it; it is very difficult for us even to receive it. And because God's kind of love is foreign to us, it becomes mysterious to us. Let's spend the next few minutes looking at this divine mystery of God's love, "kept secret for long ages" in the past but . . . now . . . made known to all nations."
Why would something as wonderful as God's redeeming love be "kept secret for long ages"? First of all we need to understand that it "has been kept secret for long ages" not necessarily because God has chosen to keep it secret, but rather because we humans, in our sin and ignorance, simply couldn't see it. This happens all the time. Two people, one a Christian and the other an unbeliever, are both extremely successful in their respective business ventures and consequently become very wealthy. One attributes his wealth to the goodness of God while the other insists that he earned every penny on his own. Didn't God reveal His goodness to both of these individuals? Indeed He did, but only one was able to recognize it. To the other the goodness that God showed toward him is "kept secret"--a mystery.
Besides, there's a lot to be said for concealing good things for a time in order that they might be better appreciated at the proper time. That's the rationale behind the Biblical teaching of sexual abstinence until marriage. God created us as sexual beings but His will is that all of the beauty of that gift should remain a mystery until we are committed for life to someone with whom to share it. Why would God will such a thing? It obviously doesn't make any sense to the majority of people in this day and age. But God considers something that we as a society seem to have forgotten: the beauty and joy of giving. What wonderful gift of God could a new husband and wife possibly share with one another if they've already been given themselves to one another on a regular basis? As strange as it may sound, this is also the same reasoning that we use when we wrap Christmas gifts. We want that gift to remain a mystery until the proper time, so that it can be enjoyed and appreciated for what it is.
Getting back to the subject at hand, finally the proper time arrived and this divine mystery of God's redeeming love for lost sinners was made known. And how was it made known? --in the incarnation of the Son of God. "When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Galatians 4:4, 5). There are a lot of things that a person might do in order to identify with someone else, but nothing could possibly exceed actually taking that person's place and becoming like that person. God didn't just love us comfortably from a distance. He loved us so much that He was willing to come into this miserable world of ours and get involved in this mess that we call life. He wasn't too good or too holy or too refined to interact with us on our own level and on our own terms. He didn't take a poll to see if we would be likely welcome Him into our world or appreciate His ministry among us. On the contrary, He came even though it meant rejection, humiliation, pain, and death for Him. He came for no other reason than that He loves us and that we are in need of His love.
It had to be that way. There was no other way. It is not possible for us to raise ourselves to God's level--to reach up to God and make up for our sin or overcome it--even though every religion in the world (barring Christianity) tries in vain to do just that. Neither can we meet God halfway. Because of our sin we have made ourselves spiritually blind and dead and enemies of God. By nature we are not only ignorant of God's redeeming love; we are indifferent to it. So overcoming the barrier between the perfect God and sinful man had to be God's doing--totally and completely. Only He could bridge the gap. He did it by becoming human--being conceived within a human womb and being born of human flesh. This is the divine mystery that is made known in Christ: God makes us us His own by identifying with us, even to the extent of becoming One of us.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is still a divine mystery today--not because God keeps it secret from anyone, but because the great majority of the people who inhabit this world are too busy to notice it and too earth-bound to understand it. Most people around us are all excited this week, but they're not all that sure what it is that they're so excited about. They know all about Santa Claus and reindeer; trees, lights, and decorations; gifts, dinners, and visits; but they are oblivious to the divine mystery that God made known to humanity at Christmas: that He came into fellowship with us so that we might have fellowship with Him; that He came under judgment so that we might be forgiven; that He was rejected so that we might find acceptance. In short, He became like us so that we might become like Him. I pray that the Holy Spirit, working through the Gospel, will open the eyes of all so that this divine mystery is not wasted on anyone, but that all of those for whom He did it might gain from it the fullest revelation of His redeeming love.
Amen.
May the One who once came as an Infant in Bethlehem prepare you for His coming again in glory by His Means of Grace, through which He comes to you even now. May He equip you to be His witnesses so that you, like the Baptist in the wilderness, may prepare the way of the Lord. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.