Saturday 10 August 2013

Background

A mystery could be a case for Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot.It could be something that will remain unanswered for a long time.Or it could, in a religious sense, be a secret revealed only to aselect few; a new level of understanding reserved for the elite. Atleast, that was the sort of mystery that was sought after in theGreek and Roman cultures of the first century. In this personalletter to one of his dearest friends and protégés, Paul writes toTimothy to encourage him as a young leader in the Church, and heincludes this strange verse on "the mystery of our religion" (or"the mystery of godliness"). Timothy may have been ministering inEphesus at the time, and that was a hotbed of religious ideas andcults, where 'mysteries' that could enhance your life were valuablecommodities. In that context, what does the Christian faith have tooffer so many opposing and varied views?

Paul presents this in the form of a "mystery": a secret code orriddle where the true meaning will be known only to insiders. It'sdeliberately not as explicit or comprehensible as many of the greatstatements of faith. And yet, for all it is presented as a mystery,the answer and the life-giving truth within it are meant to beshared with everyone! This verse would, in times that followed, bememorised like a chorus, creed, or prayerful mantra by the growingchurch, reflecting on these words in the context of a new life offaith, following Jesus.

Six lines. Three pairs of lines relating to each other. Like anancient game of Top Trumps, each line reveals how Jesus the Messiahbeats anything else the Greek or Roman world had to offer, buildingup the theological layers as we go. Jesus isn't mentioned by name,but there's only one person in history this could refer to.

First, "he was revealed in flesh". Sent by God, not onlyappearing on earth, but manifested as a genuine human being.Christians meditating on this passage would also reflect that thishuman life, also led to a very human death. So the second lineanswers that: "he was vindicated in the Spirit". The Spirit thatcreated the world showed Christ to be justified by raising him fromdeath. In Christ, God enters first into creation, and theninitiates 'new creation'.

The next pair is even more enigmatic! He was "seen by angels".This most likely refers to Christ's ascension to the heavenlyrealm, appearing before the angels as the risen Son of God. But,it's important to understand that his kingdom is now extendingbeyond heaven: and so he was "proclaimed among the Gentiles" (iethe nations of the world) and still is today. Part of the work ofGod's kingdom is to bring into effect in all places the rule ofChrist. And so he is proclaimed to the Gentiles as Lord - like theannouncement of a new emperor claiming the allegiance of thepeople. This would be powerful and controversial stuff in the RomanEmpire (where religion and politics were never separate). It shouldbe powerful stuff today.

Finally, he was "believed throughout the world", and "taken upin glory". Again we are shown both the heavenly and earthlyrealities side-by-side. Jesus is not just 'announced', he is beingaccepted. People are accepting his claim on their lives, andputting their faith and trust in him. This is the life-changingpart. When this happens, the unseen reality that Jesus the Lord ofall is glorified in heaven rightly becomes the focus of ourworship.

This little song, and the truths hidden within it, deserves muchmore thought and meditation than we've given it over the years.And, like all the songs of salvation this week, it invites us tolift our hearts and our lives to the great and wonderful things Godhas done for us in Christ, and is doing, and will do when allthings are brought together in his love.

To Ponder

• If you had to write it on a Post-It note, how would you expressyour faith in just six short lines?

• To what extent do we sometimes accept parts of our faith as'mystery' (ie that will never be explained) without seeking toexplore them further?

• How can we spread the liberating message of Christ's lordshipand love to a world of so many mixed messages? How can we enablepeople not just to hear our proclamation, but to actually put theirfaith in the Lord we preach?