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by Blake Hardy
According to New Testament scholar Thomas Oden "the idea of mystery [from mueo, Greek for 'to instruct in sacred things'] was never meant to suggest incomprehensibility or absurdity, but rather the teaching of spiritual meaning that was as yet not fully revealed for all to see, yet anticipatively revealed, at least in its basic direction, for those who have eyes to see. In the New Testament musterion refers to the divine plan of salvation hidden in past ages, but now brought to light in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:2)."
During the intense three month spiritual journey which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at Pentecost, we enter most deeply into this Biblical "mystery." Humans have always been fascinated with secrets and mysteries (in the sense of a puzzle or question to be solved), and Christians must always fight the tendency to turn our grace-filled relationship with God into a matter of secret knowledge revealed to a chosen few. There are no secrets in our faith, but there is a gradual unfolding of God's plan for us as individuals and as a community of faith so rich and multifaceted that it must be entered into again and again.
During Lent we hear the Good News of our salvation, the call to "turn around" and return to our loving Creator. Holy Week allows us to enter into the great "mystery" of Jesus death and resurrection, so that we can hear and proclaim the central message of our faith with greater understanding and confidence: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. The fifty days of Easter, culminating in Pentecost, unfold the "mystery" of our formation as an "Easter" faith community. We gather Sunday by Sunday around the table and font of the risen Lord who has gifted us with God's Spirit.
May our celebration of these mysteries deepen our faith and empower us to live out our faith so that the others may be drawn to enter this journey with us.
Peace, Blake
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