What Is The Core Of The Mystery?

What Is The Core Of The Mystery?

Good Morning Friends,

God has a way of making the unknown known through the Spirit and sometimes it is a hard lesson. And sometimes we will feel guilt for our sins, as a rebuke and conviction of Jesus’ Holy Spirit. For we are often like the bratty kids in today’s Gospel scripture and part of us also like John the Baptist asking the question of Jesus, of whether he was going to really set the captives free. Sure, even though we are sinners, Jesus still loves us, and wants to live in our hearts, but get this, Jesus plays by rules we sometimes do not want to follow. Oh, we can make a choice to take our ball and go home. But this shallow act misses the larger issue of Jesus wanting to save us all from our sins if we would be willing to play by Godly rules. So, we ask today’s question, What Is The Core Of The Mystery?

Scripture: I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.

1 Timothy 3:14-16 (NRSV)

“To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Luke 7:31-35 (NRSV)

Message: Friends, now this does not seem much like a Christmas message but it seems to me this morning that at the core of the mystery is God’s godliness bestowed on us in the love and suffering necessary to carry on the work of the Church. For we like the Jews often expect a different kind of Messiah and certainly in Jesus receive a different kind of Christ than we might hope for. You see, the core of the mystery is the very nature of Christ on the Cross and the frustration we must go through to carry on God’s work in the Church and in our lives. For unless we are godly we cannot produce disciples. So, we must grow in grace and that is fine, but in the reading of today’s scripture we might miss that we may also like Jesus suffer as well. Friends, we cannot hide who we are if we hope to disciple others. Thankfully the Holy Spirit can resurrect Jesus and us too and we need that. Being human and holy is difficult. We must have a balance of temperament for each gift comes with the possibility of it becoming a potential idol. The full fruits must be realized if we are not to become a people who are selfish and self-centered and who want everything their way. We must be one. Still Jesus invites people, as he invited John, to come to their own conclusions about who He is, based on what they see. And that is a problem for us. The challenge here for us, as the people of God, seeking to be Jesus’ witnesses in our world making disciples is that we are less than Godly. People tend to look at us, the people of God, the ones who claim to be followers of Jesus, and then make decisions about who Jesus is based on what they see in those who claim to be followers of Jesus, and that is not always positive. So, it is critical that we are living in obedience to Jesus but always humble and honest for people know the difference. So, we must be ready to stop playing our own games with God, expecting Him to follow our rules and play our game, and whole-heartedly dive into whatever God’s plan may be for us. But we must be honest that the road might well include suffering and sacrifice and rejection and pain and heartache. It did for Jesus and in is entirely possible, even likely, perhaps unavoidable, that following Jesus means that you and I will also suffer. Friends, being human and godly means we will suffer. Thankfully Jesus knew that before coming to earth. Now it is our task to join with Jesus in affirmation that being human and godly is worth the effort of love.

Pray we, despite the mystery, can answer the question of who Jesus is for us. Pray we confess that Jesus is more than the most dominant figure in all history. Pray we confess Jesus is divine and wants us to be godly too. Pray we realize that Jesus plays by rules we sometimes will not want to follow. Pray we feel the presence of Jesus. Pray we remove our expectations, and look and listen, and then accept and rejoice in what God is doing. Pray we realize that we need Jesus to accomplish what is really needed to transform us into disciple makers.

Blessings,

John Lawson