So, it’s the “day after” Trinity Sunday and I’m all caught up in the mystery!
Yesterday, my message at The Bridge Community was terribly short and shallow. We were meeting outdoors and having a cookout and party afterward, so it just didn’t feel appropriate to plumb the depths of the mystery of the Godhead while sweating in the 85 degree sun!
Maybe it’s because I didn’t get to explore it more in the sermon, but I’m left pondering the nature of God. One of my lingering questions is why Jesus or the Spirit-inspired New Testament writers didn’t speak more directly to this thing we call the Holy Trinity? Why couldn’t they have come out with a clear statement on God being three-yet-one/three-in-one? Instead, we have a doctrine that emerges from the biblical narrative and remains elusive, like a mystery.
On his blog, JD Walt writes about parables and poets, and he gives some thoughts on why Jesus didn’t always make his teachings more clear. I’ve adapted a couple of his thoughts on parables and applied them to the concept of mystery.
- Mystery subverts our “mastery” approach to knowledge. It requires submission leading to a “be mastered by” approach.
- Mystery creates a context where epiphany can happen; where “reality” can be discovered. I love this approach to understanding, because it seems that we remember and are shaped by truth more when we’re allowed to come to our own “ah ha!” moment.
- Mystery works in the dynamic world of wisdom and imagination rather than the static realm of knowledge and information.
Knowing God, like all mystery, is not easy. It is not something we can control, or tame. But it is a fascinating pursuit, worthy of our lives!
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