Struggling With the Mystery

Everybody has favorite teachers. Those individuals who dramatically clarify and direct your thinking can have a life-long impact. One of my favorites is Edward Farley. He is a theologian whose insights I keep coming back to again and again. Ed describes the impact of Jesus‘ biblical message in these terms:

… we never master it, exhaust it, or directly or literally comprehend it. Rather, we continue to struggle to fathom its reality. Gospel is not simply given all at once like a gift-wrapped package. It is something to be proclaimed, but the summons to proclaim it is a summons to struggle with the mystery of God‘s salvific action and how that transforms the world. To proclaim Gospel then is to enter the world of Gospel, struggling with questions of suffering, evil, idolatry, hope and freedom. (Practicing Gospel, Westminster/John Knox Press, p. 81).

Jesus‘ message involves struggle. There are no quick and easy answers to suffering and evil. The twisted values of the culture – idolatry – are not simple to correct. Whether that be seen in issues of the global economy, energy policies, environmental issues, or in issues of marriage, family and the human heart, the corruptions have daily impact on our lives. This season of Lent comes to help us wrestle with the truth of sin in the world.

And Easter comes to witness to the mystery that God‘s redeeming love keeps rising again. It is a surprise and a gift. Yet we struggle with it too. Like the first disciples at the tomb, we don‘t know what to think of the angel‘s message. We hear it, we want to believe it, but it seems like a tall tale. Then a moment of clarity comes – and we see who we are in the light of the resurrection.

We gather to hear the ancient story. Yet far more importantly, we gather with the followers of Christ, because of the mystery. The mystery of his presence surprises us. In it, we find hope. From that hope, we experience the freedom that even death cannot stop.

As one famous sermon puts it, ―It‘s Friday. But Sunday‘s coming.‖ Easter Sunday, as we struggle with its mystery, knowing it has the power to change the world. And us.

Sincerely,

Andrew McDonald
Pastor