Dear Friends,
Talking to a friend the other evening, I remarked on the fact that it was quite difficult to write a letter every week to go out with the emailed service, and that what I was going to say this week was still something of a mystery. This led me to think about what is meant by the word ‘mystery.’
It was Dewi Morgan in ‘The Times’ of 1985 who sad that mystery means, ‘not the inexplicable but the inexhaustible.’ The dictionary defines ‘mystery’ as an unexplained or inexplicable phenomenon, a truth that is divinely revealed but otherwise unknowable, a sacramental rite. We often speak about the mystery of faith, the mystery of the numinous, the mystery of the sacrament, and indeed, about the ultimate mystery whom we worship in the mystery of our God.
Many down the years have tried to define our God, the one who we understand as the creator and sustainer of all that is, the one who is the source of all love, and we all know that such discussions are completely inexhaustible. The fact is that no language has sufficient words to describe the divine mystery of God. Some things then, are just meant to remain a mystery. However, our God understands our difficulties and has therefore revealed himself through his Son Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is through Christ and in the power of the Spirit that we worship him. It is through Christ that we receive guidance for life.
It was the American preacher Jeremy Taylor who once said that ‘a religion without mystery must be a religion without God’ and it is the divine mystery of our God who we worship Sunday by Sunday. And as we do so, and as we do our best to understand all truth, it is through the mystery of faith, the mystery of the numinous, the mystery of the sacraments, that we can catch glimpses of the glory that is yet to come.
With Love and Blessings
Marion
Categories: Minister's Blog