Stewards of God's Mysteries

Estee and I were talking the other day for a sermon she is preparing for on Feb 27th at FUMC Arlington.  The scripture she is using is the first verses of 1 Corinthians 4.  The bit that spoke out to her was the statement at Paul writes "Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries."


We got talking about this and she shared with me that as she began to look at commentaries on this chapter, many comments said that the mystery of God is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ humanity is saved by Grace through faith.  


Agree or not, I was appalled by this idea.


Not the idea that we are saved by Grace through Faith in Christ, but that anyone would be so bold as to declare they know God's mysteries.  


It seems to me that to know and declare the mysteries of God removes the wonder and beauty of God.  This is a bad analogy but if you know how a magic trick works - the mystery is gone.  That does not mean you cannot appreciate the art of slight of hand, but the mystery is lessened.  


I could not help but think of the movie Spaceballs when hearing this verse.  


There is a scene in the movie in which planet Spaceball has run out of oxygen.  The emperor of planet Spaceball knows of another planet that has a lot of oxygen.  The problem is this oxygen rich planet has an air shield that keeps the oxygen locked in the planet.  The great mystery of the emperor of planet Spaceball is the code for that air shield.  


The emperor is highly resourceful and has tried a number of ways to obtain the mystery of the air shield code.  At this point in the movie the emperor has captured the daughter of the king of the oxygen rich planet (Druidia) and is threatening to "give her, her old nose back".  (Please remember Spaceballs is a Mel Brooks comedy). 


The king (the steward of the mystery of the air code) breaks down and shares the code.


The code is - 1 2 3 4 5


The mystery is gone.  In fact, the villains in the movie make fun of the former mystery!


Again, not a great analogy, but I am willing to bet that anytime Christians declare we know God's mysteries we are not only acting out of arrogance, but we also make a mockery of the mystery.   

Ordination Questions

What is your understanding of?

1) The Kingdom of God

            Simply put, the Kingdom of God (KoG) is what the world looks like when God and no other is in charge. The KoG is that which Jesus came to proclaim as in part and yet to come. I believe we are called by the Spirit of God through Christ to help usher in the Kingdom of God by our prayers and actions. There are attributes which reign in the KoG that do not reign in our current dominant kingdom. While there are signs of Grace, Mercy, Compassion and Love right now, they do not reign dominate. Instead our pursuit of retributive justice, violence, death and greed (also called idolatry) dominate our world. The KoG can be seen when the oppressed are let free, there is a equal distribution of resources, debts are cancelled and sin is forgiven. The KoG is not built on the false binaries of the current dominant kingdom. That is to say the KoG is not constantly seeking out who is “in” or “right” or “out” or “bad”. The KoG is the remaking of the earth and the powers and the principalities into the very good creation that God intends for it to be. It is my firm belief that if the Church is not proclaiming or empowering the KoG then the Church is lost.

2) The Resurrection

            I believe in a God of new life and new life means the old life must die or fall away in order for the new life to manifest. Resurrection is required for the ushering in of the KoG, because the old ways cannot remain and still expect to have a new way. God cannot usher in the KoG if violence is still present in this world. Violence must fall away. Since I believe that all things are made by God then I believe that everything has a redemptive quality to it even when I cannot see it. Therefore, I believe even violence has some redemptive quality to it. The resurrection proclaims that everything will pass away and the power of God will resurrect it (not revive or resuscitate) to a new way. When Jesus was resurrected his form was both recognizable and also different; likewise the resurrection of all things will mean they will be recognizable but also different.

            It is evident to me that humanity will be resurrected with the entire creation and be remade. Again, I do not know what this will look like but I do believe we will be recognizable and different. I am not interested in what resurrection of humanity will look like, such as will we have physical bodies or not. I am interested in the process of resurrection. What are the ways that lead to resurrection? What are the ways in which I can help others? What are the ways that lead to a dying of self and a shedding of the old so that the new self can be resurrected? These questions drive me to move on toward perfection because I cannot resurrect anything or anyone, I can only be a willing servant of God.

3) Eternal Life

            If death is the end of life and there is no eternal life then I have come to improperly understand to God in the Scriptures and the God revealed by the Spirit of Christ. If death is the final destination then death has the final say and ultimate power, even power over God. Through the witness of Scripture and Christ, I understand God to be one that continually is making life. Even when everything looks dire and death looks as though it has the final say, God finds a way to make life. I do not dwell on eternal life very much in my life just like I do not dwell on the source of my next breath or the power of my next heartbeat; I trust that those will happen. And only when my breath has ceased and my heart has stopped will I know in full the beauty of eternal life for society and myself.

Ordination Questions

How do you conceive your vocation as an ordained minister?

There are a number of ways in which I feel I am “supposed” to answer this question. For instance, I am called to make disciples or I am called to shepherd or I am called to sacramental authority. These understandings are correct and not mutually exclusive of the other in my understanding of my vocation, however they are also rather unimaginative and to write about these areas does not embody the larger sense of my vocation as an ordained minister.

The best language I have to describe my vocation is one of a “cultural architect”. That is to say I believe that as an ordained clergy in the UMC I am called to help usher in a certain culture which the Spirit of God inaugurated in the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus called it the Kingdom of God, which I think is still a good name for this alternate culture. It is my understanding there are at least two steps I am called to use in order to help usher in this culture of the Kingdom of God (KoG): Language creation and storytelling. 

The first thing that is required for any culture that is created is the creation of language. The culture of technology has a unique language. The culture of the medical field has a unique language. The culture of the church has a unique language.  When I look to the teachings of Jesus I notice he is using new language to describe the KoG culture.  He stated things such as: the first will be last and the last will be first; you shall love the enemy; turn the other cheek; small faith moves mountains; give to God what is God’s. All of this new language was because Jesus was creating a new culture and in order for that new culture to take root in the dominate culture, people have to be able to talk about it – we need language unique to the culture we are trying to make. Under the age of Christendom the Christian language was interwoven in the dominate culture, however this has changed as Christianity no longer has the “privileged” position in culture as it once had. And so I believe my vocation as an ordained minister is to help create, promote and nurture the language of the KoG in order to help the culture of the KoG continue to take root and grow.

Second, it is vitally important that the creation and propagation of language of a culture be expressed in compelling ways so others who are new to the culture can understand. There is a reason the culture of the State and the “American” culture is so pronounced; these two cultures have discovered how to tell their stories in compelling ways that captivate people. Through things like the “American dream” or the “Self made man” story, even the outsider can understand the culture and begin to accept and live in that culture. We have arguably the greatest story ever told, and yet we have lost the art of story telling and cheapened the story of God to be a story of morals and being nice. It is my understanding of my vocation that I am to be a story teller so that the mission of God might continue to come into being and the KoG culture will grow.  Therefore, in order to help shepherd and co-create disciples of Jesus Christ through the sacramental authority given to me by God and the UMC, it is my understanding that I am called first and foremost to help usher in the culture of God and be (as Jesus was) a “cultural architect”.