Christ gets all the credit

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/101916.cfm

Ephesians 3:2-12
Luke 12:39-48 

Paul and his friends heard, direct from the voice of God, understanding that had never been provided to a human being before. It seems so dreamily heroic, important, and delightful.

“When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit,” Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:5.

The revelations of those apostles and prophets has both inspired and challenged the ranks of believers for almost 2,000 years. Here’s the big reveal.

“Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same Body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.” 

          Eph 3:6

Hmm. What do coheirs and copartners mean? Paul’s words by themselves, though high-falutin’, do not transform us at their hearing. 

“This grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be  made known through the Church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens.”

          Eph 3:6

That’s a lot to unpack. Rather than unzip this bag of goodies, let’s imagine the results of this revelation and see if that helps. 

What has taken place that we believers might consider as examples of the inscrutable riches of Christ being brought to light? The examples I offer meet the muster of unleashing riches and wisdom. See if you agree.

Our first quandary is who is allowed the profit of insights from God, never delivered before. Paul says the Apostles and prophets who heard the revelation, subsequently given to Gentiles (all non-Jews), means that everyone is allowed the benefit of this revelation. We should all be the profiteers. 

Will the insights into the mystery of Christ come only from the pews of our churches? Or, more severely, do they only emanate from the holy, anointed sanctuaries? Who are the honored?

There are more than a few. 

Einstein was given the clue to time. Marie Curie was handed the previously unknown elements of polonium and radium. Pascal’s intellect received the logic of digital calculation. He also was allowed insight into the presence of vacuum in space. He finished his life with insight on the very meaning of death.

These folks all sat in pews, not the holy sanctuaries. Are these really insights into the plan of the mystery of Christ? I believe so.

These points of light perfectly align with what Paul calls the inscrutable riches of Christ. They line up as strings of light, further revealing the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past. They don’t add to the revelations of Paul and the others, but they fulfill them, and act as reminders that God created all things.

In sports, The Fosbury Flop changed the high jump. Muhammad Ali employed a new technique called “Rope-a-dope” and altered boxing greatness. A fruit basket hung 10 feet high by James Naismith eventually dotted millions of neighborhoods around the world with basketball courts. The Hail Mary Pass transformed football championships. Gifts of glory, never considered before have proven their merit. Only believers would credit those insights as gifts from God. And, we do.

These things, as perhaps crass and irrelevant as they first appear, all praise the manifold wisdom of God, finally revealed.

The sanctuary where we bring forth the discoveries of creation extends beyond the inches around the altar. One could say the sanctuary travels beyond the pews into the floors at home where we kneel in prayer, and even into the streets. I would not be the only one to say that. 

Mother Teresa accepted a life of daily martyrdom, another mystery for followers of Christ. Though not uncommon among the litany of saints, her shocking gift of faith inspired women to do what God wants in a global fashion that previous females never imagined. Joan of Arc would have been stunned by the tiny nun’s revelation that the dying need our kindness to the extent that we would sacrifice our own lives. She knew this in war and imprisonment, but to envision martyrdom at the side of the dying as a manifestation of God’s love? Jeanne d'Arc knows that Teresa lived on a different level. She brought sanctuary to every major city on the planet, kneeling on concrete and dirt inspiring her fellow believers. Even the awed non-believer fell to their knees, if just out of respect. The revealed mystery of Christ will do that.

The enlightened like her, though, live dangerous existences. Their voices insist upon what the bulk of us consider just a mirage. In the midst of a desert, they point out an oasis that cannot be. Love in the midst of squalor. Courage and dedication, innovation and originality, shown in competition, entertainment and sportsmanship. Discovery and invention in the face of great obstacles. They all sing praises to God’s creation. 

The inspired often appear ridiculous, because insights from God most assuredly will be the opposite of what popular, powerful, and wealthy people expect to happen. They become dangerous when innovation and discovery challenges the norm that keeps the elites in place and the ruthless in charge. 

Einstein wasn’t among that popularity crowd in the beginning. Nor Fosbury, or Mother Teresa. Their popularity and prestige followed years of disdain. They, like the apostles and prophets, though, disregarded their own importance, and their elevated celebrity. What was revealed to them was a revelation, not a reward. 

A large percentage of folks are quite easily convinced that enlightened people might only be charlatans, tricksters, or hucksters. Charlatans are acceptable if they consign their magic to Las Vegas, charging for entry, and hold the secret to their charmed insights in a locked place. God’s concept of shedding light, though, spreads knowledge, skill, efficiency, discovery and innovation to everyone. Nothing is held out of view, and no information from God requires payment to entry.

What did God say to people in their revelations? What then happened to them? 

“Albert, time is not a constant. See how it changes when you go a little faster. Yes, it’s very exciting. Now, explain it to everyone.” And Einstein did. 

Shakespeare’s literary gift of story-telling awakened authors to God’s muse, even though few would credit God for his remarkable output. The Father of all authors spoke to Willam’s head and heart. 

“Take all those rhymey things you are so good at — you are welcome, by the way — and tell stories about regular people being royal and royal people being regular. It’ll awaken regal people to their frailties and common folks to their glory.” 

Not all insight blossoms for the good. The atom bomb followed Einstein’s legacy in his own lifetime. Mother Teresa has been reviled as a failed socialist, and fraudulent healer. Marie Curie died of cancer from her dangerous work. The resulting lives of all the folks given insight have similar win/lose scenarios.

What, though, could Paul’s revelation that he speaks about in Ephesians have anything to do with these folks we’ve spoken about. He got a tidbit of “grace” from God, he told us. Upon initial review, his insight into the mystery of Christ ranks as less earth-shattering and less interesting as the time-space continuum or the preferential option for the poor. 

All he had to say to folks, was:

“Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same Body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.”

That was his big secret message. The Fosbury Flop seems way more cool than that. But, only at first.

God said to him, “Get off your high horse and run around to all the places you’ve ever imagined existed, and tell the Jews to welcome Gentiles, even insulting them if you have to; and you will have to. Finish your travels with an arduous boat ride in chains to Rome. Settle there for a while, write a bunch of letters full of very long sentences, and then after arguing your innocence in the Roman courts, die like a common criminal. It'll be the inspiration for all time.”

Paul’s odysseys, suffering and commentary put the meat on the bones of Christianity. His pain and faithfulness cemented the truth that rankled the authorities. His revelation from God explains the source of all revelation — the Father — and the purpose of every recognition of insight from God — the Spirit reveals the riches of Jesus Christ. 

Though a small legacy of folks, the Jews, held claim on the one God, Paul reveals to them that the world of humanity stands within one Body of folks. Under Jesus Christ, everyone belongs to one body. That means all of us transcend nation, culture, land, language, tradition, and possession. The Hebrew lineage stood as a light on a hill, and that light welcomed and embraced the rest of humanity.

As coheirs with the Jewish people, we are all sons and daughters of God as our Father. All of us. We have a common lineage, a shared parent, and a source of authority unequaled by anyone else. That in itself would be enough for Paul to say, but he had more.

As copartners, we are all brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. Not only were we created to love and honor the father, and hold stewardship as fiduciaries of the creation, but we are kin with God himself, who is one of us.

We join this holy family when we fall to our knees. When the gift of faith reveals to us that this entire planet becomes sanctuary, we are included in that Body. The riches of Christ and the creation, in our very being, stands out as beacons. Paul’s revelation explains the attraction of believers to each other. We are all awakened to the mystery, and eager to find others who know it too.

God gathers us with innovation, discovery, courage, strength from weakness and humility in our power. Pascal, Mother Teresa, and Albert Einstein are among our holy friends.

Nothing separates us when we see the manifold wisdom of God being made through the Church, Paul adds. The Churches, the people of sanctuary, gathers all Christians under all those mantels of the apostles and prophets. Non-Christians see Christ through our recognition of him in the delights that they get to experience. Whether discovery comes from a Christian or not, Christ is revealed.

Among our brothers and sisters, Paul says we will have boldness of speech and confidence. The principalities and authorities in the heavens are watching for our grasp of the revelations, shown through our exercise of holiness among our believing bands of brothers and sisters, and our witness to everyone else.

Basketball courts, houses for the dying, and plays from the past set us in the midst of the Kingdom. We gather in awe.

When we get up from our knees, we know God continues to call us together. He is extending the sanctuary of his revelations to the laboratory, the office, and the home. 

The mystery of Jesus Christ through the gospel, that he was born, lived, died, and rose according to the scriptures, has been handed to us. The awakening of discoveries in our universe connects the dots that God provided this place for us all as a reflection of who he is, and what he wants for us.

As insane, or terrible, or ridiculous as the mystery of God and the inscrutable riches of Christ may sound to others; as jealous as others may be at our unfair advantage to live with peace and joy; and as appalled as non-Christians may be that we would attribute all things to Christ, we can find a voice that attracts them, and exhibit our astonishment at the wonders that make us coheirs and copartners of God. 

This world view of the believer is the very purpose for why Jesus Christ accomplished what he did, and it is our great honor to minister the truth to others.