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Third Sunday of Advent
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Edward V. S. Moore, December 16, 2018


Stewards of the Mysteries of Christ


Text: 1 Corinthians 4:1–5

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God — 1 Corinthians 4:1–5

The theme of this third Sunday in Advent is heart. It is out of God’s abundant grace that He has given us a heart to believe in Him and to fear and love Him. Out of the overflow of that love we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to love others.

What do we mean when we use the word heart? In a physiological sense, we all know what a reference to the heart means. Nowadays, people are very conscious of what they eat and how it affects their health. “Heart-healthy” has become a by-word with us. In a figurative sense, a reference to the heart denotes affection or emotion, although it can also refer to courage or will.

The Biblical view, though, is much broader than that. The Hebrews did not compartmentalize attributes of the individual person as we do today but rather thought and spoke of the whole person. This included all of the human attributes: physical, intellectual and psychological. They viewed the heart as the governing center of all of these attributes. As we do, they viewed the heart as the seat of the emotions and affections, but also of the intellect and the will.

In St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, the apostle proclaims “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:8–10) And for what are we saved? What is our purpose, our mission? What is it exactly that requires our whole heart? In the words of today’s Collect, it is to be messengers. And our model is St. John the Baptist. We will return to him later, but let’s pause here for a few moments.

It would be tempting and quite easy to think that when St. Paul writes, “This is how one should regard us”, that the word “us” is referring only to himself and his companions in ministry. That would make life much simpler for the rest of us, wouldn’t it? We could sit back and observe how marvelous it is that a spiritual giant like St. Paul the Apostle is saying that only he and a small number of people have been appointed the ministers and stewards of the mysteries of Christ. In that case, this letter would have been addressed to whoever was the bishop that Paul had left to minister to the congregation, Crispus perhaps. If we look at what Paul said in context, that is clearly not the case. He is speaking to all of the Corinthian Christians, as a whole directly, not just their clergy, exposing their shortcomings and recommending corrective action.

So then, all of us are ministers and stewards of the mysteries of Christ. And our mission is to prepare and make ready the way of Lord. And that in the words of today’s Collect “by turning the hearts of the disobedient toward the wisdom of the just.” The reason we should or better, feel compelled, to do this is that, “at Jesus’ second coming to judge the world, we may be found a people acceptable in (His) sight.” (Collect)

During this Advent season as Fr. Mike explained last Sunday, as we are preparing to celebrate the anniversary of Christ’s coming as a babe, we are also looking forward to His second coming in power and glory. That is for what, and for whom, and why, we are preparing the way of the Lord.

Let’s dig a little deeper: what do we mean when we say ministers of Christ? Are we only talking about people who wear special clothing and lead church services? No, we are talking about anyone who is a servant of Christ. A minister is someone who serves or assists another. In a church family setting, their function is to assist, or serve, God’s people. This includes all four orders in the church: bishops, priests, deacons, and the laity. But how?

To answer that question, we must first ask how stewards fit in here. What’s involved in being a steward? First of all, they must be trustworthy, or faithful, as St. Paul says. A steward is responsible for caring for those things which belong to his master, or client to put it in contemporary business language. For example, a banker is responsible for taking care of other people’s money. A medical doctor is responsible for caring for a person’s health. Ordained clergy are responsible for caring for the souls of their parishioners. And each of us is responsible for bearing one another’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2) These are all weighty responsibilities.

St. Paul says that all of us “are stewards of the mysteries of God.” (Collect) The meaning of the term mystery, mystērion in classical Greek, is anything hidden or secret. St. Paul uses this term profusely in his letters. The character of the Biblical term “mystery” has several dimensions.

First of all, the mystery is eternal in scope. It is the divine plan of salvation, the good news which has been revealed by God in Christ.

Secondly, the mystery is historical. It is precisely this mystery which is centered in, and has been declared in, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is He who was expressly manifested to mankind “when the fullness of time had come,” in fulfillment of God’s purposes. (Galatians 4:4) That is, at a specifically chosen time in human history, God sent His Son to reconcile all things, earthly and heavenly, to Himself. (Ephesians 1:10).

This is a new age in which mystery and hope are joined. Christ is the hope of all mankind (Ephesians 1:9 & 18), and of all creation (v.10); and we possess, as a result, a hope which is both glorious and real. This is the mystery which has been revealed: we who have believed are already saved and raised with Christ to new life. Further, this hope of new life made manifest in Christ is available to everyone on this planet. Country of origin doesn’t matter; language is no impediment; even adherence to a previous religion, or none whatsoever, matters not at all. But what about one’s moral state you might ask. One of the principal reasons Jesus came was to offer forgiveness of sins to all who truly repent and want to follow His path to new life. (Mark 2:17, Luke 5:32; BCP 1979, Invitation, p. 332).

Third, the mystery is perceived spiritually. As Jesus said to his disciples after telling the parable of the sower, “To you is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables.” (Mark 4:11)

Fourth, the mystery is eschatological in its outcome. In other words, the mystery which has been revealed to us in historic time past, still awaits its divine consummation and fulfillment at the end of the age, the eschaton, the end of this world. As St. John writes in the Revelation, “…in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound (his trumpet), the mystery of God (will) be fulfilled, just as he announced to His servants the prophets.” (Revelation 10:7, changes mine) This will be true in regard to personal salvation when the faithful experience the mystery of being changed when the trumpet sounds, of corruptibility being replaced with incorruptibility, of mortality with immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:53) This great mystery, which has been made known to us, is the wisdom and knowledge of God Himself. (Colossians 2:2,3)

Last, the mystery is revealed in the sacraments. “Do this in remembrance of me,” our Lord told His disciples. The Greek word translated as “remembrance” is anamnesis, which means a recalling or re-presenting (i.e. a making present again) of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on our behalf. This is what we Anglicans mean when we speak of the real spiritual presence of Christ in the Eucharist in which God’s grace works in us. (Article XXV) Another way to see it is that Christ is spiritually present in the Eucharist as the Holy Spirit is present in the soul of the believer. Both can be described as real presences by which God confers grace for the strengthening and refreshing of the souls of believers. (Catechism, p. 582, BCP 1928/BCP 1662, Oxford World Classics, p. 430)

In summary, this is the mystery: Christ in (us), the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27b) It is the wisdom of the just and is alone capable of changing the hearts of the disobedient. And we are the messengers who bear these glad tidings. In the words of Isaiah, the prophet: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns.” (Isaiah 52:7)

To be a Christian then is to provide the proof, every day in everything that we think, say, and do, that we are the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. It is most important, of course, that we provide that proof to God because it is the way we offer ourselves to Him daily in what St. Paul terms “reasonable service” (KJV) or “spiritual worship” (ESV). (Romans 12:1) It is our act of sacrificial love in response to His unmerited love freely given us in the sacrifice of His Son. We also must provide that same proof of our ministry and stewardship to one another in the Church, as well as to an unbelieving world.

That proof is how we maintain the life of the Church. And it is how we fulfill our Christian obligation to make disciples of all nations. We know that we will be judged by the Lord on the Last Day. Our acts while in the flesh will be weighed by Him. We will be held accountable for those acts according to God’s judgment alone. What our friends, neighbors or professional colleagues ever thought of us will be of no account whatsoever. What football team we cheered for; who designed our clothing; or what brand of cell-phone we used will make not a whit of difference. Any praise or commendation we may receive will come from God. Our reputations among men will be of no consequence. What kind of heart we had, to whom it belonged, and how it impacted our lives will be of eternal consequence.

Most Romans of Jesus’ day may have believed in an afterlife with rewards for the just and punishment for the unjust. But just as today, many did not hold such beliefs. So, reputation and legacy were all important to them. Some of those with whom we come in contact are in the same boat. Will each of us be the ones who are the catalyst for a life-changing experience, or just acquiescent supporters of the cultural status quo?

The Church (Christ’s body) can be of immeasurable help to us in living the life of faith. How does this work? C.S. Lewis says that “Usually it is those who know Him that bring Him to others. That is why the Church, the whole body of Christians showing Him to one another, is so important.” (Mere Christianity; bk. iv, chap. 7, para 8, p. 163)

A helpful and necessary tool we should make use of is an appropriate rule, or pathway, to follow; one which will provide a firm and clear road for us to follow as we daily pursue the glory that all Christians should strive for. How should that road be paved?

To guide us through this pilgrim life, Faith is the best foundation for our road. Faith in the first instance is a gift of God and one which we must “stir up”, to use another of St. Paul’s metaphors.

Two other divine gifts, Hope, and Love accompany Faith and are reinforced by it. God gives us the Faith to believe that He exists. He gives us the certain Hope that He will keep His promises to us. He gives us Love for Him and for His people, as well as for all whom we encounter on our journey through this life.

These three, Faith, Hope, and Love, make for a firm foundation. Feelings, on the other hand, do not. Feelings come, and feelings go, but Faith, Hope, and Love are constant.

Regularity, or order, is another characteristic of a firm foundation: regular prayer, regular worship, regular meditation, regular self-examination, and regular confession. Fits and spurts of enthusiasm and activity do not make a firm foundation for the Christian life. Letting ourselves be blown around by the winds of immediate gratification and the desire to please others before God put us exactly where Satan wants us: exhausted, unfulfilled, and ineffective as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Regularity provides reassurance.

True religious convictions also form a firm foundation; a little coat of religious polish on one’s life does not. If we are standing on firm ground, with a clear vision, we can look upwards to the Christian ideal. And that ideal should be to show forth Christ in His human nature which He took from the Blessed Virgin Mary. We pray in the words of the Prayer of Humble Access, that “we may evermore dwell in Christ and He in us.” (BCP 1979, p. 337) It is by Christ working in us that we are enabled, and commanded, to share His love with others.

St. John the Baptist was such a man, and he was a man on a mission. That mission was to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, just as Malachi had prophesied that he would (Malachi 4:5,6). As the last prophet of the Old Testament, John perfectly fulfilled the role of the prophet Elijah. Yet, our Lord said of him: “the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matthew 11:1). When John’s disciples came questioning Jesus, he told them to tell John that “the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” (Matthew11:4,5). What He asks of us is challenging: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them everything I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19, 20).

Let us pray.

©2018 Rev. Edward V. S. Moore

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