Some like to think that religion is the result of man's observation of himself and his surroundings. There are many things that would fit that bill. We look, we think, we posit opinions, and we speak of facts. Some of them are true and some of them end up being foolish as we reconsider them. Christianity, however, is not a religion of observation and conclusion. It is a religion of revelation, of disclosure, and of hidden things. It is a religion of mystery but not in the sense of a puzzle begging to be explained. No, indeed. The mysteries of the faith are those things which lie beyond proof and are taken by faith. These are the things of God which are beyond our knowing. He reveals Himself and His ways to us but not in full or total so that it is ever a done deal. He gives us what we need to know of Him and His ways. The rest He does not disclose to us and we cannot ascertain them by observation or study. We accept them by faith.
The Book of Sirach (The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach or The Wisdom of Jesus son of Eleazar, or Ecclesiasticus is of Jewish literary origins, written in Biblical Hebrew probably around the time of the Second Temple period. It was translated into Koine Greek, expanded with a prologue, and was generally well-known. It is in the prologue we find what is generally considered to be the earliest witness to a tripartite canon of the books of the Hebrew Bible and so it is a witness to the revelation even if it is not quite revelation. Although included in the Hebrew Bible nor regarded as Scripture by the Jews, it is included in the Septuagint and the Old Testament of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, and the Assyrian Church of the East. While most Protestants have paid less attention to it, Lutherans hold it as an important intertestamental text found in the Apocrypha, noncanonical but not insignificant. Indeed, until more modern times, Lutheran editions of the Bible always included this work among the other works of the Apocrypha.
Perhaps my favorite verse in the Apocrapha is Beyond these, many things lie hid; only a few of God’s works have we seen (Sirach 43:34). It reminds me of the line in the Nicene Creed -- the God who made all things, visible and invisible or seen and unseen. Among the many marvels of God's creative work and in the exclusive salvific works of God, we have ample testament to His power and to His mercy. Enough. But it is, as they say, the tip of the iceberg about God. Beyond these, only a few of His works are revealed to us. We know there are more but they are not the more on which we focus. We turn our attention to His revelation while trusting in the most which eye has not seen nor ear heard nor mind conceived. It is enough to have what we have but we all know there is so very much more.
In a world which treats a mystery as a problem or riddle to be solved, Christianity does not tread lightly upon the unseen works of God. We do not let them overwhelm what we are given to know by revelation. God's self-disclosure, while plenty, is not everything and yet it is enough. Enough to save. Enough to forgive. Enough to end the terror of death and the reign of the devil. Enough to rescue the soul from despair and the lost from the prison of their darkness. But there is more. The mystery remains along side the revelation. The Psalmist knows this: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim his handiwork (Psalm 19:1). Job is not put down by the revelation that the things of God are too great and His mystery too deep for mere man to ponder. It is enough that God has stooped low to behold and esteem the plight of man urgent enough for His grace to fill man's every need. His ways are above ours. That is not a put down at all. It is comfort. We do not need to comprehend everything of God to believe in Him or faith would be impossible. It is enough to know Jesus Christ whom He has revealed and the only true God. The things of God do not confound us unless we refuse to trust in Him, do not baffle us unless we choose to ignore what He has revealed.
All of this is on prominent display in the Divine Service. The how of the mystery is never explained but the gift of that mystery of flesh in bread and blood in wine delivers the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. It gives to us not a solid preview of heaven but the taste of it -- enough to whet our appetite and want the more that is to come even while we affirm with joy that what we have is enough. That is where we live when we live by faith. I guess I have Christmas on my mind.... already.
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