Special Day: Girl Scout Sunday, First Sunday in Lent. Communion Sunday

March 1, 1998 - Lesson: Ephesians 1:1-4, 8b-9

SERMON TITLE: Made Known or To Be Made Known

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The poet, Edwin Markham, wrote:

He drew a circle that shut me out,
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
Love and I had the wit to win,
We drew a circle that took him in.

Life is like a circle.

We live in our circles

We ought to be careful how we construct them.

The materials that we use are vital.

Not bricks or wood or steel.

They are the qualities of life and good character.

What is the purpose of our building?

What end result might we anticipate from our building?

John Powell, in "Why Am I Afraid to Love," observes

"Never build a wall until you know what you're walling in--and what you're walling out." p. 78

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Walls can be protective

There was a time in my life when I believed that it was necessary to grow calluses of the spirit to protect one's self from unjust criticisms, accusations or characterizations.

This I discovered lead to a loss of sensitivity.

It was difficult to empathize with people who were confused or hurting.

Walls can divide

I do not mind if you do not like me.

I do appreciate being loved.

Please do not ignore me or anyone else.

I really object to people when you meet and the say, "Well, hello there."

I am not a "there," which is an empty space signifying nothing.

I am a person and want to be treated as, and respected as a person.

Walls can create lonely places

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In the words of Paul Simon, "The Sound of Silence."

"And in the naked night I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more,
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never shared.
No one dared
Disturb the sounds of silence."

What are we walling in or out?

My own personal circle

As wide as is possible

In our Church Covenant we promise

"We are united in striving to know the will of God as taught in the Holy Scriptures.

And in our purpose to walk in the ways of the Lord,

Made known

or to be made known to us.

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Include as much as is possible

Built on facts, not rumors

Built on truth not allegations

Built on the life and teachings, and the love of Christ.

Anything less is dangerous.

Jesus told the story of two builders

24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

Built on the principle that I cannot intrude into another's circle.

For our circles are open only by invitation.

I live with a constant state of alert to the potential invasions of unreliable sources.

Charles Hartshorn⁽¹⁾ is reported to have said:

"We live in a century in which everything has been said. The challenge today is to learn which statements to deny."

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How do I learn which statement to deny?

In this case I am fortunate because God is also in the business of drawing circles.

Paraphrase Edwin Markham.

We drew a circle that shut God out,
Tyrant, dictator, a someone to flout.
God had love and the wit to win,
He drew a circle that took us in.

Paul speaks of God's circle using the concept of mystery.

Mystery in classical Greek had the meaning of 'a hidden thing,' 'a secret.'

Among the pagans mystery described secrets or secret doctrines, to be made known only to those who had been specially initiated.

It was a technical term for their secret rites and celebrations,

Also for the mystic implements and ornaments they used in their ceremonies.

In the New Testament, mystery refers to something that God wills to make known to those who are willing to receive his revelation, rather than to something that he desires to keep secret.

Throughout Paul's writings the word carries a specific meaning.

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We are not able to fully comprehended the mystery with unassisted human reason

By divine revelation, God has made known the mystery.

Paul regarded it as his mission to make known the mystery 'which was kept secret since the world began' (Rom. 16:25; cf. 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 3:3, 4).

You can see this in many places, but two of them will demonstrate what he is attempting to communicate.

1 Corinthians 2:1, 4-5: When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom....My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Colossians 1:23, 25-27: without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel. I became its servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Thus Paul describes the whole Christian revelation as a mystery (Rom. 16:25; 1 Cor. 2:7-10; Eph. 1:9; 6:19; Col. 1:26; 2:2; 1 Tim. 3:9).

God's eternal purpose to redeem man in Christ has now been declared in Christianity.

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He applies the term mystery to the incarnation of Christ (1 Tim. 3:16),

Mystery describes the union of Christ and his church as typified by marriage (Eph. 5:32),

Mystery applies to the transformation of the saints at the second coming (1 Cor. 15:51),

The opposition of Antichrist is a mystery (2 Thess. 2:7),

Mystery is especially employed to describe the admission of the Gentiles to the kingdom of Christ (Rom. 16:25, 26; Eph 3:1-6; Col 1:26, 26).

The mystery that Paul is now declaring is the purpose of God to save both Jews and Gentiles in his kingdom.

We are the beneficiaries of this great legacy which has been left to us.

With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,

We can not know all things.

We can know more than we do.

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In the words of Katharina von Schlegel, translated: Be Still My Soul

Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to they God to order and provide;
In every change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best thy heavenly friend
Though thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doeth undertake
To guide the future as he as the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone.
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

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All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

The mysteries of this life will be fully resolved.

We will be challenged by the mysterious yet to be solved.

What excitement!

What challenge!

It's a life worth pursuing!

1. Charles Hartshorn, quoted in "Culture and Ideas," U. S,. News & World Report, February 21, 1998, pp. 61-65.

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