The Mystery of Christ
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; and pray also for us, that God may open a door to us for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ.”
- Colossians 4:2-3
“I think I’m only just beginning to understand who Jesus is.”
- a retired priest after The Rescue Project
“Why have I never heard this before?”
a young woman after hearing the gospel
“Mysteries,” for most of us, are things that are confusing, unintelligible, or require the brilliance of a Sherlock Holmes to decode. That’s not what mystery means, though, at least not for St. Paul. He seems to love this word, using it nearly three times more than any other New Testament author.
“Mystery” for Paul has to do with revelation and, thus, with the proclamation of the gospel, and especially with what is known as the kerygma (Greek for “proclamation”). Mystery is intimately connected with what God has done for humanity – indeed all of creation – in Jesus. In other words, mystery doesn’t have to do with us figuring something out, but rather with something being revealed by God.
What is it that’s been revealed? Simply this: in Jesus’ life, death, glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven – where even now He intercedes for us before the Father – God’s plan for creation is finally made known (cf. Eph 1:7-14; 3:2-10; Col 1:26-7; 2:2). Mystery, then, has to do with God pulling back the veil and revealing to us His plan for creating us in the first place. It has to do with His revealing to us, as only He can, why things are so messed up in His good creation. And, most especially, it has to do with His revealing to us what He’s done about this mess, and how He has made all things new in the person of His Son, Jesus. Mystery doesn’t have to do with something esoteric, then, something of interest to a select few. It is, or should be, of interest to all of us, for it makes known to us what life is all about.
This is why we are so excited in ACTS XXIX to release The Rescue Project and see it spread not only nationally but globally. Our fervent prayer in these troubled and restless times is to see a global movement begin, a movement that is all about breaking open and proclaiming the gospel, that is, the mystery of what life is really all about, the mystery at last made known in Jesus. For whatever reason, this mystery seems to be largely unknown to so many, both in and out of the Church. We’ve heard priests, like our retired brother up above, tell us that they only wish they would have heard this years ago, and people in and out of the pews tell us that things are finally starting to make sense.
As of this morning, The Rescue Project (www.rescueproject.us) is being offered in almost every state in our country, and, just recently, the USCCB added it to their Eucharistic Revival website, seeing it as a means to help people better understand the extraordinary gift of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (www.eucharisticrevival.org). Additionally, there are, again as of this morning, 18 other countries currently running this experience of the gospel.
Please pray for God’s anointing on this work. Please pray that more and more people will hear the gospel. Please pray that more and more people will be rescued from the nightmare that is life apart from God. Please pray that we will all give praise and thanks to God that at last, in Jesus, the mystery of life has finally been made known!
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