It's a mystery

Paul was far away from the region when he wrote a letter to Timothy. But his teaching speaks down through the hallows of history.

He wrote, "Without question, the mystery of godliness is great: he was revealed as a human, declared righteous by the Spirit, seen by angels, preaching to throughout the nations, believed in around the world, and taken up in glory.

Got it?
Good.

That's the gospel. It's a mystery. It's open to all. It's weird. It's simple. God came, was human, was perfect, was marvelled at by angels (as well as demons), made such an impression that when the Jews said, for the most part, I don't believe you, the world took him and changed the entire calendar. Then he left again.

That's the gospel. It's a mystery. Perry Mason couldn't figure it out without Paul and his little Paulettes down through the centuries. Holmes couldn't handle it. Ellery Queen couldn't crack it. Phillip Marlow couldn't pop it. Reacher couldn't reach it. Mrs. Marpel could only marvel at it. Poirot couldn't, Sam Spade couldn't, Lew Archer couldn. You name it, no mystery character could claim it. A, THE, God became man so that man could become an eternal worshipper.

That's the gospel. It's a mystery we can't possibly explain without the Spirit's help that we're supposed to pass along as open and free and so understandable we bet our very existence on it.

Paul continues one sentence later with a sobering thought: "The Spirit clearly says that in latter times some people will turn away from the faith. They will pay attention to spirits that deceive and to the teaching of demons."

That's the anti-gospel that's spreading like wild fires all around us. A teacher who kept a Bible on his desk was fired for refusing to take it away. He also got into trouble over gay issues and evolution teaching and such.

A Christian teacher who visited homes of students too sick to make it to school was fired for mentioning prayer at one of the homes.

Anyone who believes we're better as a country, as a world since 9-11 is breathing faulty air, I think. And yet the peace that comes not from the world is denied thinking children who have the same option to believe or not believe that we all have.

Paul wrote to his disciple, as one who would learn, and said that this is the Gospel, the good news, the exceptional, wonderful, wacky at times way to live. To separate it willingly and forcefully from the ones who don't know it, don't want it is the same as saying ice cream will make you fat so let's take it off the shelves for the good of all. Obviously there are some who don't buy it, don't eat it and are perfectly capable of making those decisions.

In this country, we believe there should be a clear line of delineation in church and state. I wish, that being the case, that the state could save me. But it can't. And it can't all those who refuse to even hear the grand mystery that is Jesus. They won't me to shut up. They don't want me forcing my religion on "them."

I ask but one question. If they had the cure for all that ails them, would they keep it to themselves or would they offer it up? Even if they didn't completely understand exactly how that worked, I would hope they would pass it along.

Mysterious doesn't mean we keep it to ourselves.