Last night I watched a show that revealed all the secrets to how magicians, or more appropriately called illusionists, do their tricks. The Masked Magician revealed the secrets for everything from pulling a rabbit out of a hat to cutting a woman in half to making an elephant disappear. Some of the secrets I had suspected. Others were new.
Here's the disappointing part. Now I won't be able to enjoy myself the next time I see an illusionist perform. I'll know how he does it. It will be like that first holiday you discovered that all its characters were not real (I'm writing in code for all our young readers!). All the mystery will be gone, just like that 7000 pound elephant.
How many of us have become disillusioned on our faith journeys because the mystery was gone? I know some for whom their faith never had any mystery about it and it worked for them. They were strict rationalists. Some have argued people like that have a dead faith, but I would not dare try to judge such a thing in a person's life.
Personally I need some mystery - that's why I'm a mystic. I don't mean mystic as in mixing eastern religious chants and other non-Christian practices and philosophies with my faith. I mean mystic in the sense that I can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit; mystic in the sense that I have peace in the face of adverse circumstances and I can't explain why; mystic in the sense that I know exactly what God is saying to me at that moment.
Which leads me to other thoughts - what would it take to remove the mystery from my faith? Is mystery even an appropriate element in our faith? What do you think? Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to go saw one of my kids in half.
When is the right time?
-
This past week I had coffee with the pastor of the church we're now
attending. I talked for about an hour straight, telling my story. All the
while he prov...
15 years ago
2 comments:
Interesting question. At first glance, mystery as an element of our faith seems creepy. Here's what I mean:
Mystery in a relationship seems appropriate for a boy/girl relationship. It's like "romance" and how he used to send unexpected roses to work or leave little love notes hidden around the apartment OR how she would do spontaneous things like drive up at baggage claim to pick me up after a business trip wearing nothing but a trench coat. (ooops...so much for the young readers). The point is, we like "mystery" in those types of relationships and when that mystery/romance is gone, the relationship oftentimes struggles.
On the other hand, our faith "relationship" (to me) is more like that of a parent/child (where WE are the child). When mom or dad unexpectedly cooks our favorite meal for dinner, it's awesome but it's not what keeps our relationship strong. No, with our parents, it's the predictably stable that helps us to become well-rounded, right?
When it comes to our mate, we like mystery and adventure.
When it comes to our parent (and in my opinion, our Heavenly Father included), we like less guessing and more knowing.
Other opinions?
These are great points D. The predictability of God's faithfulness is a VERY good thing. Your comments are a great reminder than any one model of how to view God (e.g. viewing God as mysterious) will always come up short. In fact, any set of 100 models and their collective wisdom will probably come up short. And if that last statement has any truth in it, then there has to be some mystery somewhere.
Post a Comment