Quarreling with the Mystery

“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12.  This passage is a favorite among weddings and funerals. Some know this as “Paul’s love chapter” and the poetry and the images Paul uses in this text are powerful and probing. Besides the metaphorical understanding of love that is a good part of this passage, even more compelling is the thinly veiled mystery that is behind every word and phrase. 

An older woman was facing surgery and we began to talk about the anxiety and the fear that comes with any surgery – no matter how simple or routine it may be. There is always an element of mystery with anything that is unknown and even Paul quarreled with the mystery – the unknown. As for me, a part of the joy of living is quarreling with the mystery. What do I mean, quarreling with mystery? Life is a mystery and the human race continues to search for answers to life’s most complex and difficult questions, but I believe that in questioning the mystery we discover the presence of an Eternal God. “For now I know only in part – then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known”.  Even the way this phrase is penned by Paul, mystery is implied. 

I woke up this morning and saw one of the many beautiful sunrises over the hills and plains of Indiana – a mystery that does not so much beg for an answer, but seeks to brighten my days. From the time I was a small child, the smell of autumn and the crunch of leaves beneath my feet was comforting. It was comforting not because I needed answers to a changing season, but rather that I was comforted by a mystery that for everything there is season, a time for every matter under heaven. I am drawn to solar eclipses, stories of animals struggling to survive in a hostile world, and attempts to explain the big questions of life, but not that I need to disprove God, but, rather,  to hold onto a mystery – a sacred blessing – “For now I see in mirror dimly, but then face to face…” Quarreling with the mystery is not a statement of doubt or burning questions that unsettles my soul; no quarreling with the mystery is to appreciate life as a series of sacred questions and its answers draw me closer to the Source of all life – a life that is fully known as I have been fully known. Today, as in everyday, I want to live in the tension of knowing and to be known. 

Prayer: 

God of Holy mysteries, probing questions, and unending grace, may my spirit never stop quarreling with the mystery – the mystery that opens my eyes to see you face to face. Now I know in part and one day I will fully know as you have known me and this, Holy God, will be a day of rejoicing! Amen.

I Spy

I spy something green, what do you think it is? I heard a tiny voice shouting back, the grass! Yes, that’s right, now it’s your turn to “spy” something. Our neighbors were playing this game with their twin girls outside on a warm Sunday afternoon and I listened to the progression of the game.  The glee and laughter of the tiny voices brought back similar memories when I played “I spy” with my boys and even further back, with my sisters as we traveled across the country one summer in search of yet another camping site.

The notion of “spying” something assumes that you are looking for something. The great Sherlock Holmes snoops around a crime scene and through his discriminating mind and uncanny observations, Holmes spies the missing piece to a criminal case he is trying to solve. Whether it’s Holmes on the path of a confounding case or a family playing “I Spy…” we’ve known times when it feels as though we have lost something and we set out on a journey to find that missing piece that will bring the wholeness we are seeking.

The scriptural passage that is often quoted in times of seeking and searching comes from John. It is the Johannine passage that defines Jesus as the good shepherd. The phrase that is quoted is at the very end of verse 10 in John 10: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” This statement begs the question, “what is abundant life?” I cannot speak for you for you must spy your own understanding of abundant life, but I will reflect a little on what it means to me.

Abundant life is not a phrase used to convince, persuade, or argue for a reason to be a Christian, but a promise that says that in following the example of Christ, I will know fulfillment even in this life. Abundant life is not about the sweet by and by that will be mine if I am obedient to God’s will, but a promise that says that in following the example of Christ, I will know joy even in the midst of suffering. Abundant life is not a shallow, scriptural response to a searching soul, but a promise that says that God delights in me, just as I am. This is abundant life – it is what I spy in life dedicated to Christian living.

Prayer

God help me to find fulfillment in living as Christ would live, joy, even in the midst of suffering, and help me to delight in you as much as you delight in me. Amen.