MYSTERIES OF
CHRISTIANITY
Christianity
is a transforming faith in which we cannot completely understand God. However,
we can give God room to be himself and express himself in unique ways that go
beyond our human reasoning. You see, we can experience God’s ways as infinite
and beyond us.
Furthermore,
because they cannot be completely or fully understood, some of mysteries of
Christianity were included in early creeds.
CREEDS
Creeds were
used before the New Testament was fully compiled in order to teach the faith.
They demonstrated Christian unity of beliefs and our personal relationship with
God. Sometimes the modern believer can feel uncomfortable about creeds because
of political correctness issues or terminology used within them (like
“Father”).
Some of the
definitions (in creeds) give God male qualities. However, The Creator is called
“Heavenly Father” because of his relationship to Jesus. In addition, The
Creator has chosen to adopt us (through baptism) into his relationship with
Jesus (His Son) so we can be God’s children or Jesus’ siblings of love. In
addition, The Creator has many characteristics that cross over the gender line
(like kindness, compassion, love, nourishing, merciful, beautiful,
disciplinarian, provider and gentleness).
A
CREED EXAMPLE
(APOSTLE’S
CREED - Pre 150 AD): I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven
and earth and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the
Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God, The Father Almighty. He will come again
to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Catholic Church, the
communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and
life everlasting. Amen.
The Virgin
Birth is a part of the Incarnation, along with the Crucifixion, they are also
mysteries. The Ascension, the Resurrection and the Trinity (other mysteries)
are referred to. The communion of saints are a part of the mystery of “The Body
of Christ. Six of below twelve mysteries are in the Apostle’s creed.
The
Following are 12 Mysteries of Christianity:
1 - The Incarnation: (Represents the intimacy of God towards humanity.) God had a new start with a new Adam - Jesus (1 Cor. 15:45-49). God becoming man and walking among us (JN. 1:14) is a concept that is hard to understand. This would be a very humbling process (Phil. 2: 5-8). The Incarnation separates us from other believers in God. Christians believe that it is the union of the divine and human nature of Jesus. It can be an example for us when we unite our human nature with the Holy Spirit inspiration within us – so we can show Christian Love
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2 - The Trinity: (Represents God’s love for us in very unique ways.) Christians receive baptism through the trinity (see MT. 28: 19). We understand God as our loving creator (sometimes distant), we understand God also as Jesus - walking with us and finally we understand God as The Holy Spirit inspiring from within us. These are very unique ways for God to relate to us (from a distance, with us and from within us).
An Example - My daughter once receive an ant farm from her
grandparents. The disorientated ants started to die without building tunnels;
therefore, my daughter said: “I wish I could be myself and at the same time be
an ant – to help them”. This is what God has done by giving us Jesus and the
Holy Spirit to help us from our own self-destruction. This simple childhood
example can demonstrate how God loves us even though we are not ants and God is
not a child.
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3 - Cana & the Changing Water into Wine: (Represents the internal waters of faith being changed and preserved as a fine wine of faith through Christianity.) In Jesus’ day water could go bad or be contaminated with germs and parasites. The alcohol in wine preserved that drink and protected it from the fate of stored water. This was the first act of Jesus’ ministry and it is telling us that faith can preserve all our relationships (since this was done at a wedding). Changing water into wine is a difficult thing to understand unless it is through faith.
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4 - The Multiplication of the Bread & Fish: (Represents the fruitfulness of Generosity.) This event demonstrates how God can sometimes change a physical situation (like hunger) through his spiritual means. Jesus felt compassion towards a crowd that had been with Him for three days and was hungry. His disciples had only 7 loaves of bread and two fish to feed 4,000 people. Jesus blessed the food and all ate until they were full. What they had left was over and above twelve baskets filled with fragments (MK 8: 2-9). Jesus was the new Moses. God had used Moses to feed the people in the desert with manna. Jesus was the new Elisha. God had used Elisha to feed twenty loaves of barley bread to hundreds of people (2 kings 4: 42-44). The multiplication of bread is a hard thing to understand without faith. However, Jesus was to become the “Bread of Life” for the Eucharistic Banquet to come.
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5 - The Raising of Lazarus: (Represents a faith with second chances.) It is today an example of having a new life experience – through the Lord calling us. Scripture states that Lazarus was decaying (therefore not in a coma). I would imagine that Lazarus had a new appreciation for life after Jesus restored it. I imagine that Lazarus had a better appreciation for faith too. There is always a choice to change our ways, to find newness through our faith and appreciate life through the loving relationships around us. Lazarus did not have a “Near-death” experience for he was completely dead for days. The hope in new life gives strength in adversity, health in weakness, comfort in sorrow and it guides us on our way. It is difficult to understand how someone could come to life when commanded to stand up (accept through faith). God is calling us to stand up and go forward when change is needed in our lives and find our hope through Him.
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6 - The Transfiguration: (Represents the hidden divine being of Jesus that was revealed from beneath the human appearances.) With the transfiguration we can understand the reality of Jesus being both divine and human. His divinity is revealed to show that he is the spiritual king of the universe, the prophet of all prophets, and introducing the new law.
Our souls
and the Holy Spirit are also hidden within our human nature. It is our job to
transform ourselves more into our spiritual origins of being growing souls
inspired by the Holy Spirit.
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7 - Eucharistic Presence of God: (Represents God giving us nourishment.) Early Christians were accused of cannibalism because of a belief in the presences of Jesus within the Eucharist. Mark 12: 16, 22-26 says: “Take this, this is my body … This is my blood, the blood of the covenant to be poured out on behalf of many”. Chapter six of the Gospel of John has a lot to say about the subject. As Jesus was explaining it, most of his follower left him. Then and now it is hard to understand. It is like a soul hidden in a body, but at death it takes faith to believe that the reality of that individual’s existence is now in the soul (not the dead body). It is Jesus’ divine presence in disguise within the communion elements. It is an outward sign of an inward bonding between the believer and Jesus.
We become
blood and flesh relatives with Christ. The divinity of Jesus is there in the
Eucharist to preserve us from the corruption of sin, to renew our hearts &
souls and to inspire us to go forward to give God’s love and mercy to others.
The divinity of Jesus is feeding and nourishing every cell of our bodies with
God’s compassion (like the above feeding of the 4,000). What appears spiritual
becomes reality as we consume and then are transformed into the “Body of
Christ” on earth. It takes faith.
If you do not believe in the real presence, then still allow communion to be more than a symbolic event of long ago. Let it renew you, nourish you and transform you into “Christian Love”. Let it become a sacred and special moment of bonding between you, Jesus and all believers. Let the Holy Spirit make this experience a real experience of closeness with Christ. I hope each communion can be a conversion experience where you (really & fully) give yourself to Christ, then Christ (really & fully) gives himself to you, and finally you (really & fully) becomes "The Body of Christ" for the world to see today - through your actions. It's a mystery.
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8 - Crucifixion Sacrifice: (Represents the self-sacrificial life of all Christians.) Scripture says: “Through His suffering, my servant (Christ) shall justify many, and their guilt He shall bear (IS. 53: 10-11). It takes sacrifice to forgive, to dedicate time for loved ones and to seek the good in our life. To die for another is a supreme sacrifice. It is difficult to understand how giving up a life saves others unless we think of people in the military dying for our defense, firemen dying to protect our homes or policemen dying for our safety.
It was
customary for our Hebrew ancestors to kill a lamb at Passover as a sacrifice
for their sins. Jesus became our lamb. However, love requires sacrifices each
day from us and Jesus’ crucifixion is our example.
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9 -
Resurrection: (Represents our eternal life – and our life through faith after
death.) Scripture says: “If we have been united with Him (Jesus) through
likeness to his death, so shall we be through His resurrection” (RM. 6: 3-11).
Resurrection
gives us hope and purpose since Christians are a “Resurrected People”. Death
means the end unless there is a resurrection life in which to go into God’s
timeless eternity. The resurrection brings glory to our last days, it oversees
the living and the dead. For it raises us up to life again through God.
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10 -
Ascension: (Represents our being drawn to God’s greatness.) Jesus ascended to
God the Father in his glorified body. This may be difficult for us to
understand. However, we should be drawn to God’s greatness on earth. We could
ascend into a higher level of faith, caring more, giving more and loving more.
We do not physically have to be with the divine in order for God to be with us
now on earth.
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11 Pentecost: (Represents Holy Spirit Inspiration in our Lives.) Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. The Holy Spirit demonstrates Christian fellowship through its inspiration (2 Cor. 13:14). It transforms fearful followers of Christ into inspired and motivated disciples. It creates bonding whereas our fear can create isolation. The Holy Spirit makes our faith real not just an intellectual ideal. It illuminates believers and sanctifies them. It binds their hands from sin and covers their eyes from temptation. It commands us to be good and produces God’s truth in our lives.
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12 - The
Body of Christ: (Representation of Christians becoming the physical actions of
Christ on earth.) Scripture says: “You then are the body of Christ, every one
of you is a member of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). Each one of us form the face of Jesus
for the world to see. Let us work together In order to find our strength and
purpose as Christians. As the Body of Christ we help one another and turn
towards the needs of others. The Body of Christ becomes a part of our Christian
mission of charity, love and faith. Together (and united), we need our common
faith – to trust in God more, we need our common love – to follow God more and
we need a common dependency – to obey God’s will for us all. Faith is so much
better when you are not alone in expressing it.
NOTE: Look
at the above picture from a distance to see how all the individual images of
people form the face of Jesus.
D. crone
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DEVOTIONAL BEADS (for the Mysteries
of Christianity):
Above is The 12 Mysteries of
Christianity Beads
NOTE: Designed to hang on a door to remind you to take the 12 Mysteries of Christianity as you go and as you come in. You can also hold them as “Physical Prayer to God”. This is something new and not associated with any particular Christian denomination but for the use of all Christians.
Bead 1 is to ask for humility (thinking of the Incarnation of Jesus)
Bead 2 is to thank God for his
adapting to us (thinking of the Trinity)
Bead 3 is to pray for transformation
(thinking of water changed into wine at Cana
Bead 4 is to ask for the spirit of
giving (thinking of the feeding the 4,000)
Bead 5 is to seek the divinity -
Christ Spirit in others (thinking of the Transfiguration)
Bead 6 is asking for new life from
our problems (thinking of the raising of Lazarus)
Bead 7 is wishing to be family
(thinking of the Last Supper)
Bead 8 is wanting a sacrificial life
for loved one (thinking of the Crucifixion)
Bead 9 is finding hope through God
(thinking of the Resurrection)
Bead 10 is being inspired by the Holy
Spirit (thinking of Pentecost)
Bead 11 is rising to God’s will (thinking
of the Ascension)
Bead 12 is desiring unity (thinking
of the Body of Christ)
I would suggest praying the Lord’s
Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed between beads if the beads are used as prayer
beads (something to hold on to as you are praying).
D.
Crone
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