Mystery

This post is somewhat of a continuation on a post I wrote back in February, you can read it here.

We too often lose sight of the mysteries of our faith. We reduce the presence of God in the world to simple wrote prayers, written doctrines and staunchly enforced rules. We gaze at the Most Beautiful Source of Life and force ourselves to suppress our wonder... lest It change us.

Chesterton wrote about this suppression beautifully,

“`Long years and centuries ago our fathers or the founders of our people drank, as they dreamed, of the blood of God. Long years and centuries have passed since the strength of that giant vintage has been anything but a legend of the age of giants.... Long since that bitter drink has been itself diluted; rinsed out and washed away by the waters of oblivion and the wave of the world. Never did we think to taste again even that bitter tang of sincerity and the spirit, still less the richer and the sweeter strength of the purple vineyards in our dreams of the age of gold. Day by day and year by year we have lowered our hopes and lessened our convictions; we have grown more and more used to seeing those vats and vineyards overwhelmed in the water-floods and the last savour and suggestion of that special element fading like a stain of purple upon a sea of grey. We have grown used to dilution, to dissolution, to a watering down and went on forever. But Thou hast kept the good wine until now.'"

I love this quote, especially for the note on which it ends. ‘Thou hast kept the good wine until now.’ This is an allusion to John 2:10, the comment of the head waiter at the Wedding of Cana after tasting Jesus’ miraculous wine. Jesus has taken ordinary water (arguably the most watered down form of wine that can exist) and has transformed the dilution into something magnificent.

This gives me hope for us. Although we may water down the mysteries of our faith and lose all sense of wonder and awe, God retains the power to reveal; to reawaken; to dazzle.

As beautiful as these mysteries may be... it takes incredible courage to ask God to dazzle us again... to allow ourselves to be swept up into God’s permeating presence, the Beautiful Source of Life. I have been praying that God will awaken me to the Spirit’s glorious and mysterious presence around me.

Dear Lord... dazzle us once again!

Peace turtles!