Greetings in the Name of the Lord, 

     Last week I used this space to kick off an effort to explore some of the “middle ways” that Mainline Protestantism provides that may prove effective in combating the perceived polarization of our time. I wanted to start this week with something we read every month as part of the Prayer of Great Thanksgiving we use in preparation for receiving the Lord’s Supper. 

 
          This phrase is a kind of easter egg, just one of many sprinkled throughout our modern-day liturgies, that opens a window in the Church’s past. This little phrase, at least 1800 years old, holds in it so much knowledge and history that it is going to take me several newsletter articles to get through it all. For today though we will focus on the historical context to this deeply meaningful phrase: “Great is the Mystery of Faith”.
Like so much of what we recite in church, this phrase has its root in the bible, specifically 1 Timothy 3:9. First Timothy is an interesting book because most modern scholars tend to believe that 1.) it was not written by Paul, but rather by someone pretending to be Paul (a pretty common occurrence in the ancient world and not the only instance of this in the New Testament) and 2.) that it is considerably newer than most of the New Testament, likely dating to around 110 CE (Paul’s true letters are from the 40-50s, and the gospels tend to be from the 70-90s). 
Why does this matter? If I am completely honest, First Timothy is a troubling bit of the bible, and not one that I tend to pay too much attention to. For one it goes against much of Paul’s documented actions in the Acts of the Apostles--where women are often central to the mission of the early church—by saying that women must be quiet and submit to male leadership, paving the way for centuries of women’s oppression and a church that often stood in stark contrast to the mission of Jesus by excluding women from leadership. For me, this renders the theology and intent of the writer highly suspect and strengthens the case that Paul did not write it.  All that said, while First Timothy should probably be ignored from a theological standpoint, First Timothy is still a worthy historical document.
       Assuming First Timothy was written around 110 CE, it offers one of the best windows into the emerging leadership structures of the early church, before it was Romanized in 313 CE by Emperor Constantine. The book outlines roles and responsibilities for various church officials, like bishops and deacons. It is here, outlining the responsibilities of Deacons where we encounter the only appearance in the bible of the more specific phrase “Mystery of Faith”. To be fair, the term mystery (mysterion in Greek) was used by both the gospel writers and by Paul where it is paired up as “mystery of God”, “mystery of Christ”, “mystery of the kingdom”, “mystery of the ages”, “mystery of his will”, but as the specific “mystery of faith” it only appears in Timothy. My guess is that the use of the specific phrase “mystery of faith” came to mean something specific to the early church sometime after Paul’s letters were written, but before 110 CE and that the author of Timothy was using it because he knew it would resonate with his readers. Now, part of the reason mysterion catches my attention is because has little to no meaning within Judaic culture and therefore would most likely not have been a term used by Jesus. As a result one is left wondering, how did it become part of the vernacular of the early church?
     To me this is where things get exciting. Of the letters we most thoroughly believe were actually written by Paul, the word mysterion appears most frequently in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, a faith community in a city that was a major trading hub of the Greek world.  This tells us a lot about not only Paul and the way he engaged in mission, but a lot about the formation of the early church.
For one, it highlights that there was in fact quite a bit of Greek influence on the early church. Greek influence within Judaism was already in full swing by the time of Jesus, but it appears the early church, led by Paul, was willing to embrace this influence and lean into it.  Paul surely used the word mysterion so much in his letter to the Corinthians because he knew it would help them connect this new faith to things they already understood.
Much like the word baptismo, which is a Greek word meaning cleansing, mysterion (which means hidden) was a word that was used within Greek secret societies. The closest modern day parallel to these kinds of secret societies would be masonic organizations. These societies would have had highly developed and esoteric initiation rites and rituals. They would have claimed secret knowledge and had special teachings for their members. Greek life on College Campuses is clearly descended from of these ancient societies, playfully borrowing from them in an effort to form intentional community. 
As the church developed and spread beyond the boundaries of Judea and Palestine, they borrowed elements of the surrounding cultures to help make it more accessible to new converts of the faith. First Timothy shows us that the idea of a mystery as a specific teaching (a Greek notion) made its way into the vernacular of the early church.
      Digging a little further into some of the Church’s earliest writings reveal that there were three primary “mysteries” (again think teachings) in the early church: bible study, liturgy and theoria--or as it was known in Latin contempliato. When the author of First Timothy talks about the importance of Deacons holding fast to the mystery of faith there is a good chance he is referring to the importance of these three “mysteries”.
Over the centuries language has changed and theologies have been refined, but modern day Christians can certainly still relate to these primary “mysteries”.  Reformed Christianity (which as Presbyterians we hold as a theological foundation) still affirms the bible as the primary source for knowledge of God and still hold liturgy, particularly the sacraments, as a central tenant of the faith (noted by the fact that my official title is Minister of Word and Sacrament). That said we don’t always talk a whole lot about the third “mystery”.  
      Although we will delve into more details in future newsletter articles, theoria/contempliato is best summarized as silence meditation and prayer in an attempt to get to better know the presence of God, something it should be noted that Jesus did a lot of in the Gospels.  What is most interesting to me, is that although Christian Tradition has largely moved its focus away from the third mystery of faith, it was that third way that helped the early church overcome some of its greatest divisions, debates and challenges.  I hope that will spark your interest for next week’s installment!
In Peace,
Mike