Matthew 13:11: to you [it is given] to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
In the early church, one of the most common terms for the sacraments was “mystery.” One (Theodore of Mopsuestia) wrote “Every mystery is a manifestation by signs and symbols of invisible and ineffable realities.” “Happy mystery of our water, because the sins of our former blindness are washed away and we are freed for everlasting life!” began Tertullian’s treatise concerning baptism.
There were no doubt assumptions about sacraments in this usage that we would find questionable, but the notion that the sacraments reveal mysteries is biblical. Jesus came speaking in parables, and in these parables He revealed to those with ears to hear the mysteries of the kingdom, mysteries hidden from the foundation of the world. And these mysteries are portrayed for us in the sacraments.
The mysteries that Jesus revealed have to do with the future course of history. Nothing is more closed to human beings than the future. We don’t know what tomorrow might hold, and certainly can’t predict where the stock market or oil prices will be in several months. Throughout history, men have attempted to penetrate the future, with everything from oracles and crystal balls to mathematical models of economic growth. But the future remains a mystery, revealed only as it comes.
But Jesus reveals the mystery of the future, which is the mystery of the kingdom, when He speaks of the kingdom as a seed, as leaven, as a net, as a merchant seeking for pearls. Through Jesus, who is the Lord of the future, we know some of the mysteries of the kingdom.
And this table is a revealer of mysteries as well. In this meal, God gives us the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. In this meal, we have a taste of the future fulfillment of the
Eat and drink, and give thanks. For to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
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