First Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-12,14,16
Psalm: Ps 89:2-5,27,29
Epistle: Romans 16:25-27
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

To him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations

Secrets

This is the time of year for secrets. If you looked at the reflection I wrote in today’s bulletin, you know what I’m talking about. What am I getting? Where is it hidden? We wonder what might be under the Christmas tree or in our stockings a week from now. Children wonder where their parents might have hidden their gifts. Are they hidden in the closet, the basement, under mom and dad’s bed? As children of God, we are lot like that too. We are filled with questions and tend to see God as a mystery, as hidden.

Used to be hidden

God used to be hidden. He was certainly in contact with His people, but that contact came through burning bushes and other such occurrences. This kind of remote contact lasted for centuries. God was in the mysterious heavens. He was unknowable. Everyone knew that anyone who might happen to see God would die (Exodus 33:20). God revealed Himself to Moses in the bush and on mount Sinai, and in doing so Moses was remarkably changed. Except for Moses, who was given the opportunity to glimpse God, God was still a hidden mystery, a stashed away present.

Then comes

Mary is at home. The angel Gabriel comes to her and makes a great announcement. God is to become incarnate in humanity through her, if she agrees. As we know, she agrees, and in that moment God is incarnate. What does that mean?

It means that God is no longer a mystery. God cannot hide in heaven, or speak though burning bushes. God, in all His reality, in the fullness of His life, is now apparent and living in the world. God lives among us, and is completely joined to our humanity. God is the present that cannot be hidden. Everyone knows where it is.

Presents

Think about that present. That moment with Mary, her saying yes, and God entering our reality. Next Sunday we honor the 2011th plus 9 months anniversary of that present. The box is open, nothing is hidden anymore.

God is known

Jesus often spoke about making His Father known. He always said that if we know Him we know His Father. That was God’s desire — to be known and open with His people. He didn’t want to live in secret or apart from us. He doesn’t want to appear to us through burning bushes or in some fancy or marvelous way — some way that is way beyond belief. Last Sunday we heard that Jesus comes to rummage through our disasters, our sins with us. He is right here with us, to pick us up and to be known to us. God wants nothing else but to be with us. He stays with us, and His messages, His way of life is plain to us. We recognize Him because He even looks like us.

Paul’s message

This is what Paul is talking about. Paul’s message tells us that we need no secret code. We aren’t like the gnostics who thought that knowledge of God comes through understanding some deep, hidden meaning whose true message could only be understood through “secret wisdom.” He’s telling us that God is easily understood and in His incarnation He is fully and completely revealed. The things hidden long ago, the mysteries hidden away in the closet, in the basement, under the bed, aren’t there anymore.

Give glory

So Paul gives glory to God. He praises Him as we would praise that parent, that special someone, who found the exact right gift. It’s the kind of gift a person couldn’t even articulate. It is the gift we couldn’t even describe if we wanted to. It is the gift that the instant we see it, Wow! It fulfills all our expectations. It is everything we ever wanted all wrapped up into one.

Next Sunday that present is ours. Next Sunday the miracle of that present will be in our hands. It is God incarnate. God no longer wants to be hidden, He definitely isn’t a secret. Jesus came to us and revealed all the secrets — and none are that complex. They are simple. Our present is love and community. We know love without bounds and are to live with each other the same way. What a great present.

to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever.

Amen.