Stewards of the Mysteries of God

The message of the Kingdom of Heaven

Stewards of the mysteries of God

O Lord Jesu Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee: Grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Associated passages: 1 Corinthians 4.1-5, Matthew 11.2-10

The Message

Jesus’ first coming had a messenger, prophesied by Isaiah, to prepare the way. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” so John the Baptist preached (Matt. 3:2). Dallas Willard says that ‘a kingdom is simply the range of our effective will.’ The kingdom of heaven coming near means that the will of God is being made effectual nearby - and the little word ‘repent’ means that there is an appropriate response. God is acting, he is doing good and bringing light and life to those who live in the shadow of suffering and death. This is the message that Jesus continued to preach - God is here and things are happening!

The meaning of the kingdom of heaven as God’s action explains why, when John questioned if Jesus was really the one, Jesus said, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matt. 11:4-5). These are the things that happen when God acts.

John the evangelist, when he reflected on his experiences following Jesus and seeing the kingdom of heaven coming near, wrote, ‘that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life’ (1 John 1:1). The One who has life in Himself came to be with us. John saw the Word of life with his own eyes, and could reach out and touch Him. And His life was so powerful that it flew out of Him and healed those He touched.

This message is the ‘mystery now revealed … which is Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Colossians 1:26-27). This is a wonderful message - that God came to live among us and that the promised new age has already begun in the life of Jesus. After conquering death, Jesus rose to sit at the right hand of the Father. After His glorification he gave his people the Spirit. The Spirit in turn has set apart ‘stewards of the mysteries of God,’ people who ‘make the word of God fully known’ (1 Cor. 4:1, Col. 1:25).

The Stewards of the Message

The message which John preached and which Jesus embodied, this is ‘the mystery.’ And the church has been given ministers who are ‘stewards of the mystery.’ Our word steward is a solid Old English word. It comes from stiġweard, which is made from stiġ (house or hall, where we get the word sty), and weard (guardian, where we get the word ward). A steward is someone who looks after something while the owner is away. To be a ‘steward of the mysteries of God’ is therefore to be someone who looks after the message of the Kingdom of Heaven while Jesus is physically absent.

We need to listen to these stewards in the church. The message they carry is the hope of glory, the message of God coming near and His indwelling life in you. It is their message which will transform you, which will ‘turn the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.’ So this Advent, open your ears to the stewards of God’s mysteries. Hear their message and let it change you.

Perhaps you know a bad steward? A church leader who doesn’t do a good job? Remember that it’s not the person you are committing to, it’s the message they carry. “Practise and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practise.” Matt. 23:4. Remember that they will give an account for their work, and it’s not your judgement that matters. “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.” 1 Cor.4:3-4

In Advent we remember the time of Jesus’ first coming, but the Collect also calls us to remember his second coming. He first came in humility, he will come again in judgement. If we want to be a people acceptable in his sight, we need to listen to the words of the stewards and turn our hearts. If Jesus is going to bring justice in his judgement, then we must listen to the wisdom of the just.

Therefore, whether you have a good steward or a bad one, pray this Collect. Pray that God’s ministers will faithfully steward the mystery, and transform the lives of those who listen to them. Pray that your heart will be changed by their message, and that through God’s transformation of you, you will be acceptable in his sight.