No Spoiler Alert Here!

Epiphany Sunday, 1/7/18
Ephesians 3:2-12


No Spoiler Alert Here!
I. God reveals salvation’s mystery to us.
II. We share salvation’s mystery with others.


Information in our modern world comes at us so quickly and at such an enormous volume, we’ve had to learn that there is some information we don’t want—at least not at the moment.

For instance, modern ultrasound procedures have made it possible for medical technicians to announce to expecting parents whether their little bundle of joy will be pink or blue. Some parents welcome that information since it eliminates half of the considerations for a name for their child and assists their friends and relatives in choosing baby gifts. Other expecting parents choose to do things the old-fashioned way and find out at birth. If the latter is the case, as the ultrasound is being conducted, the technician will issue a spoiler alert.

I’m so old that I recall when you used to have to wait for the daily newspaper to arrive in order to find out the baseball or football scores from the previous day. Now the scores of each game are posted live on countless websites. So, if you aren’t able to watch your favorite team play, you might record the game intending to watch it later. In the meantime, you might tell family and friends not to update you on the results of the game. You don’t want them to spoil the unknown for you.

The same thing can be said for award ceremonies, the latest blockbuster movie, or a newly released sci-fi novel. Media outlets like to share information on all these things because their audiences are interested. But, before they reveal too much, they might issue a spoiler alert so that you can step away from what they are about to share, thus keeping the suspense untouched for you.

In this morning’s reading from Ephesians, St. Paul reveals a mystery to us, but he does so without issuing a spoiler alert. However, doesn’t that risk alienating those who read and hear his words? Not at all. Not at all, because this is a mystery that every person needs to understand immediately; tomorrow may be too late. The mystery that the Lord reveals involves his plan of salvation for every sinner. That’s why there’s no spoiler alert here. So let’s dig into this mystery and see what it means for us and for others as Paul explains exactly what that mystery is. There’s no spoiler alert here!

Part I.

Are you familiar with the term “new normal”? I assume most of you are. According to one definition, “new normal” is a term that is used in a variety of contexts to imply that something which was previously abnormal has become commonplace. Half a century ago, it was normal to write a handwritten letter to a loved one and it was abnormal to call them on the telephone (mostly because of long-distance phone charges). Today, the new normal is to call them or send them a text message. Fifteen years ago our government officials didn’t make much public use of mass communication. Today, the new normal is that they tweet incessantly about anything and everything on their minds. What’s next?

There was a new normal in the world of the Apostle Paul and he used this portion of his Letter to the Ephesians to explain it. He begins our text with the words, “Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation.” In simple terms, what is Paul taking about? He’s talking about the way that God shared his saving grace with others. In the past—for centuries before Paul’s day—God used his people, the Jews, to share his grace by and large with his people, the Jews. Although God has always loved all people and has always wanted all people to be saved, the sharing of his grace—by his design—was by his people among his people. There were precious few examples of God’s people sharing his grace with people across the Jewish borders.

But Paul makes a point of the fact that God shared his grace with him. Since Paul was a Jew, what’s so significant about that? What’s so abnormal? Paul was the last person you and I would have chosen. Paul hated Jesus. He wanted nothing to do with him. In fact, he took great pains to rid the world of anyone who followed Jesus. But Jesus showed his special grace to Paul and called him to faith in him. You recall how that took place as Paul was on his way to Damascus to arrest more Christians. Jesus turned Paul into a Christian.

But that’s not all! Jesus also called Paul to be his special apostle to the Gentiles. That doesn’t sound so abnormal to us—we’re Gentiles—but that call literally rocked Paul’s world. He hated heathen Gentiles as much as he hated Christian Jews. And now Jesus was calling him to share his saving grace especially with Gentiles?! Indeed! How abnormal!

But the Lord wanted Paul to know that this was the new normal (in fact, that was always the way it had been with the Lord). For Paul, this was a mystery, something hidden from him. So God revealed it to him. Paul writes, “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Paul had lived the first part of his life believing that God’s grace was only for him and his fellow Jews. God showed him in a dramatic way that simply wasn’t the case. The good news about Jesus as the Savior from sin was for all people.

That’s not a mystery God wants to hide from us. Instead he deeply wants to reveal it to us.

There’s no spoiler alert here! God reveals salvation’s mystery to us.

So, if you came here this morning expecting to hear something totally new, I hate to disappoint you. By the working of the Holy Spirit you already knew before you came here this morning what this “mystery” is. You know that the good news of Jesus is for all people. Paul’s new normal is our old normal. But at times that’s exactly the problem. God revealed the mystery of salvation to you when he brought you to faith in Jesus. For the vast majority of you, that occurred decades ago. There isn’t any “mystery” left to reveal to us. And so we tend to overlook it, consider it yesterday’s news, become impressed with so many other exciting things that life has to offer—all to the detriment of the most important truth we could ever know: that Jesus is our Savior from sin. True to our sinful human nature, when we have had the grace of God for so long, we tend to ignore and even despise it. Pitiful isn’t it? But that’s nothing new. God’s people have always been tempted to downplay the great grace of God and emphasize their own value before him. The world’s incessant message to you is that it has something far more interesting and far more appealing to pay attention to than the fact the Jesus is your Savior from sin. And the poor souls who get sucked in by that satanic lie exchange the eternal grace of God for eternal separation from him. Don’t let it happen to you! Make the trip to Bethlehem once again with the wise men and behold the God of your salvation in human flesh and blood. See the One laid in the manger who came to be nailed to a cross for you. Be certain that he came to this earth for you because he came to this earth for every sinner. That’s the Epiphany gospel! That’s the mystery Epiphany reveals. Your God wants you to know and to celebrate that mystery right now. There’s no spoiler alert here!

Part II.

Can you believe how quickly our methods of communication have changed just in the last 50 years? Fifty years ago, I grew up with telephones mounted to the wall, a TV, a radio and the US postal service. That was about it. Sure there were telegrams, but most people didn’t use them. Now, even sending emails is “old school” for some people. Instead, they twit and tweet and who knows what’s next?

But God’s communication methods have never changed. Paul states, “Now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known.” By “church” Paul is not referring to some massive institution. He’s referring to Christians, individuals who trust in Jesus as their Savior. God has always used his church to share his message of salvation.

Paul states that the church is revealing this wisdom to “rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” Just what does he mean? He’s talking about the angels in heaven. Angels are not all-knowing as God is. Paul is stating the same truth expressed elsewhere in the Bible—that angels are amazed and thrilled as they see God’s plan of salvation unfold. A virgin birth in a lowly stable? Amazing! Turning a vicious persecutor of the church into the greatest missionary the world has ever seen? Unbelievable! That you and I should be members of God’s kingdom? Astounding! Angels are amazed!

But his plan for us—his church—doesn’t stop there. He also uses us to reveal the mystery of his salvation to others. In fact, that’s our mission as a congregation of Christians. We exist to share the saving grace of God with all people. What is no longer a mystery to us remains a mystery to billions of people living right now. If part of God’s purpose for us is to reveal the mystery of our salvation to angels who don’t need salvation, how much more important is it for us to reveal the mystery of our salvation to sinners who are still in the dark? There’s no spoiler alert here! We don’t need to warn them that we’re going to reveal a mystery to them. Instead, our goal is to invite them to know what we know. It’s as simple as sharing Jesus with them.

Now that a new year has begun, let’s rededicate ourselves to doing that very thing—to sharing the mystery of salvation with one and all. Can you think of any more important or urgent endeavor than that? How will you participate? Let’s encourage each other to share the mystery of salvation. There’s no spoiler alert here! Every sinner needs to know what this mystery is. May God help us share it! Amen.