Hidden Truths

6 April 2022

By Rev Kenneth Mtata 

Today's readings 

Psalm 20; 

Habakkuk 3:2-15; 

Luke 18:31-34

Verse of the day 

"But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said" (Luke 18:34).

If you want to look at the sun, you need dark glasses to reduce the intensity of its light. Otherwise, you cannot look at it. If you want to see God, you need to look at him through the human person of Jesus. Otherwise, God is not accessible through the naked eye or when he reveals himself uncovered.

There are two ways God is accessible to humans. The first is the naked form in which God comes with all aspects which human beings cannot understand and contain. In this naked form, God may come in huge catastrophes, unexplainable devastating events, earthquakes, destructions. This naked God can happen to an individual like he did to Job when he lost children, wealth, health, and friends. God can also happen in a naked form to a nation like he did to Pharaoh’s Egypt when he sent frogs, contaminated water sources, deaths of first-born sons, etc. The naked God is the one who said to Moses “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live" (Exodus 33:20).

The naked God is one referred to in Habakkuk 3:3ff: 

“God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens,

and the earth was full of his praise. The brightness was like the sun; rays came forth from his hand, where his power lay hidden. Before him went pestilence, and plague followed close behind. He stopped and shook the earth; he looked and made the nations tremble. The eternal mountains were shattered; along his ancient pathways; the everlasting hills sank low.” God in his naked form is a cause of fear.

The naked God is the one Jesus talked about to his disciples in Luke 18:34: “But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” They did not understand a God who really loved his son but who would allow him to die a cruel death. They did not understand a Messiah who was supposed to deliver them but who appears to be weak and vulnerable to death. The hidden, mysterious, and naked God remains hidden from us until he hangs on the tree in Christ Jesus. Only then does God become accessible to humans. While the naked and fearsome God is not easy to relate with, the revealed and clothed God in Jesus is the one referred to by the Psalm 20:1ff. He is the one who “answers you in the day of trouble! He protects you! He sends you help from the sanctuary, and gives you support from Zion. He remembers all your offerings and regards with favor your burnt sacrifices.” It is this God who was introduced to us in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Before someone can understand the alien, dangerous and unmediated God, they cannot fully appreciate how accessible God became to us because of Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, it is normal sometimes to experience the God who is naked, alien, and inaccessible. Even on the cross Jesus came face to face with this God and cried, “my God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?” Let us remember that even when we cannot understand what this God is doing, we can also call upon him so that he can disclose himself to us for our comfort and joy.

Prayer

God, we pray that you always come to us in the way we can relate with you. We are afraid to encounter you without our mediator Jesus Christ. Show yourself right now as an accessible God, especially to those who cannot fully comprehend what is going on in their lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen