In the Secret Service

Learning how to see and love a hidden God

11/19/2022

Lk 23:35-43 The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God." Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

One of the most frustrating things about Christianity is how hidden God is. Wouldn’t you like God to be more visible, more audible, and even easier to behold and worship at Mass? God is a little like the man a priest stopped after Mass one Sunday. The priest was shaking hands with people when he noticed one young man whom he had not seen in a while.

The priest took him aside and said, “You need to join the army of the Lord.” The man answered: “I am already in the Lord’s Army, Father.” The priest frowned and inquired: “Then how come I don’t see you except at Christmas and Easter?” The man whispered back: “I’m in the secret service.” In a sense, God, too, is in the secret service because it is often hard to find him.

We see a perfect instance of God’s hiddenness in the gospel today. Jesus is hanging dying on the Cross, and the Jews ask the most reasonable question in the world: “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” In other words, stop hiding your power and prestige, flex your royal muscles, and show everyone who’s boss! We don’t want a hidden God, we want a rock-star God who will dazzle us with light and smoke and thunderous noise!

Still, even though Jesus was in God’s secret service, someone nonetheless noticed his hiddenness, namely, the Good Thief hanging by his side. The Good Thief, sometimes named Dismas, humbly says to our surreptitious Savior: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” That is, the criminal recognized that Jesus was indeed a King but in disguise, hidden from the eyes of the world, and yet visible to the eyes of faith.

And perhaps no one saw Jesus more clearly with the eyes of faith than St. Paul, the great theological mind of the New Testament. If Peter is the “Braun” (the Rock) on which Christ builds his Church, then Paul is surely the “brains” behind the operation. Thus, he wrote to the Colossians (our second reading) of the great Christological hymn of the New Testament, saying: “Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation…He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.” In other words, God is indeed hidden, but God’s glory is manifest in Jesus to the eyes of faith.

Now, when we acknowledge and accept that we believe in a hidden God, who works in his own secret service, two things follow rather clearly. First of all, we begin to understand why the seven sacraments are rather plain, unassuming, and honestly, even unimpressive rituals. Think about this. Baptism is a little water splashed on a baby’s head. Confirmation is a smidge of oil smeared on the forehead. Eucharist is a nibble of unleaved bread and a sip of tasteless wine. And so forth for each sacrament that to all the world looks as uninspiring as a dying man hanging on a tree.

But to the eyes of faith that water, that oil, that bread and wine, convey to us the grace of “He who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Many Catholics come to Mass with the same attitude as the Jews looking at Jesus on the Cross: “Save yourself! Show your splendor and glory if you are the King of the Jews!” And maybe that’s why some Catholics attended churches where there is more light and smoke and thunderous music. But I believe the simplicity of the sacraments continue the same logic of the hiddenness of God that we see in Jesus on the Cross: his glory is visible only to the eyes of faith.

The second lesson that God’s hiddenness can teach us is that the most important things in life are hidden and invisible. What does that mean? Well, the truly valuable, timeless, and important things cannot be measured or weighed; they cannot be tasted or touched, or even heard or felt or smelled. What things? These immaterial things are faith, hope and love; they are freedom, and decency and courtesy; they are kindness, mercy, and humility; they are patriotism, loyalty, and courage; they are joy, peace, and perseverance.

I am convinced that God prefers to remain a hidden God – not a God of shock and awe – because he is trying to teach us to look for the most important things (like Him) not in the obvious and overt places. In a word, look for God in his Army’s secret service, and there you will find everything else worthwhile.

Every year we conclude the liturgical church calendar with the great feast of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. But he is a curious kind of King, who likes to hide from the eyes of the world, but reveals himself to the eyes of faith. One of the most aggravating things about Christianity is how God is hidden. But that is also one of the saving graces of Christianity. Why? Because God’s hiddenness helps us to remember that all truly enduring and eternal things are always hidden.

Praised be Jesus Christ!