Sssshhh… It’s a secret!

Dear Friends,

In researching some recipes for Thanksgiving, I came across an article: 7 Secrets to Perfect Turkey. Now, I was not even making the turkey, but I could not resist reading that article. What is it about secrets that are so irresistible? (Brining seems key, btw ;).

If someone says, “I have something to tell you that I haven’t told anyone,” they immediately have your attention. It is tantalizing. Your curiosity goes through the roof! Just hope it is not gossip that is getting spread around. 

Or if we think about all the gifts that will be wrapped under the tree come Christmas morning, they are like secrets hiding in plain sight. One year, when we were kids, our parents put some gifts out early. We eyed them up; we weighed them; even shook some - in an effort to determine what was hiding secretly in plain sight. And frankly, we spoiled some of the mystery. My parents learned their lesson.

Regarding secrets, we all have them. And to some extent we may want to share them, at least with another person. Sometimes we share them, so we do not have to carry the burden alone. Other times we might share them with a confidant in an effort to build trust, to strengthen the friendship. But really, we only reveal secrets to those we trust, those we think will honor the treasure of our secret.

I do not know if you have ever thought about it, but God has secrets, too. God keeps secrets. God does not just share all the knowledge or information with everyone, which is why in seminary we studied Divine Revelation: how and what God reveals His actions, His plan and ultimately Himself.

Perhaps it may be helpful to think about God’s secrets like treasures. Consider the parables of the kingdom related to the pearl and the treasure (see Mt 13:44f). In both, there is a hiddenness to the kingdom that is revealed only to those who search and find. Those parables reveal something about the hiddenness of the kingdom of God. Everything about God is not just out there, immediately apparent. In fact, every parable both reveals and conceals. Consider some wisdom from Proverbs, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings to search things out.” God truly is the concealer and revealer of truths and treasures, the greatest of which is Himself.

In fact, one way that Saint Thomas Aquinas depicted our relationship with Christ is a mine. Thomas understood that God was awaiting our discovery of Who God is. He wants to be known, to have a close personal and intimate relationship with each of us, something akin to a friendship. Like all friendships, it takes time, effort, and energy to get to know the other person. Now, God completely knows us. Each of us, through and through are known and loved by God (see Ps 139). But how well do we know God? How deeply in the mine have we dug and explored? To follow the analogy through, the deeper we probe and seek, the more wondrous and exquisite the jewels and treasures we discover. 

So, God has secrets. But it is not that He hides His secrets from you. It is that He hides His secrets for you, like a friend waiting to share the mystery of who they are with you. He hides secrets for you to encourage you to care about them, search for them, find them, learn them, and cherish them.

Advent is a beautiful season in which God reveals special secrets for us who await His arrival. I wish you a blessed and faith-filled Advent, as we seek to know more of the mystery of God.

Blessings!

Fr. Joel