Giving place to mystery

Preaching Now this week quotes James Earl Massey on the place of mystery in preaching:

Mystery is something whose utter strangeness and stubbornness forever resist all attempts on our part to domesticate it, dominate it, define it or dismiss it. Life is a mystery! Death is a mystery! The incarnation -- the coming of God in Jesus Christ -- is a mystery! The resurrection of Jesus from death is a mystery! Our life on this planet involves us in mystery. The Story of God's gracious dealings with us through grace involves us in mystery! We can experience the mystery, but, try as we might, we cannot explain it. We who preach are stewards of the mysteries of God. What we offer and extend through preaching can be experienced but it is more wonderful -- filled with what arouses wonder and awe -- than we can fully explain.

The temptation for both preachers and those who listen to our preaching is to explain everything in neat categories that offer no room for doubt or wonder. Resist it.