Stewardship is related to responsibility. And it is sometimes used interchangeably with servanthood. The root meaning of “steward” as used in the New Testament Greek means literarily, a “house-distributor”; that is, a manager of a house (and or the resources being housed) in which sense, an overseer, in a sense of an employee. The striking insight when I read about believers as “stewards of the Mysteries” is that we are being given and or have been entrusted with something that is beyond us to “oversee”.
If you own a company would you fill a managerial position with someone with no experience in the area the company specializes? I would think managerial positions are filled with well-trained employees with several years of experience. Our daily journey with God is a training to oversee/serve the divine mysteries.
Qualifications
At which stage of our spiritual journey do we “qualify” to become “overseers”, “managers” of the things of God? Notice that St. Paul did not just write about the “things” of God rather he speaks about the “mysteries.” That is, the hidden things of God. St. Paul speaks of mysteries as those revealed realities that were used to be hidden and in some sense still remains hidden. To be managers of hidden realities of God, one ought to know how to access the hidden place housing the hidden realities. We are never “qualified” to govern the divine mysteries. Rather, God qualifies us to be ministers (servants) of His mysteries. Every event that God allows in and out of lives is a process of this qualification.
The “here-and-not-yet”
The fact that we are still on this earth managing the things that reside in heaven creates the atmosphere of “the present-and-not-yet.” God is present to us but we do not know Him fully yet. The Scriptures say we know parts. The time is coming (in the Parousia) when we will have perfect knowledge (cf 1 Cor 3:9ff). St. John writes: “Brethren, we are God’s children now and what we shall be is yet to be revealed” (1 John 3:2). The beloved apostle describes our identity as “God’s children.” What then does he mean when he says “what we shall be is yet to be revealed”? This means we are still grappling with the mysteries and must continue wrestling to understand certain aspects of divine mysteries.
Keeping us hungry
The divine mystery is not meant to confuse us but to keep us hungry, longing for more of God. Although popular understanding of the word mystery assumes that a mystery cannot be known; in the biblical context, a divine mystery is that which was hidden, but has been revealed or will be revealed. The journey to heaven has to be propelled by a longing to get to the destination. God would not give us access to a package on this earth if He wants us to open the package in heaven. But He can allow us have a foretaste of it. So the mysteries of God do not belong to those things which can never be known. Rather, they are those divine realities which, in due time are revealed by God for our salvation and ultimate joy.
Responding to the divine mysteries
The word, “mystery” is a powerful expression of things beyond the human person, but which can become part of the human experience if the human person has a proper alignment with God. Strictly speaking, we ought to enter into the mystery of God in order to appreciate the gift that it is and steward it. To be immersed in the mysteries of God is to stay in relationship with God, the author of divine mysteries. Prayers of surrender and complete obedience to the Word of God through the Sacraments of the Church are some examples of ways to enter into divine mysteries.
