God’s dream revealed through mediation

God’s dream was revealed in time through mediation. God paced humanity for quite a long time by sending agents to serve as a middle-men between Him and the people. Then He sent his son as the only mediator between God and Humanity. After his death and resurrection, Jesus left the Church under the guidance of the Spirit so that he will continue being mediated throughout history.

The term mediation

The term ‘mediation’ in its broadest sense may be defined as ‘the act of intervening between parties in conflict to reconcile them, or between parties not necessarily hostile to lead them into an agreement or covenant.’ From the religious point of view, it refers to the method by which God and humanity are reconciled through the instrumentality of some intervening process, act or person (mediators) and primarily through the work of Jesus Christ (The Mediator).

Understanding the experience of mediation in scriptures

The importance of understanding the experience of mediation in scripture is twofold: 1) To understand God’s dream for us through the experience of others, and 2) to learn and be inspired on how we can mediate God’s Dream to our family, friends, church and all the world.

Mediation in the Old Testament.

The English term ‘mediator’ does not occur at all in the Old Testament. However, the mediatorial concept is present in connection with three different functions: that of the prophet, priest, and ruler. Here is an overview:

In the Early Period, we can elicit four types of teaching.

• Mediatory Sacrifice. In the patriarchal age, sacrifice offering was fulfilled by the head of the family or clan on behalf of his people. See, for example, Noah (Genesis 8:20), Abraham (Genesis 12:7-8; 15:9-11), Isaac (Genesis 26:24 f.), and Jacob (Genesis 31:54; 33:20). This was before the official priestly ministry had been differentiated from the rest of the community.
• Intercessory Prayer. Intercession is in all stages of thought, an essential element in mediation. We have striking examples of it in Genesis 18:22-33; Job 42,8-10.
• The Mosaic Covenant. In Moses, we have for the first time a recognized national representative who acted both as God’s spokesman to the people, and the people’s spokesman before God.
• Intercessory Mediation. Samuel is by Jeremiah classed, with Moses, as the chief representative of intercessory mediation (Jeremiah 15:1). He is reported as mediating by prayer between Israel and God and succeeding in warding off the punishment of their sin (1 Samuel 7:5-12 – Cf. Edwards Miall D., “Mediation; Mediator”, in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), vol. 3, Chicago: Howard – Severance, 1915, p. 2121-2022).

Later, we can elicit five types of mediation.

• Prophetic Mediation. The prophet was regarded as the mouthpiece of Divine revelation.  Sent by God to proclaim His will by word and action (Isiah 6:8f). Inquiring him, was equivalent to asking God (I Samuel 9:9).
• Priestly Mediation. The priest was at first regarded as the medium through which Yahweh delivered His oracles to humanity. The mediatorship of priests derived its authority, not from their moral purity or personal worth, but from the ceremonial purity which attached to their office.
• The Theocratic King (King in God’s name). Yahweh was the sole king of Israel. He governed his people through, the agent of His will the so-called theocratic king. This king was regarded as “Yahweh’s anointed” (1 Samuel 16:6).
• The Suffering Servant. In the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, we have the most profound expression in the Old Testament of mediation. He is portrayed to suffer vicariously as an atonement for the sins of the people. His death is even said to be a “guilt-offering” (v. 10), and he is represented as making “intercession for the transgressors” (v.12).
• Superhuman Agents of Mediation: In later Judaism, the growing sense of God’s transcendence favoured the tendency to introduce supernatural intermediaries. Amongst these, we can mention the Angelic Mediation and Divine Wisdom.

Mediation and Mediator in the New Testament.

Christ is The Mediator. In Him, we find all the doctrine and spirituality of mediation. Here is an overview:

• The Synoptic Gospels: To facilitate this introduction, we will divide Christ’s mediatorial work into that of prophet, priest and king.  
  • Christ as Prophet: As Prophet, Christ is the mediator of revelation. Through Him, we learned all about God and ourselves.
  • Christ as King: The official name “Christ” (= Messiah, the anointed King). The Messianic hope had taught humanity to look forward to the rule of God on earth initiated and administered through His representative. Christ was the fulfilment of that hope. But it is also clear that He fundamentally modified the Messianic idea. (a) His Kingdom was not of power, but of service and even suffering. (b) By giving it an ethical and spiritual rather than a national and official significance.
  • Christ as Priest (Redeemer/Saviour/Liberator): The Synoptics do not hint at the priestly analogy. Our Lord often spoke of forgiveness without mentioning Himself as the one through whom it was mediated as if it flowed directly from the gracious heart of the Father (cf. Luke 15). However, there are two passages which expressly connect His death with His mediatorial work. These are Mark 10:45 and 14: 22-24 (repeated in Matthew 26:26-28 and Luke 22:19f. – Cf. Edwards, “Mediation; Mediator”, in ISBE, 2021-2022).
• Primitive Apostolic Teachings. (1) The Early Speeches in Actsreveal a primitive stage of theological reflection on mediation. (2) The Epistles of James and Jude, show Christ’s mediatorial functions indirectly, especially through His kingly and prophetic offices. (3) I Peter speaks about the fact that salvation is mediated through the sufferings and death of Christ (1 Peter 3:18).
• Epistles of Paul: While mentioning the term “mediator” to Christ only once (1 Timothy 2:5), this concept is at the centre of Paul’s writings.  He speaks about: (1) The Need of a Mediator, which arises out of the fact of sin. (2) The qualification of Christ as the Mediator, since he was at the same time, God and man. (3) The Means of mediation: His passion, death and resurrection of Christ.  (4) The exaltation also makes possible His continuous heavenly intercession on our behalf (Romans 8:34), which is the climax of His mediatorial activities.
• Epistle to the Hebrews: this letter portraysChrist’s superiority to other Old Testament mediators. A superiority based on His Sonship.  In short, it shows that Christ is superior to the prophets (1:1-3), to the angels (1:4-14), to Moses (3:1-6), and to He Aaron, the high priest.
• The Johannine Writings:
  • The Fourth Gospel: In John’s Gospel, great emphasis is laid on the idea of salvation by revelation mediated through Jesus Christ. “The historical revelation of God in the person and teaching of Jesus is the main subject of the Gospel. But in the Prologue, we have the eternal background of the historical manifestation in the doctrine of the Logos, who, as Son in eternal fellowship with the Father, His mediator in creation, and the immanent principle of revelation in the world, is fitted to become God’s Revealer in history (1:11-18). His work on earth is to dispense light and life, knowledge of God and salvation. Through Him, God gives to the world eternal life (3:16). He is the Water of Life (4:14; 7:37), the Bread of Life (6:48 f.), the Light of the World (8:12); it is by the inward appropriation of Him that salvation is mediated to men (6:52 f.). He is the perfect revealer of God; hence, the only means of access to the Father (14:6.9) […] Yet the emphasis is laid on the voluntary and vicarious character of His death. He lays down His life of Himself (10:18); “The good shepherd layeth down his life for (= on behalf of) the sheep” (10:11; cf. 15:13)” (Edwards, “Mediation; Mediator”, in ISBE, 2022).
  • The Epistles: In I John, we find more explicit statements about the connection between the death of Christ and sin. Here are some examples. “The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1:7). “He was manifested to take away sins” (3:5). “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father” that is, a person who will mediate with God on our behalf (2:2; 4:10).
  • The Apocalypse (Revelations): “The Apocalypse presents both aspects of Christ’s mediation. On the one hand, He is associated with God in the government of the world and in judgment (3:21; 7:10; 6:16), holds the keys of death and Hades (1:18), is the Lord of lords and King of kings (17:14; 19:16), and is the Mediator of creation (3:14). On the other hand, by His sacrificial act, He represents humanity before God. The most characteristic expression of this is the title “the Lamb” (2:9). By His blood, the guilty are cleansed and made saints, purchased unto God (5:9; 7:14)” (Edwards, “Mediation; Mediator”, in ISBE, 2022).

God’s dream continues to be mediated in the time of the church

Today, God’s children, guided by the Spirit according to the example of Jesus, are called to continue mediating the mystery mediated to all the people till the end of time.

God’s Dream continues to be mediated through Christ

Christ is the culmination of revelation because he is at the same time the Mediator and Revealer, that is the messenger and the message. In him, the truth of God and the truth of humanity shine forth, and so he is the perfect link between God and humanity. He represents each side to the other.

A Marvellous Exchange

In Jesus, God and Humanity are irrevocably bound together. The apex of this oneness is Christ’s sharing of his Sonship with us. By “Sharing in Jesus Christ’s Sonship, we find in him the fulfilment of our own oneness toward God. Divinization in the God-man brings humanization to its climax” (Jacques Dupuis, Who do you say I Am?, (Maryknoll NY: Orbis Books, 1994), 5).

Understanding ‘the Work’ of the Mediator

It is not his divinity but human nature that stands in the middle, as the bridge linking God and man. As St. Augustine explains, “between the Trinity and the weakness of man with his iniquity, a man was made mediator not iniquitous but weak so that through his non-iniquity he should unite you with God and through his weakness draw close to you, and so, to be a mediator between God and man, the Word became flesh” (St. Augstine, Enarrationes in Pslmos, 29,1).  Thus, Jesus’s humanity is in the middle between men and God. This means that through the words and deeds of Jesus, we encounter God.

‘Different types of mediation’ in the time of the Church

It is good to note that when we say that Jesus is the only mediator between God and humanity, it does not mean there are no other subordinate mediators. In fact, the angels, the saints and above all, Mary, cooperate with Christ in leading men to union with God.  Such mediations are:

Sacred Scripture: the most immediate expression of God’s presence, and the communion and of his wishes. 

The Church: The community of believers, a togetherness of faith expressions, and norms of life. A primordial and universal sacrament of salvation: visible and invisible, spiritual and institutional.

Cult and Liturgy: The Sacraments, primarily the Eucharist, and the liturgical year, which is a continuous celebration of the history of redemption culminating in Christ. 

Contemplation: Personal and intimate encounter with God, in the liturgy, in prayer, at work, in community. It nourishes of other mediations, but never isolated. 

Creation and nature: In observing its harmony, beauty, and richness, one can meet God, its creator. We need to remember our role in safeguarding and enriching it.

Life-events, family, work, society, politics, technology, art, entertainment, sports and, culture: These are realities in which the person can experience the presence of God. In these circumstances, one discovers and lives God’s dream for oneself and for others. 

The Human Person: Taking into consideration that God dwells within every person, every human encounter, whether pleasant, painful or complicated, can serve as an encounter to God.

Cf. Federico Ruiz, Le vie dello Spirito. Sintesi di teologia spirituale, Nuovi saggi Teologici. Series Maior, (Bologna: EDB, 2004), 67-68.

Your personal call to be a mediator of God’s dream

Any Christian in this world can and should become a mediator between God and humanity because all Christians are called to identify themselves with Christ the Mediator.

The Ordained Ministers

“By the power of the sacrament of Orders, in the image of Christ the eternal high Priest, they are consecrated to preach the Gospel and shepherd the faithful and to celebrate divine worship, so that they are true priests of the New Testament. Partakers of the function of Christ the sole Mediator, on their level of ministry, they announce the divine word to all. They exercise their sacred function especially in the eucharistic worship or the celebration of the Mass by which – acting in the person of Christ and proclaiming His Mystery – they unite the prayers of the faithful with the sacrifice of their Head and renew and apply in the sacrifice of the Mass until the coming of the Lord the only sacrifice of the New Testament namely that of Christ offering Himself once for all a spotless Victim to the Father. For the sick and the sinners among the faithful, they exercise the ministry of alleviation and reconciliation, and they present the needs and the prayers of the faithful to God the Father. Exercising within the limits of their authority the function of Christ as Shepherd and Head, they gather together God’s family as a brotherhood all of one mind, and lead them in the Spirit, through Christ, to God the Father. In the midst of the flock, they adore Him in spirit and in truth. Finally, they labour in word and doctrine, believing what they have read and meditated upon in the law of God, teaching what they have believed, and putting in practice in their own lives what they have taught” (Lumen Gentium, n. 28).

Lay People

Based on one’s baptismal dignity, every Christian can and should cooperate with Christ’s work in uniting humanity to God. Here is how one can participate in Christ’s Priestly, Prophetic and Kingly mission.
The lay faithful are sharers in Christ’s priestly mission since they are united to him and to his sacrifice in the offering they make of themselves and their daily activities (cf. Romans 12,1-2). As the Council explains, “For their work, prayers and apostolic endeavours, their ordinary married and family life, their daily labour, their mental and physical relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life if patiently borne – all of these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Peter 2:5)”.

Through their participation in the prophetic mission of Christ, who proclaimed the kingdom of his Father by word and deed, the lay faithful, are called to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13,14) in their everyday life.
Because the lay faithful belong to Christ, Lord and King of the Universe, they share in his kingly mission and are called by him to spread that Kingdom in history, so that God might be everything to everyone (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:28; John 12:32 – cf. Christisfideles Laici, n. 14).