Our Mission

As you may know, Elisha’s Riddle exists to propound the key Mystery behind creation, scripture, and life itself. Each of these things – the universe, the bible, and human existence – are like one giant Riddle hiding the reality of Christ. Literally everything in existence is a parable wrapped around the mystery of Christ and His Kingdom. The unveiling (or “apocalypse”) of this is the end-game of reality. We are called, as many of you are, to simply stand as friends of the Bridegroom pointing the way toward this unveiling.

Now I find it amazing, when Jesus was on earth, teaching primarily through this parable method of communication, that the majority of the people did not understand the intention of His stories. The underlying meaning – the veiled mystery – was reserved for those who would draw near to learn more (Mark 4:10). Out of the thousands who heard Him speak, it was only a small percentage of disciples who learned what was underneath the surface of the stories. This typically happened after the meeting was over, in a smaller setting away from the crowds. In this we see how intimacy is always a pathway into revelation.

So the majority of the people didn’t engage in this intimate quest. They were content to just hear fascinating stories about fishermen, pearls, kings, and banquets (and of course enjoy the free food and healings). Usually, Jesus seemed quite fine with this. That’s not to say there wasn’t a desire in Him for every person to draw closer. He just seemed to carry a deep patience that didn’t fret over people’s lack of understanding. (Keep that in mind as we proceed into the main point of this article.)

Modern “Christmas” Parables

I believe this dynamic of “parables for the crowds / unveiling for the disciples” still happens to this day. I believe it is happening every Thanksgiving to New Years in our American/Western culture, particularly in regard to Christmas.

Story-telling is just as much a part of our culture as it was during Jesus’s day. It’s just changed a little bit. With the advent of different technologies and art forms, we have simply ungraded our story-telling to include moving pictures, prerecorded music, acting, and all other sorts of creative ventures. We call these multi-layered stories “movies.” At the end of the year, a huge part of our culture tells stories centered around this idea of the “Christmas spirit.”

Obviously, a good part of our society understands the connection between “Christ” and Christmas. However, the key parables – the bestselling movies – of our time do not mention Jesus at all. They focus instead on Santa Claus (the history of which is not the point of this discussion). Many popular parables of the day, such as The Santa Clause, Elf, or Netflix’s Christmas Chronicles usually focus on this general idea of the “Christmas spirit” being in grave danger. Santa and other characters thus have to engage in an adventure of rescuing it or protecting it

Countless people adore these films and watch them every year around this time. Major television networks host Christmas specials that draw in millions of dollars from advertising funds, all of which bolster the Christmas spirit of gift-giving (with a dash of American capitalism of course). It is all part of the fabric of our culture. And for the most part, the millions watching these movies, laughing and crying their way through them, have no idea about the deeper message that is touching their souls, even though it’s staring them right in the face.

Could it be that God allows this consistent parable of Santa Claus and his helpers to speak to the masses, while still inviting disciples to draw nearer and discover the deeper meaning?

Our Own “Mass”

The word Christmas comes from two words. The first is obvious. The second is “mass.” In its Christian context, there are several meanings for this term. One belief is that it stems from the Hebrew word missah, which is a term that means “unleavened bread.” This is the word used for the bread eaten during the Passover. Hence, a Catholic “Mass” always involves the Eucharistic bread of communion.

Christ’s Mass is thus the celebration of the coming of the One who would become true Bread for the world. The One who would release His life, and thus His very Spirit to humanity . . . the Spirit of Christ’s misseh. This is what the season is really all about. And the number one gift Jesus came to give was His very identity and presence. He gifts us with His being! Immanuel. God with us.

This is the Gift we’re called to receive . . . and then give away to others.

So when secular Christmas movies tell these magical stories about recovering the spirit of Christmas, there’s no escaping this underlying meaning. Whether the human writers understand this dynamic or not, the Spirit of Christ’s misseh is intricately involved in their script-writing. While some Christians complain that the Santa Claus legend steals the true message of the season, I would ask these questions:

What if it’s only another parable leaving the door open for those who want to draw closer and go beyond the parabolic veil?

What if the Holy Spirit is moving within people’s spirits whenever they laugh or cry at these films, gently wooing them into this deeper reality.

And then, what if it is our job as ministers of reconciliation to tell the world the real story? Or better yet, to show it to the world. Well, that brings us back to the mission of Elisha’s Riddle, doesn’t it?

It’s our sincere hope that you will continue to join us on this mission. And we have this hope because of the other meaning behind the word “Mass.” This word is also connected to the Latin term for being “sent” or “dismissed.” Thus, at a Christian Mass, believers are sent forth to bring the message of Christ out of their gathering and into the world. Just as Christ was sent into the world on Christmas morning, so now He co-missions us in the same way! (Yes, both “commission” and the “mass” in Christmas are rooted in this same term.)

In the days ahead, we look forward to sharing more of how we can partner together in this beautiful mission of “unveiling.” Much of it ties in with last month’s release of The Seven Facets videos. We hope these videos, as well as other resources, will become a tool in bringing the true Mystery behind Creation, the Bible, and Life to those who are hungering to go beyond the surface. In fact, God is already preparing the hearts of those you are called to reach. Be bold and trust Him to give you the wisdom to unveil this Mystery to others.

Bonus Section!

Well, I didn’t think this article would be complete without at least offering some interpretation to one of the “parables” I mentioned earlier. He who has an ear, let him hear…

In The Santa Clause we find Scott Calvin, played by Tim Allen, who is a divorced, unbelieving, workaholic dad who gets a special “calling” to become Santa Claus. Santa dies after falling off his roof and leaves his garments for Scott put on. Reluctantly, he wears the Santa suit and experiences an amazing night of sleigh riding with his son. Unfortunately, after waking up in his bed the next morning, he quickly begins to disbelieve the whole experience.

As time goes on, things start to change in his bodily make-up affirming that he is indeed called to be Santa Claus. At the end of the movie, his young son, who has believed all along (“theirs is the Kingdom”), tells him to look into this snow globe they received at the North Pole. When Scott truly looks into it, he sees Santa inside and is reminded of his true identity. He wakes up and begins to fully believe. This then releases a confidence within him, and a new twinkle in his eye, which impacts his ex-wife and her intellectual psychiatrist husband. They look at him and begin to see the true Santa within him. Joyful tears and wonder ensue.

Now, earlier in the movie, we learn why his ex-wife and her husband were such unbelievers. When they were younger, they asked Santa for something very specific and never got it. Disappointment and heartache gave way to unbelief… I can’t think of a more powerful parable to tell the onlooking “crowds” of Westerners who have flocked to this movie over the years. How many people have made requests to God, especially in their youth, and when their prayers go unanswered, or when pain hits their life (all due to living in a sin-cursed world), they go on to blame God for it. This blame then turns into an atheistic intellectualism.

Nonetheless, when Scott awakens to who he is, these “unbelievers” see it in Him and begin to believe again (though the psychiatrist still has a tough time). I saw this scene recently and was reminded of King David’s prayer to God: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You…” In other words, it’s only as we wake up to the joy of who we are and what Christ has done that we can truly go on to impact others. 

The other hidden messages of the film are hopefully more obvious by now… Because of Christ’s death, we get clothed with His very identity! This is the misseh! The true Spirit of Christmas! Yet, for many who come to Christ, there is an initial excitement (like there was with Scott on the first night), but then the everyday pressures of life come in and try to steal the truth from our hearts. But that leads us back to the snow globe at the end . . . This snow globe becomes a beautiful picture of our call into a childlike faith – one that looks into the mirror of our true identity and sees Christ within!

Editor’s Note: While typing out one of the above paragraphs, I accidentally wrote “Satan” instead of Santa. Glad I caught that! This is an easy typing mistake to make because of the placement of the letters. It’s also a long-running joke that has been used before in different stories and movies (the misplacement of the “n” in Santa). Lately, some people are up in arms about a scene in the new Santa Clause movie on Disney+ where a group of elves misspell Santa as “Satan,” holding a sign that says: “We love you Satan” for a brief moment before they realize the problem and change it to Santa. People are now sharing this on social media like there’s some hidden satanic agenda about this scene… Word to the wise: It is a joke. Tim Allen is actually a believer. In fact, he only agreed to star in this new sequel if Netflix included Christian elements in the story.

So, if you’re worried about this Satan thing, I encourage you to chill out and focus on the victory of Jesus. He’s bigger than the Global Cabal Disney Epstein Illuminati Boogey Man, or whatever the latest Antichrist conspiracies are. That is all. Editor’s Note Over. Merry Christmas.