Aristotle was of course famous of his statement of this doctrine, but it appears in Christianity, too. For my recognizing the Christian version, I am indebted to Father Bob McNull of Christ Episcopal Church, Las Vegas.
In Mathew 17, there's an account of Jesus with some of His disciples going up on a mountain and there appears Moses and Elijah talking with (a transfigured) Jesus. After the event, Jesus told those disciples in attendance to tell no one about what they had seen. True, the event was something marvelous and something to rejoice about and spread abroad. But Jesus told them to shut up about it!
Why? Well, just as Jesus criticized the Jewish Pharisees and others who would parade about, praying before men ostentatiously and commending themselves pompously to the Jewish community in general, so He would not want to share memorable moments when He had something to get excited over. The idea is to maintain a level head--don't get worked up or ecstatic (compare to the Christian mystics of the Middle Ages); remain calm and tranquil.
For we are told by St. Paul that we must maintain a posture of ever-vigilance: beware of emotions that can take us over--hate, lust, even grief. And, above all, "Watch out for false prophets....By their fruit you will recognize them." (Mathew 7:18)
In yet another passage in Mathew, Jesus chides the Christians: "Why do you worry about...?" Don't worry, for God will provide your needs, He claims. "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Mathew 6:27) Don't get angry with another person, don't be critical of another; and don't make money your goal in life after which to strive. (Mathew 6:24)
Such a low-keyed individual lives at harmony with his neighbors and can rest assured he is appreciated by his community. I believe it's that person about whom Jesus claims special blessing: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." (Mathew 5:8) Now, in the Epistles, St. Paul also extols the value of the peacemakers in the Christian community since they resolve disputes among its members. I call these peacemakers=mediators, even as the Lord Jesus Christ is our mediator before the Father's Throne. Note that Jesus is God the Son, even as the peacemakers are sons of God.
I don't want to give away the show just yet! I want to tantalize with the notion of a mediator--that all we Christians can be mediators (or, intercessors) one on behalf of another.
Jesus' work on the Cross was just at the beginning of Christianity. He paid it all: His work on the Cross is for all time and final: "It is finished!" Jesus tells us, Thereupon He went to prepare a place for us believers.
Meanwhile, the Church has been sent on its way, to become an everlasting Kingdom of God. God-the Father has given the Holy Spirit to us Christians in order to guide and strengthen us. We, as members of the Kingdom, are never alone, for God-the Holy Spirit is an ever-present power available for counsel, guidance and sustenance. We need but call upon that pervasive Power--as through the Eucharist; and we are delivered for a time from this world's transitory predicament.
In order to know about the position of the mediator in the Christian church, I turn to the social sciences. For it has only been since the rise of Sociology among the respected sciences that the study of group dynamics has been taken up. In the next part of this treatise, I intend to discuss the Christian message's import within the unfolding "New World Order."
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