Last week I suggested that asking our real questions was hard work, that Nicodemus was not alone in having a question for Jesus that he would rather ask in the dark than in the harsh light of day with everyone watching.
I invited folks in the congregation to write their questions on paper, and place them in a basket if they wished. I read them the next day, and have been astonished at them ever since.
- Why can’t our children see life & the choices they make as clearly as we would like them to?
- Am I doing the will of the Lord as an individual? Are we doing the will of the Lord as a congregation?
- How can I help someone who has a hard time believing in God when his mother died of cancer?
The questions suggest to me that the Spirit is at work among us, that people are wrestling with questions of mission and outreach, and questions of the heart. What surprised me most was the fact that so many of them were tender and personal- some in reponse to particular circumstances, and some in response to the human condition.
- How do you know if it is time for someone to move in with you?
- How do I find my way to You? How do I know if I'v found you?
- Is God with me in my loneliness?
So I have spent the last week or two wondering about how we deepen this conversation, how we continue to make this a place where people know their questions are welcome, a place where we help each other hear what Jesus might be trying to say in response to our deepest questions.
The Adult Ed folks are thinking about ways to schedule classes that address some of the questions, and to create space in classes for discussion and conversation, so that questions can be heard and honored.
The pastors and staff are thinking about everything from preaching topics to individual conversations to the formation of small faith -sharing groups that might create more free space in which God can meet us, and speak to our questions.
Frederick Buechner has said that questions are "the ants in the pants of faith", they keep faith moving and prevent it from becoming stodgy and sedentary.
I think questions are holy, revealing what God is up to, and where we are pointed next on the spiritual journey.
I am grateful for these questions, and for the others that I know will come,
and I am grateful to be part of a community that is thinking
praying
asking
listening
and trusting.
So what question are you walking with these days?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
How Many?
How many does it take?
You’d be surprised.
I know I was.
Last night at the Nurture Committee Meeting, we looked over the list of names
of folks who have assisted in Education during this academic year.
There are those who rocked babies in the nursery,
those who got out paint and brushes with the middle schoolers, or sang with elementary kids, and those who worked with youth on car washes and bible studies and mission trips.
There were those who taught adults, inviting people to explore the words of the Apostle Paul, the music of Hildegard of Bingen, and the pages of the local paper, among other things.
Somehow looking at the list moved me deeply.
Looking at all the names of those who care that the gospel lives on,
those who value questions and answers,
those who don’t just SAY but DO- it was lovely.
I was moved that the ages and stages of these folks were varied, as was the number of years that they have been part of our community...
Dozens and dozens of friends of Christ have retold the story this year, and helped us to know our heritage and equip ourselves for discipleship.
This week we are reading the story of Nicodemus, who comes to Jesus by night to learn from him, presumably because he is embarrassed to ask his questions or seek help in broad daylight.
The text reminds me how much I want to be part of a church community that lets people ask their true questions, the questions that they think about in the dark. I want to be part of a place where the Light of Christ shines, and where people who are young in faith, either in years or in experience, have companions on the Way who will share what they know. Teachers. Shepherds. Learners.
And I want to be part of a community where are part of our covenant is that we are never done learning, never done growing, never done discovering the truth we live for.
This Sunday, in worship, we will recognize all 102 people who have kept learning alive among us.
How it must gladden the heart of God!
You’d be surprised.
I know I was.
Last night at the Nurture Committee Meeting, we looked over the list of names
of folks who have assisted in Education during this academic year.
There are those who rocked babies in the nursery,
those who got out paint and brushes with the middle schoolers, or sang with elementary kids, and those who worked with youth on car washes and bible studies and mission trips.
There were those who taught adults, inviting people to explore the words of the Apostle Paul, the music of Hildegard of Bingen, and the pages of the local paper, among other things.
Somehow looking at the list moved me deeply.
Looking at all the names of those who care that the gospel lives on,
those who value questions and answers,
those who don’t just SAY but DO- it was lovely.
I was moved that the ages and stages of these folks were varied, as was the number of years that they have been part of our community...
Dozens and dozens of friends of Christ have retold the story this year, and helped us to know our heritage and equip ourselves for discipleship.
This week we are reading the story of Nicodemus, who comes to Jesus by night to learn from him, presumably because he is embarrassed to ask his questions or seek help in broad daylight.
The text reminds me how much I want to be part of a church community that lets people ask their true questions, the questions that they think about in the dark. I want to be part of a place where the Light of Christ shines, and where people who are young in faith, either in years or in experience, have companions on the Way who will share what they know. Teachers. Shepherds. Learners.
And I want to be part of a community where are part of our covenant is that we are never done learning, never done growing, never done discovering the truth we live for.
This Sunday, in worship, we will recognize all 102 people who have kept learning alive among us.
How it must gladden the heart of God!
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