June 14 Living the Questions

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?