July 14, 2022

These last few weeks, we’ve started a weekly video podcast all about wonder, curiosity, and not having all the answers. Every Tuesday at 9 PM live on Facebook and YouTube, my friend since elementary school, Brandon, and I talk about questions on All Questions Considered. 

One of my deepest convictions at the moment is that we could all use more practice sitting in the discomfort of a great question, and strengthening our muscles for curiosity and humility and not having the answer.

We are often so quick to jump to a position of defensiveness when a question challenges our assumptions. We do everything we can to find the quick and easy answer or explanation. Not so long ago, in a world before smartphones and search engines, we had to go longer without knowing things and sit in wonder for a bit longer. At its best, this also caused us to be humble and be OK with a bit of uncertainity, and to learn more and ask good questions.

Because the truth is, when it comes to the holy mystery of God, we don’t have all the answers. How could our finiteness hold the infinite divine? Have you seen how vast the universe is, and it’s always expanding (check out the images from the James Webb Space Telescope)?

Our reading from Acts 8 last Sunday lifts up the Ethiopian Eunuch as an example for us to follow. Like many of us, the eunuch has parts of his identity that give him authority and parts that make him seen as an insider. And yet, as this person of station – in charge of the queen of Ethiopia’s entire treasury – reads from the prophet Isaiah, they are open enough to welcome a stranger running up to his chariot on a wilderness road, and humble enough to admit they need a guide in order to understand.

What is it that we still don’t understand about the good news of God in Christ Jesus? Where are we still in need of a guide? What are we wondering about scripture, God, our place in God’s story?

The good news is, like the Holy Spirit sends Phillip, and both Phillip and the eunuch are transformed by their holy encounter, so the Holy Spirit is sending us guides and guiding us into a greater understanding of the expansive love of God and our place in God’s story. Let’s be humble enough to admit we don’t know it all and be ready for those who come to us as guides, even from unexpected places and times like traveling on a wilderness road.
 
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Drew