05-20-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
May 20, 2023
Tomorrow in worship, Rev. Dr. Darren Phelps will be our preacher. He serves as a Community Regional Minister here in the SW Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The text he has chosen is from Mark 9. Yesterday, I spent some time reading passages around the specific text. The sermon text reveals a father’s doubts and anxieties about his son, who has great health concerns. What I found interesting were the number of stories in this section where others were confused, afraid to ask questions, holding tightly to a misconception, or just lost and unwilling to ask for directions. Why is it that, especially in the arena of faith, we feel insecure and unwilling to say, "I don’t know! Can you explain?" Instead, when confronted with something we do not understand or that makes us feel uncomfortable, the reaction emerges from a place of insecurity. Wisdom is extolled within scripture, yet wisdom doesn’t just happen. It begins with questions, a willingness to explore and learn something new, to listen closely to what people say and how they say it, to investigate beyond the obvious, and to ask the questions no one else wants to ask. Wisdom is not seeking to be right, but to understand. The father’s confession in Mark 9:24, "…help my unbelief…," is the honest cry of one who has made himself vulnerable to what is yet to be learned.

​Where did we discover, O God, that it is better to hold tight to foolishness than to admit we do not know? Continue to inspire me and instill within me a courage to traverse the boundary that separates my comfort from what might cause a little discomfort. Faith is rarely experienced when everything is well ordered and expected. Instead, it is usually discovered the moment we step into a mystery without an exit strategy. Amen.