Monday 27th October
A recent episode in the "Desperate Housewives' television series illustrated brilliantly the tension that can come when someone who is totally unfamiliar with the church shows up - armed (and dangerous) with questions. Lynette Scarvo, a cancer survivor, wants to go to church to express gratitude for her recovery - and so she asks her friend Bree (who is also by far the most prissy and uptight character in the series) for some direction. Lynette arrives at the Presbyterian church, and raises her hand at the end of the sermon to ask for some clarification - much to everyone's horror (except the preacher, who finds Lynette's enquiring mind rather refreshing). But Bree, in order to explain her shock at her friends refusal to follow the protocol, says "Church is about answers - not about questions' . And, to state the obvious, that's the problem with so many churches. The sermon must activate a search, not end it. And it musn't attempt to dumb down the mysteries of life, God, and the Universe into easily digested slogans that all start with the same letter. Helpfully, the Minister corrects Bree, saying "The church is about questions, and not just about answers'.
Especially in a large congregation, the right context for Lynette and her questioning friends is probably not the Sunday sermon. But may God give us preaching that continues the search, and church structures and programmes that encourage the ongoing big questions. And surely part of that is the admission by those of us who have known Christ for many years don't only admit that we still have questions, as if that were some shameful confession, but we recognise that this is what apprentices - disciples - do - they keep on learning - and keep on trusting.