Below read Pastor Andrew’s March letter to the congregation. Follow up with more from the March newsletter and previous newsletters. Also visit the calendar page to know more about events at Faith Lutheran Church in Columbus, Wisconsin.
Greetings, Faith!
Something I often like to say to our younger members is that questions can often be a new beginning in our faith journeys. I think younger members especially need to hear this because young people are most often by nature full of questions! But also, because questions can be misperceived as doubt which can feel threatening to faith communities. Questions, however, can indeed be what deepen our faith.
In the first Sunday in March, our gospel lesson will be from the Gospel of John concerning a conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus. Nicodemus will come at night which in John’s Gospel represents that Nicodemus is one who does not yet understand the light of Christ come into the world. His initial questions to Jesus, “how can anyone be born after having grown old?” can be understood as not “getting it,” the question will begin a process for Nicodemus. For while the reading for Sunday will end without any definite answer on whether Nicodemus believes Jesus, he will come back into the narrative in chapter 7 where he offers another question, this time to other pharisees on whether the law judges others without first giving them a hearing.
The Nicodemus who first came night with his questions to Jesus now wonders aloud among the other pharisees. Finally, in chapter 19, it is Nicodemus who comes to anoint the body of Jesus after his crucifixion, now in the light of day. While the narrative never explicitly tells us Nicodemus became a disciple of Jesus, and we can only guess as to how he responded to the news that Jesus had been raised from the dead by the power of God, we can see that his questions were far from a hindrance to his faith, but rather were what brought him again and again to the reality of God-with-us.
Questions are indeed deeply intertwined with our faith journey and we must cultivate space for our younger members that honors those questions that will bring them face to face with the reality of Christ. But I recognize that even those who have been on this faith journey for decades still have questions.
Therefore, I’d liked to try something for the next few months (or more) and open up this space in our newsletter to questions you may have about anything relating to faith, the Bible, spirituality, doctrine, etc. You can submit these questions to me at my email address: . Or you can find the place in the narthex where you can write out your questions and submit them anonymously. I will answer them here and likely put a video up at our Facebook page as well. I sincerely invite whatever questions you may have.
May the light of Christ shine in your hearts, bringing growth to the seeds of faith planted deep in the earth of your life.Pr. Andrew