"Nearer"

Dear WRC,

I had the great privilege this past week of attending the latest Confirmation class, and I want to tell you a little about what happened.

Sara and the students invited me to join them for a session to get to know each other a little better. It was my own little version of an Ask Me Anything, and as you can imagine, that’s a little daunting. Giving a group of teenagers the reins to ask you whatever they want comes with some fear and trembling.

There were a few random questions asking about my favorite color (blue), food (tacos), and animal (Great Horned Owl). My personal favorite asked how I felt about pickles, specifically dill. There is a story there. Also: I’m for them.

For random questions, though, that was it. They didn’t really mess around in the shallow water; they went for it. What struck me, though, was that they also didn’t dive into tense political or ethical arguments. As a pastor these days, you sort of expect to have to answer for all the Church has ever done wrong or be thrust into the center of a raging public debate about whatever hot-button topic is in the spotlight. But they didn’t do that. Their questions went right to the heart of some of the most important things they could have possible asked. Questions like: “How did God find you, or how did you find God?” “When did you start truly believing in God?” “How often do you pray?” “Since no one knows for sure, what gives you confidence that you’re right about life after death?” “How did you get so close with God?”

Their questions point to the quest that they’re on, to a yearning, a searching, hidden just below the surface of their teenage lives. When given the opportunity, they didn’t mess around, they went right for what matters most. This is something we can learn from them. There is so much else that distracts us. There is so much else that starts to cloud up this business of being the Church here in Wyckoff, or of being Christians in the world. So many other things begin to seem so important, begin to cause us to worry. We need reminders now and again to focus on what really matters.

They didn’t need that reminder. They weren’t distracted. They went right for the jugular.  Because if this isn’t what all of this is about, then what are we even doing?

How do we get near to God? How do we grow up in Jesus? How do we recognize and receive God’s presence, nearer to us than we are to ourselves?  Aren’t those THE questions?

In Christ,

Pastor Andy