This week I was thinking about the underrated spiritual gift of curiosity.  Some of my recent sermons have been tip toeing around this underlying thought (unconsciously done, but the pattern is there).

In December, I preached about John the Baptist.  What sparked my curiosity this go-round was the theory that John the Baptist may have been an Essene (the Jewish sect linked to the Dead Sea Scrolls).  In January, I preached about Jesus calling the first disciples and shared that biblical scholars have a hard time translating what tekton means.  Should we understand Jesus as a carpenter, stone builder, artisan, a day laborer, or a boat repairer/builder?  And how did his occupation shape his ministry as he and the disciples began “fishing for people”? 

Last Sunday, we considered Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law as she was sick in bed with a fever.  There was a footnote in my CEB Study Bible that linked this Gospel story to Jesus being ministered to by angels in the wilderness (just as this healed woman ministered to Jesus).  Believe it or not, the verb in Greek is related to the term “deacon.” Could we think of Peter’s mother-in-law as the first deacon, called to serve others? 

Even this week, the latest book I am reading is by James Martin, SJ (Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus’s Greatest Miracle).  It’s a book about the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  Martin shares that biblical scholars have long debated who the Beloved Disciple is in John’s Gospel.  Theories range from the Beloved Disciple being symbolic for anyone who becomes a devoted disciple of Jesus, to Peter’s friend John Mark (a figure in the Acts of the Apostles), to John the son of Zebedee (one of the first disciples that Jesus calls).  In Come Forth, a theory is shared that the Beloved Disciple might have been Lazarus!  Wow, did this theory send my mind spinning.

I am often perplexed by Christians who think there is only one right answer and one right way to read and interpret scripture.  This approach lacks spiritual curiosity.  It feels intellectually stifling knowing that textual analysis, historical research, and archaeology are often bringing us more information that helps shine light on our sacred stories.  Honestly this one right answer/one right way to read scripture approach is rather boring!  

I don’t think we should come to church and check our minds at the sanctuary door.  I view it as part of my job as an Ordained Minister in the United Church of Christ (with my college and seminary education and training) to encourage curiosity.  This is why I do my best to read and study, so that I can share what I learn and help you go on your own paths of discovery.  Sometimes I want certainty, but it seems to me that God often has other plans.  Curiosity is not a curse, it’s a spiritual gift.  (And if you ever hear a future sermon about the mysterious identity of the Beloved Disciple in John’s Gospel, well, you have been warned!)

Love,
Pastor Lauren 

Photo of Qumran by Rev. Lauren Ostrout (one of the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered).

Thursday Thoughts 2/8/24