July & August 2008 Message from the Pastor

Discernment part 3

In some ways, the Bible is not very helpful when it comes to discerning God’s will for us. Common biblical pictures of how the God communicates include a strong voice on a mountain top speaking to Moses or giving Noah precise blueprints for the ark or speaking through dreams to Mary and Joseph and John (in Revelations) with such vivid clarity that the messages were unforgettable. If we expect such clarity, we may wait for a long time and still be disappointed.

Indeed, the Bible also says that God often speaks through still, small voices at times and in fact, may seem all too silent. Read a few Psalms if you’re not aware of the frustrations of biblical authors getting poor quality signals from the heavenly transmitters. I’m reminded of this problem when I try to listen to one of my favorite radio station and have to put up with its static and low fidelity.

Most of the time, it seems, we’re not sure what God expects of us. It doesn’t sound too spiritual if we say that we are mostly guessing about God’s intentions. Wouldn’t a few simple e-mails from God be helpful, especially at critical moments in our lives? Wouldn’t the church be much stronger if God would preach “in person” each Sunday (in short, entertaining and dynamic sermons, of course)? How many sermons (or newsletter articles) from fallible “apostles” miss the mark and may even be blasphemous or heretical?

All in all, we’re left to anguish over this discernment business. Like many things in life, we know better what we don’t like than what we know is right. We know some churches are missing the mark or have wrong theologies but we’re not always sure we’re doing any better or are clearly headed in the right direction.

Still, the Bible, especially in the book of Acts, paints a picture of the post-Pentecost followers of Jesus intently building communities of discernment. They prayed a lot, sang a lot, studied scriptures and did many communal acts of charity and fellowship. They weren’t always sure where they were being led but together they found God’s love at work in each other. Along The Way (as they called themselves) they discovered many signs of God’s healing and hope dynamically at work in and through them.

We may not be sure of God’s plan either but the Bible gives a dynamic picture of common people like us being moved to act together in loving ways. Perhaps we need to worry less about clarity and work more at community building while patiently praying for signs of God’s confirmation. “Watch and pray and love” may be our real marching orders. And, who knows, along the way we may find assurance that this is God’s way.


Pastor Jim Friedrich