What is the role of questions in a community of faith?  Is there room for a questioning mind?  I hope so!  During much of Jesus’ ministry, he encountered many with questions of faith.  Sometimes the questions were meant to trick Jesus, sometimes they emerged out of deep yearning for life in relationship with God.

In Matthew’s gospel, the Pharisees approached Jesus to test him and asked him, “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  And Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your HEART and with all your SOUL and with all your MIND.” (Matt 22:34-37).   For me, Jesus’ answer reveals for us at least three things:

1) Jesus studied and discerned…A LOT.  His answer is rooted in a deep knowledge of the Torah.  After all, he is often called Rabbi, meaning teacher, and I believe he has a lot to teach us still.
2) Jesus instructs that to love God requires us to engage our whole self.  It’s not just about how you feel or what you pray, but loving God–a deep expression of our faith–invites us to think, question, and explore with our mind as well.
3) Jesus invites questions…of all kinds, regardless of intent.  And we might be as surprised and challenged by the answers as we are by the questions.  After all, Jesus’ reply to the Pharisees’ question is no easy task.

So regardless of where you are on your faith journey, you are invited to bring your questions! I don’t promise that we’ll have all the answers or easy answers, but I wholeheartedly believe that we enrich each others’ faith and life by embracing questions together.

Got questions? Sundays. 7:30-9:00pm. Duke Chapel Basement. Join us!