Red Rover, Red Rover

Hey COTC,

Exploration of Mars is well underway. Two NASA rovers are making their way around the Red Planet right now. They are snapping pictures, collecting soil samples, capturing a sense of what it is like on the ground in another world, and then transmitting it back to highly trained scientists and ordinary people alike. 

Curiosity has been exploring Mars for 10 years now. I love that name. It communicates a level of humility, that there is something we don't know. It also communicates a level of interest - we want to know!

After about 7 years of exploring, NASA landed the second rover. Its name? Perseverance. I love that name too. "Still at it!" we say, not with a hint of shame but of discipline. The humility and interest is coupled with determination and an ever-deepening understanding of the task at hand.

As we make our way around the terrain of John's Gospel, what might it look like to engage those twin virtues?

There are many postures with which we can approach his words, many different names we could give our roving eyes and ears and heart as we study and respond to Jesus. But these two are near the top of my list for how we might behold the Lamb of God.

For some of us, the stories are familiar. Our curiosity has been at it awhile. It may even be hard to restart a stalled curiosity, to take a second (or seventh) look at the words and ways of Jesus. It would seem to require both curiosity as well as perseverance to be present to what God is revealing in Jesus. 

At the same time, we are not ultimately interested in seeing our own curiosity and perseverance. Curiosity and Perseverance aren’t there for selfies. They are there to see - to know - Mars. We gather to see - to know - God incarnate. Our curiosity finds its fulfillment in the revelation of Jesus. Our perseverance primes us to see the perseverance of our God who was not content to be known at a distance, to save from afar.

May the Spirit give us the curiosity and perseverance we need to see the glory of God afresh in the face of Jesus.

Peace,
Sarah+