Where Are You?

Dear Friends,

One of my most memorable seminary professors at Yale, Dr. Joel Baden, often reminded our class: “To understand a story, we must know both the beginning and the end.” This year, the Tuesday Bible Study is following that wisdom by pairing passages from the Hebrew Bible with the New Testament. In our new series, Genesis to Jesus, we will explore God’s story from start to finish through several key scriptural milestones.

As we move through the book of Genesis, we encounter the very first question God asks in the Bible: “Where are you?” God asks this of Adam and Eve as they hide from Him.

When I sit with this question, I don’t hear an angry or accusing voice. Instead, I hear the tender concern of a loving parent. God is not asking because He lacks information—after all, God is God. He is asking because something precious has been broken. A once-seamless relationship of trust and communion has been fractured, and God grieves the distance now standing between Himself and His children.

This moment reveals a spiritual chasm—one humanity could not cross on its own. Yet it is also the first hint of grace, pointing forward to the day when God Himself would bridge that divide through Jesus, His Son.

As we begin a new calendar year and enter the season of Epiphany—a season that invites deeper revelation of who God is—I wonder how God’s first question might speak to you today.

“Where are you?”

How might you respond this year?

If you’d like to explore more of God’s story as revealed through the Bible, I’d love to invite you to join us on Tuesdays. We meet in person at 9:30 a.m. in the Guild Room, or on Zoom at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome—from beginners to seasoned scholars. Come and go as you like; there’s always a place for you.

Blessings,

Rev. Tara