September 23, 2012
Childish Questions
- Mark 9:30-37
- Dr. Teri Thomas
Kids don’t have any difficulty asking questions. What’s that? Is often the first sentence a child will speak. “Why?” comes quickly thereafter, only to be replaced in the teenage years by, “Why can’t I?”
Children learn by asking questions. They grow and develop by asking and challenging and wondering. They make friends by asking question, “What’s your name?” or “Whatch’a doin’?”
Questions express their interest and curiosity.
But at some point in life we become more inhibited about asking questions. We try to figure things out on our own. We are, after all, educated people with God given intellect.
What is it that makes us afraid to ask questions? Well, we don’t want to look stupid. We don’t want someone to laugh at us or ridicule us for not knowing what they understand so well. No one wants to look uninformed, confused, or clueless. So often we withhold our questions.
It strikes me that even in church, within our faith community, we pretend we don't have hard questions. Yet in reality the deepest mysteries of life do often elude us.
Why do good people suffer?
Why are humans so brutal to one another?
Why does evil succeed?
If God's own Son is betrayed and killed, then is no one safe?
Why did God set up a world like this?
Once again we discover how much we resemble the disciples, how our behavior is so similar to theirs. Jesus had already explained to the disciples that he was going to be beaten, he would suffer and he would die. He wanted them to understand the kind of Messiah he would be.
And in this morning’s reading, Mark tells us -
30They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; 31for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” 32But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
In the Gospel of Mark Jesus is often tough on the disciples.
He pushes them pretty hard.
I feel sorry for them sometimes.
After all, they are probably, like us, doing the best they can.
If they weren’t confused they hadn’t been paying attention.
Jesus was turning everything upside down.
Jesus was changing all the rules.
They did not understand, how could they, and they were afraid to ask.
Jesus is tough, but is he really the kind of teacher who would meet a sincere desire for understanding with annoyance and dismissal?
Do we really need to be afraid to ask Jesus to help us follow him, or to help us understand him,
or to help us trust him?
So why don't the disciples simply ask Jesus to explain?
It could be because they don't want to appear as confused as they are.
Or maybe their distress at his teaching is so deep they fear addressing it.
Besides, the closer we are to Jesus, the more we are supposed to know (about God, about prayer,
about the Bible, about religious stuff), right?
And what if what we think he is saying is really what he is saying???????
Can we follow to suffering? To the cross? To death?
But the disciples are afraid to ask and we see what happens.
Since they are afraid to ask the real questions they turn to arguing with each other,
squabbling among themselves over petty issues of rank and status.
When the disciples avoid asking hard questions, they focus on posturing over who is right.
So instead of asking their questions they began to argue over who was greater.
Jesus had chastised some of them so there may have been some unresolved resentment.
They were undoubtedly eager to gain his approval.
They were trying to prove themselves to the teacher.
They had let him down in several ways and needed to regain his trust (they thought).
In order to feel better about themselves they played the “I am better than you are” game.
How would this story be different if the disciples had asked Jesus their questions?
Jesus, explain why you have to suffer?
Jesus, what are you needing from us?
Jesus, what are we to do when you are gone?
Jesus, how do we know God loves us?
Jesus, can you help us understand how to follow?
Jesus, can you help us trust you more than ourselves?
What kind of conversation might have ensued between Jesus and the disciples?
What kind of relationships would it have strengthened?
Could it have calmed some of their fears?
Corrected some misunderstandings?
Built some trust?
How would our stories be different if we ask Jesus our questions?
What kind of conversations might we pursue with Jesus?
How would our life as disciples together be different as a result?
Take the card you were handed this morning. If you don’t have one there are some at the end of each pew. One side- What question are you afraid to ask God? On the other side- What question do you wish you could ask in church? Later I am going to ask you to pass them in with the offering. Just as we give God our time, talents, and money, so also do we gratefully give God our questions, challenges, and doubts.
So claim your questions as part of your faith journey. Our questions can change the way we perceive or think about something— and that can serve as a catalyst that may eventually bring about change. The good news is that Jesus welcomes us even when we do not understand or do not know. Jesus welcomes our questions.
This morning’s reading ends with Jesus holding a child, a child, the ultimate symbol of not knowing, not understanding, immature and undeveloped; a child, the epitome of questioning.
And Jesus says- 37“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” Welcome this child with all the questions.
We need not fear our questions, our misunderstandings, our confusion or our curiosity.
Being great doesn’t mean having no questions.
Being great doesn’t mean having all the answers.
Being great is to be focused on something quite other than oneself.
It turns out that greatness, according to Jesus lies in welcoming one who is not viewed as great by the culture, the child, the one who is beyond the circle, who needs a welcome.
Jesus was always about including folks in the circle, especially the folks others rejected.
Jesus didn’t follow the rules or the norms of his day.
He healed when he wasn't supposed to,
touched people he shouldn't have touched
and talked about suffering as part of greatness.
That day in Capernaum Jesus held a little child in his arms and brought the words of heaven down to earth. I can imagine Jesus taking the child while the disciples were afraid to ask-
What are you doing?
Why are you holding that snot-nose kid?
Whose kid is that and why is he so special?
Why bother with the rugrat, she is of no good to us.
Shouldn’t you be talking to us instead of that child?
But they were afraid to ask.
And I can imagine Jesus whispering in the child's ear,
"You are God's Beloved Child. Ask me anything.”
And Jesus whispering in our ears- You are God’s beloved child. Ask me anything.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.