The Gospel fears no questions
Everything true, good, and beautiful belongs to the Faith already
One of the great joys of my ministry is being present and accompanying some of the children at our parish school.
I particularly love being with the 5th graders because they are at this critical junction of intense curiosity and trust. They want to know about everything and they actually trust the adults in their life to tell them the truth!
A remarkable and providential moment in today’s world.
I regularly show up for recess and lunch duty at the school and almost without fail I get asked by a 5th grader various theological questions. There is one student in particular who asks the most interesting and tough questions, a few of which I have included below:
Does God commit sin when he kills people in the Old Testament? How can God be good and kill innocent people?
Did Jesus not sin when he left his parents as a child or when he flipped tables in the Temple later in life?
Why can only men be priests, what about women?
And at first glance it is easy to be intimidated or even fearful because of these questions.
They’re tough questions and to try and address them in a way that is clear and which upholds the Church’s tradition and the various perspectives on a topic to a 5th grader (who are smart but also just beginning in many ways to really learn and ask questions) is a challenge.
But that’s okay. More than okay, it is beautiful to sit in the midst of those questions with these kids and to try and tease out from them what they already know and to lead them out (After all, educate comes from the Latin educare meaning to lead out or lead out from) into new vistas of experience, beauty, truth, and knowledge.
We are so afraid sometimes of providing the wrong answers or of not successfully convincing people, and especially young people, about the truths of the Faith. And our fear causes us to fall silent.
But the Gospel fears no questions. Let me repeat that: the Gospel fears no questions.
Everything that is good, true, and beautiful belongs already to Jesus Christ. And in asking questions we use that intellect, that rationality, that God granted us when he created us out of love.
Our questions, when asked with the honesty and openness of a 5th grader, give glory to God. We are seeking after the “why” of things, we believe deep within us that there is a harmony and a rationality to the world and the universe. We want to know, and we are hungry for the Truth.
And the Church is exactly the right place for questions and for Truth-Seekers. We are a People of Faith who seek understanding, that’s our entire spiritual life in a nutshell: a people of faith, seeking understanding. Understanding of the truths of the Gospel, the world, and indeed our own lives in the light of Jesus.
And so, let us fear no questions. The Gospel and the Church need not be defensive or afraid.
Do we believe in Jesus Christ, he who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life?
If yes, then let us set forth boldly amidst a sea of questions with him as our guiding light. Everyone who sincerely seeks the Truth, who asks questions and believes that there is a harmony, a rationality to the world, is already in pursuit of Jesus Christ.
I am reminded of Eucharist Prayer IV when it says:
Therefore, Lord, remember now all for whom we offer this sacrifice: especially your servant N. our Pope, N. our Bishop, and the whole Order of Bishops, all the clergy, those who take part in this offering, those gathered here before you, your entire people, and all who seek you with a sincere heart.
Anyone who seeks Truth with a sincere heart, seeks the Lord.
Anyone who asks questions and is willing to enter into what those questions bring, seeks the Lord.
Anyone, be they a 5th grader, a teacher, a religious, an atheist, etc. If they seek Truth and are willing to dig deep in their search for Truth, than truly I say to you that they are not far from the Kingdom of Heaven.
Would that I, and all of us, could be as open and as curious about the world and the Faith as a 5th grader!