The Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost - The Rev Colette Hammesfahr
Mark 9:30-37
"The only stupid question is the one you don't
ask." "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it
back." "Closed mouths don't get fed." "If you don’t ask,
the answer is always no." "He who asks a question is a fool for a minute;
he who does not remains a fool forever." I would guess that each of you
has heard at least one of these common sayings about the importance of asking
questions or the consequences of not asking a question. You’ve heard that not
asking questions is a missed opportunity for growth and learning. If you don’t
ask questions, you’ll never get the answers.
Those
poor disciples in Mark’s Gospel reading for today are having a real problem
understanding Jesus. Twice now, Jesus has told them of his fate – being
betrayed, mocked, killed, and then three days later, rising from the dead. This
was not the Messiah they were expecting. The Old Testament said the Messiah
would be a political and military Messiah. He would be a warrior king, a
political leader who would restore Israel’s sovereignty. When they had been
following Jesus, they had seen that he was not quite what they had expected. They
followed him and watched as he was humble and served others. These visions of
their Messiah being a suffering servant were too much for them.
Last
week, he told them, “the Son of Man must undergo great suffering” When Peter
disapproved of what he said, Jesus scolded him, saying, “Get behind me, Satan!”
When they are told the second time, they sit silent. They still didn’t
understand and were afraid to ask questions about what they had been told.
Instead, they argued amongst one another as to who was the greatest. When Jesus
asked what they were arguing about, they fell silent again.
Why all the silence? Why didn’t the disciples ask Jesus
questions to help them better understand what he was saying? Was it because
they were afraid of Jesus’ reaction? He had just yelled at Peter. Was it
because they feared hearing the truth and didn’t like what they heard? Were
they afraid to hear that after Jesus’ ascension, they would travel and spread
the Good News, and they, too, would be persecuted? Were they afraid to hear
that there is a cost to discipleship? No matter the reason, they continue to be
confused and uninformed by not asking questions. Avoiding questions can prolong
anxiety.
We are not much different than the disciples. Do you ever
remember sitting in class, and on that first day, the teacher says, “No
question is a stupid question.” So, you ask a question, and immediately, the
teacher gets that look in her eye as if it were the most ridiculous question
she’d ever heard. That becomes the first and last question you ever ask in the
class because you don’t want to risk public humility.
We often sit silently and don’t ask difficult questions. Those
types of questions may challenge our thinking or require some deep personal
reflection. But asking questions is being curious. Part of our faith involves
wrestling with difficult questions rather than avoiding them.
Maybe the disciples were afraid to ask Jesus about his
prediction. They sat silent because it provoked anxiety and challenged their
understanding. Avoidance is a typical human response to stress or fear. However,
avoiding difficult conversations just leads to more confusion and unresolved
tension.
Maybe the silence was a way the disciples were managing their
emotions. Instead of asking clarifying questions, they were shutting down.
Calming down and putting emotions aside is critical to personal growth and
managing healthy relationships.
Natural responses to challenging situations.
Managing anxiety, facing difficult truths, and developing
emotional maturity can guide us in responding to Jesus’ message today. By not
avoiding the difficult teachings, we open ourselves to more profound spiritual
transformation and the opportunity to live out the self-sacrificial, humble
life that Jesus models in the Gospels.
At the end of his teaching, Jesus takes a child into his arms
and says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever
welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” Jesus is teaching the
disciples to let go of their anxious need for power and control and instead
adopt the mindset of a child—open, curious, and humble. A child naturally asks
questions, is dependent on others, and accepts help, unlike adults who often resist
this vulnerability out of pride or fear. The disciples’ failure to ask
questions is the opposite of the openness of a child, who would naturally seek
understanding.
The child is unconcerned with power, rank, or comparison.
Just as a child has no concern for status, we are called to step outside the
need for approval or superiority and focus on humility and service.
Jesus calls us to trust in God, just as a child trusts their
caregiver. Embracing the child's humility means surrendering our fears and need
for self-sufficiency and, instead, depending on God. Just as children are open,
humble, and dependent, we are called to let go of our anxieties about status,
control, and power and instead embrace the self-sacrificing, humble path Jesus
models. This childlike approach allows us to grow spiritually, ask the hard
questions, and live in alignment with Christ's way of love and service.
Theologian Richard Rohr points out that asking about Jesus’
teachings often requires personal transformation. The difficult question might
be: “Am I willing to change my own values, priorities, or lifestyle to align
with Jesus' way of self-sacrifice and humility?” This kind of question is
unsettling because it calls for real, costly change.[1]
What are you curious about? What questions are you hesitant to
ask? Think deeply about what is causing you to hesitate to ask those particular
questions.
All of our texts today invite us to wrestle with questions
about what it is to live wisely, humbly and in alignment with God’s will. In
our Proverbs passage we can ask, “Am I living in a way that embodies the
virtues of this wife?” The Psalm can lead us to the question, “Am I seeking
wisdom and guidance from God, or from the world?” In James, we can ask, “Am I
driven by selfish ambition or by humility and a desire for peace?”
These passages
collectively challenge us to ask hard, probing questions about our lives: Are
we living according to God’s wisdom, or worldly values? Are we willing to
embrace humility, service, and self-sacrifice as the path to true greatness?
Are we rooted in God’s Word, and do we allow it to shape our priorities,
values, and lifestyle? Each of these texts pushes us toward deeper reflection
and greater alignment with Jesus’ call to humble, faithful living. By pursuing
these values, we not only reflect Jesus' heart but also experience the
transformative power of living faithfully in alignment with God's will. Amen
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