Curious!

Scripture Readings: Is. 17:7-14; 2 Corinth. 13:5-13; Mk. 11:27-33
Ընթերցուածքներ` Եսայ. ԺԷ 7-14; Բ Կորնց. ԺԳ 5-13; Մկ. ԺԱ 27-33

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

This generation is very blessed with technology because at our very fingertips, we can ask any question and get answers almost instantly. I remember back when I was in school and I am sure many of you will remember, we had to use the Dewey Decimal System (DDC), to find books in the library and then find those books on the shelves and carry those books and encyclopedias to look up a topic. Therefore, yes, with all its problems and issues, we are a generation blessed with the technology to feed our curiosity. The greatest minds in the world all have one thing in common; they have curiosity; Asking questions with a desire to learn and hunger for wisdom, knowledge and experience. However, growing up I remember cautionary warnings such as “curiosity killed the cat.” This almost deters us from inquiry and suppresses our desire to ask questions. Well, I have a question for us? Who among us is the most curious?

Children! As adults we might get annoyed but the infamous repetitive “why” of children but which comes from a place of pure desire to learn. And children, apart from curiosity, also have another quality about them when it comes to their questions, they are unafraid and unashamed to ask whatever and whenever. It is interesting that even in Armenian we have a teaching, “it is not shameful to not know, it is shameful to not learn.” Yet, as adults, so many of us are ashamed or afraid to ask, especially when it comes to our faith. However, asking questions is a part of our human nature, that comes from our childhood and Christ teaches us, “ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be answered” (Mt. 7:7) Yes, curiosity is encouraged even in our faith! However, not all curiosity is equal.

A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with someone, and he was arguing how he didn’t agree with the statement, “there are no stupid or dumb questions.” While I disagree with him a however, I do believe that there are unproductive and malicious questions. Why do we ask, what we ask? In Proverbs 26 we read, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him…He who sends a message by the hand of a fool Cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.” Proverbs warns us not to entertain foolish or unproductive questions because not only does it reduces us into foolishness but it can be harmful to us and the one we answer. It is this kind of a situation that we read in the Gospel this morning: “…the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?’” On the surface, it appears that the elders are curious; what authority is Christ teaching and doing all that He does? Yet, Christ does not entertain their curiosity but rather responds with a question of authority of his own. The reason Christ does so is not because of the curiosity but because of the spirit of intent behind the question.

The elders, who already reject Christ in the same way they rejected and persecuted John the Baptist (if they had not they would have listened to Him). Jesus is not one of them and therefore, the question of authority is one with malicious intent; It is unproductive and foolish. Sadly, when we look at all the questions of the Pharisees, almost unanimously, we read of how Christ does not answer them because they are trying to test or manipulate and be malicious with their questions – they are not asking to learn but asking to justify themselves and “trick” Jesus. A few weeks ago, we see this happen again, when the Pharisees ask about divorce; and again Christ does not answer them how they want.

My dears, we all have questions in our life about many things. And we are encouraged to ask; it is part of our nature from childhood. As Christian’s, as the children of God, of the Holy Church, we have questions of faith. We should have questions and be curious! Yet, we need to first reflect and ask ourselves – do we ask? Do we want to learn? and when we do, why are we asking? St. Paul tells us to, “examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” This means we need to be self-aware what do we believe, why do we believe and what do we do with our belief? Do we come to Christ with genuine curiosity? A hunger and thirst to grow in Holiness? Or do we come seeking ways to justify our own ambitions and will? Blaise Pascal tell us “In faith, there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t.” Yes, light to illuminate our hearts and minds but also the ability to hide behind our desires. To make excuses and try and justify our sins.

The most common question as a clergyman I am asked is, “if I do (blank) will I go to hell?” or something of this kind. My dears, our Christian faith is not to avoid going to hell; it is not to avoid suffering, sickness, or the reality of darkness and sin in this world. Christ died on the Cross; Christ Jesus took on Hell to destroy its power and ultimately to bring us into Communion with Him. To reveal to us who God truly is and who we are supposed to be – His Holy and beloved child. That is what we should be curious about my dears – how do we grow in Holiness? How do we live as a child of our heavenly Father? Not how do we avoid hell or the consequences for our choices.

Yes, childlike curiosity will free us to live in the mystery of God’s love for which author Barnabas Piper writes in The Curious Christian, “The very nature of God should spur endless questions since he is so much greater than our understanding. Curiosity can’t exist without questions and neither can faith.” A pure childlike curiosity is the most important hunger we can have that will feed our faith. I have often told my Bible Study students and those I have conversations with, the most important thing is curiosity to learn by asking questions. I can have the answers to all the questions of the universe but if no one cares to ask, if no one is curious then the answer is not worth anything. Therefore, yes, let us be curious to learn, not curious to condemn and be judgmental; hungry for wisdom but not glutton as a know it all looking down on others; thirsty for love and not lustful for self-justification.

However, there is warning to our curiosity of faith! Technology, AI, not even books in the library by themself are the way we ask questions of faith. They are a tool, but God already speaks to us, to our hearts directly through the Church, through Communion. We ask by asking in prayer, whether at home or in the Church, we ask our priest, we ask by reading our Holy Scriptures, by attending Church services, listening to sermons and Bible Studies with that hunger to grow. This is how we grow! When we grow in faith, we will know that the authority by which Christ heals, teaches, commands is the authority of God. God our Heavenly Father, who embraces us as His children and through God the Son, Jesus Christ calls us into Holy Communion. Therefore, let us pray and ask the God the Holy Spirit will answer us and reveal to us His Divine love and compassion. So that looking “to our Maker” (Is. 17:7) we will live doing no evil, but rather through virtue, honor and truth, living Holy and according to the commandments of our loving God, we will glorify and honor Him now and always, Amen!