When we hear the scribe asking Jesus a question about which is the greatest commandment of all, we are probably thinking: Well, Jesus has 10 commandments to choose from, so this doesn’t seem like a difficult question. However, according to Jewish tradition, there are 613 mitzvot or commandments in Holy Scriptures, so this question is more difficult than it seems. With the scribes and Pharisees so obsessed in the observance of the law, Jesus is indeed faced with a very challenging proposition.
The scribe asks this question in the Gospel today after he hears Jesus' intense discussion with the Pharisees and Herodians. They were asking Jesus a lot of questions in order to try to trap him and get him in trouble with the chief priests and the Jewish elders. With all this talk about questions in the Gospel today, we might think about the questions we ourselves ask on our journey of faith.
Unfortunately, some Christians were raised to be cautious about asking questions. I don’t think that Jesus wants us to have a faith that does not ask questions. Faith is a living tension that exists between two realities: what we experience here on earth and what we know to be true about the kingdom of God.
Having questions is important because we won’t possess answers until we first possess questions. Questions lead to greater understanding; greater understanding leads to a deeper faith. One crucial thing we can do to develop a stronger faith is to ask God a lot of questions. By one count, there are 80 different instances in the Gospels where Jesus is asked questions.
But not all questions are created equal. Some questions are constructive in nature as we seek the truth on our journey of faith. Jesus was asked: Why do you keep speaking in parables? How many times must I forgive someone? If something bad happens, is God punishing us? Each of those questions seeks a deeper understanding of Jesus or God’s kingdom. But Jesus was also asked questions that attacked him or that sought to entrap him or condemn him, such as: Why don’t you follow all the rules and traditions of Ancient Israel just like the scribes and Pharisees? Why are you breaking the Sabbath by healing people on that day? Why do you think you are equal to God? These questions do not seek God’s truth. These questions are not made out of love. These questions did not seek growth and transformation.
I must say: sometimes we have a lot of questions in our minds, but the answers we seek are not alway clear-cut and well-defined. I remember that when I went off to be a missionary, I had a lot of questions that I thought would be answered through my missionary work. I wondered about the best approach to help people in a country that is mired in poverty, corruption, and violence. I brought these questions to the daily reality of my missionary work with a very idealistic and positive attitude, or so I thought. I spent 8 years as a lay missionary; I returned from those experiences with even more questions and not a lot of answers. Perhaps I lost some of my innocence and idealism along the way as well.
Our lives of faith can take many twists and turns as we travel along our journey. Sometimes in our journey of faith and in our search for meaning in life, our questions can turn into doubts. We may end up questioning our very faith. But asking questions, struggling with doubt and unbelief, will make us stronger. A searching, inquisitive faith is far better than a faith that is lazy and complacent.
So I might ask all of you a couple of questions in light of todays Gospel and todays homily: How is God calling you to live out your Christian faith? What kind of questions do you need to ask in order to grow and develop as a follower of Christ? Are there questions that you are afraid to ask? And if you have a question where there is no easy answer, are you willing to wrestle and struggle with that question, to try to find some sort of meaning without an easy resolution? Do not be afraid to ask questions. Do not be afraid to search for answers.
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