Mark 10:2-9, 13-16 -- “Some Pharisees came, and to test Him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’ People were bringing little children to Him in order that He might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.”
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Sometimes, we humans, when questioning the Divine, ask all of the wrong questions. Due to the often petty nature of our concerns and fears, we can spend time worrying about things which, in the scheme of things, do nothing to build up our faith or further God’s Kingdom.
Look at the Pharisees. They have Messiah standing in front of them, but they do not want to or cannot believe. Their hearts have been hardened. Because of their hearts of stone, they are focused on the wrong things. Instead of seeking a genuine understanding of the teaching and words delivered by God in human form, they spend time on the inane. Their goal of questioning is not to develop or embolden their faith. They are just trying to trick Jesus (as if they could). Their faith has become so complex and twisted that they are unable to see the simple and beautiful Holiness right in front of them.
Is this silliness, bordering on the heretical, left in the past? Unfortunately no. We still see today the battles fought even among Christians, related to what we believe. Arguments are pervasive and deep over sacraments and liturgy or translations of the Word. Vicious debate splits church communities over questions of sexuality and whether gay or lesbian brothers and sisters should be able to serve as ministers, clergy, priests or bishops. Let us not forget that one of the first major divides in the Church, splitting the Body of Christ into the Orthodox and the Catholic, was over one word (“filioque”) stated in the Nicene Creed (“...from the Father and the Son...” vs. “...from the Father and through the Son...”). What would Christ have to say about that?!?
There are many times when in a conversation, a person will begin a line of inquiry with, “This may be a stupid question, but...”. People who preface their comments in this way most often already know that what they are about to ask is either meaningless or not germane to the dialogue in which they are participating. They are usually asking the question for another reason; maybe to try and make an obvious point, trick the person presenting the information or derail the conversation in some way. Regardless of the intent, very often the questions are not genuine, seeking to understand, but are merely some kind of head fake with an ulterior motive.
One of my favorite funny websites is www.despair.com, which takes the traditional motivational posters we see everywhere and puts a cynical twist on them. There is one poster with a picture of a lightbulb, stating underneath it, “There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots.”
The closing of this section in Mark’s gospel, related to the faith of children, is not an accident. Whether the scene with these little ones approaching Jesus occurred immediately after the dialogue with the Pharisees or not, is irrelevant. What does matter is the juxtaposition of these two examples of “faith”; the complex and the simple. Do young children ask questions such as the one asked by Pharisees? Are they caught up in the silliness of petty concern? No. They approach Jesus with open hearts and smiles; they approach Him with love. Their faith in Him beautiful and genuine. Maybe this is because they are much closer to the time when their souls were with Him in Heaven before they were born, than we who have lived many years, where time has allowed our faith grow in sometimes cynical ways.
So, look into your heart and inquire, “Am I asking the right questions? Am I focused on the wrong things, when it comes to my faith?” Asking questions to build our faith is not wrong; God has given us inquiring minds which He wants us to use in a discerning manner, enriching our belief. But, we can’t allow things of this world to turn our hearts from genuine seeking to a position of asking the stupid questions.
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