Questions

Yesterday we reflected on Jesus’ statement: “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” (Matthew 7:7)

Isidore Rabi, winner of a Nobel Prize for physics, was once asked why he became a scientist. He replied: “My mother made me a scientist without ever knowing it. Every other child would come back from school and be asked, ‘What did you learn today?’ But my mother used to say, ‘Izzy, did you ask any good questions today?’ That made all the difference for me.”

His mother intuitively understood that asking good questions would instill in him a lifelong quest for knowledge. What else can I learn? What if I look at this issue from another angle?” Can I maintain a level of unknowing and curiosity – even when I think I have the answer?

We live in a time when we are prone to statements – prone to opinions. But statements and opinions are often dead ends… We can argue to no end and never get anywhere. 

I think about some of the bumper stickers I’ve seen… and social media posts. I have to wonder: has anybody’s mind ever been changed by a bumper sticker, or social media post? Has progress been made on a major human challenge by a statement? 

Questions, on the other hand, asked in humility, open us up to new possibilities – maybe even possibilities we had never thought of. And they invite others into the journey alongside us.  

Jesus said, “Ask…Seek… Knock…”

May you and I ever be asking the bigger questions in life. May we ask them out of a deep sense of curiosity, out of a desire to learn and to grow. May we invite others to join us in the quest. And, may we trust that God who is good, will lead us in the way. 

Let us pray: Gracious God, grant us open and humble hearts. Grant us healing. Grant us newness. Grant us hope. Amen.